1. Sociological Perspective, Theory and Methods
Chapter 1
Sociological Perspective, Theory and Methods

2. What is Sociology?
Sociology is the scientific study of society and human behavior
The study of why
Social embeddedness- economic, political, etc. forms of human behavior shaped by social relationships

3. Sociological Imagination
C Wright Mills ( )
The ability to grasp the relationships between individual lives and the larger forces that shape them.
Unemployment on a micro level seen as individual choices, on a macro level seen as a governmental/economical problem

4. Sociological Perspective
Seeing the general in the particular
Sociologists identify general social patterns in the behavior of particular individuals
Individuals are unique…but
Society’s social forces shape us into “kinds” of people
Seeing the strange in the familiar
Giving up the idea that human behavior is simply a matter of what people decide to do
Understanding that society shapes our lives

5. Critical Thinking
It helps us assess the truth of “common sense” the things “everybody knows”
Question often more important than answer.
Evidence based
Assumptions and Biases
Willingness to be wrong
Anecdotal Evidence- drawing conclusions from single occurances

6. Development of Modern Sociological Thought
Due to four main developments:
1) The Scientific Revolution- The thought that science could be applied to human affairs. Term “Sociology” Coined by Comte.
2) The Enlightenment- 17th and 18th centuries brought ideas such as liberty, equality, individuality as being universal. Emile Durkheim ( ) saw sociology creating a more peaceful society where humans could then realize their full potential
3) Industrial Revolution- Steam engine, factories, dramatically increased production
4) Urbanization- A result of the Industrial Revolution

7. Sociological Theory
Theory: a statement of how and why facts are related
Explains social behavior to the real world
Theoretical paradigm: a set of fundamental assumptions that guides thinking
Three major approaches (theories)
Functionalism
Conflict
Symbolic-interaction

8. Functionalism Oldest theory in sociology
Founded by Auguste Comte after the French Revolution in 1789
Comte is considered the “father of sociology”
Macro-level theory (it looks at the “big picture” in society, specifically large scale social institutions)

9. Functionalism
Sees society as a set of interdependent parts and no one part is more important than another; when one of the parts is out of balance, they are all out of balance
These parts are:
Economy
Education
Family
Politics
Religion
Very status-quo oriented
Social change should be gradual

10. Who’s Who in Functionalism
Auguste Comte
Father of sociology
Importance of social integration during times of rapid change
Emile Durkheim
Research on suicide and social integration
Social integration is our ties to others
Robert K. Merton
Manifest functions: Open, stated, intended goals or consequences
Latent functions: Hidden, unstated, unintended goals or consequences

11. Weaknesses of Functionalism
One of the most controversial theories in sociology because there will never be a “perfect” social structure.
It focuses on stability, thereby ignoring inequalities of social class, race, and gender.

12. Conflict Theory
Developed as a reaction to functionalism and gained popularity in the 1960’s and 1970’s
Most often associated with Karl Marx
Like Functionalism, a macro-level theory that looks at basically 2 groups: The “haves” and the “have nots”
The “haves” are also known as the bourgeoisie
The owners of the means of production
The “have nots” are the proletariats
The workers

13. Conflict Theory Always associated with power to control others
Focus is on groups that can confront each other
Conflict is good because it’s the only way society can change
Social change should be swift
The proletariats should “rise up” and overthrow the bourgeoisie

14. Who’s Who in Conflict Theory
Karl Marx
The importance of social class in inequality and social conflict
His focus is power
W.E.B. DuBois
Race as the major problem facing the United States in the twentieth century
Ralf Dahrendorf
Focus is on authority
Authority is the power to make others do what you want

15. Weaknesses of Conflict Theory
It ignores social unity based on mutual interdependence and shared values
Explicitly political so it cannot claim scientific objectivity

16. Symbolic Interaction Theory
Micro-level theory
It looks at individuals and small groups and human symbolic communication and its importance on interactions of individuals
Believes that as people interact with each other in groups, they are actually rebuilding their social structure

17. Symbolic Interaction
Basic assumption is that because people can symbolically communicate as they interact, they are actually changing their ideas on what’s appropriate for that situation

18. Who’s Who in Symbolic Interaction
George Herbert Mead
Considered the “father” of SI
Concept of the social self
Looked at the self as both subject and object
Basically, this means we can “take the role of the other” in our interactions
Taking the role of the other=empathy
Putting yourself in someone else’s shoes

19. Who’s Who in Symbolic Interaction
Charles Horton Cooley
Looking-glass self
We see ourselves through the eyes of other people, even to the extent of incorporating their views of us into our own self-concept
We constantly re-evaluate and change our behavior depending on the situation at hand
1. People are constantly evaluating your behavior
2. You get an impression if the evaluation is positive or negative
3. You make a decision on whether or not to change your behavior
based on your idea of the impression you believe the other person is
thinking

20. Who’s Who in Symbolic Interaction
Erving Goffman
Dramaturgical analysis: We look at our interactions with others as if we were actors on stage; composed of the front stage and back stage
Front stage: part of our performance we want others to see
Like cleaning your house before company comes over; you don’t want them to see dirty laundry laying around
Back stage: part of our performance we want to hide from others
Like the stuff you hide in your bathroom closet that you didn’t get to clean before company came!

21. Weaknesses of Symbolic Interaction
Its micro-orientation sometimes results in the error of ignoring the influence of larger social structures
By emphasizing what is unique, it risks overlooking the effects of culture, class, gender, and race