Transcript The Sociological Perspective

 The
sociological perspective stresses the
social contexts in which people live and how
these contexts influence people’s lives.
 Seeing
 The
the Broader Social Context
Global Context—and the Local
 Groups
make up our society when we share a
culture and a territory.
 How People Are Influenced by Their Society


People Who Share a Culture
People Who Share a Territory
 Our
social location depends on where we stand in
our group membership.



Jobs
Education
Age
− Income
− Gender
− Race/Ethnicity
 The

Global Village
Because of globalization, we have become a
global village where products imported from
around the world are part of our daily lives.
 Instant

Communication
Pick up a telephone or use the Internet to
communicate instantly with people anywhere
 50
would be female
50 would be male
26 would be children
There would be 74 adults,
8 of whom would be 65 and older
 60
Asians
15 Africans
14 people from the Americas
11 European

33 Christians
22 Muslims
14 Hindus
7 Buddhists
12 people who practice other religions
12 people who would not be aligned with a
religion
12 would speak Chinese
5 would speak Spanish
5 would speak English
3 would speak Arabic
3 would speak Hindi
3 would speak Bengali
3 would speak Portuguese
2 would speak Russian
2 would speak Japanese
62 would speak other languages

83 would be able to read and write; 17 would
not
7 would have a college degree
22 would own or share a computer
77 people would have a place to shelter them
from the wind and the rain, but 23 would not

1 would be dying of starvation
15 would be undernourished
21 would be overweight
87 would have access to safe drinking water
13 people would have no clean, safe water to
drink
 The
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Natural Sciences
These are the intellectual and academic
disciplines that are designed to explain and
predict the events in our natural environment.
Explain and Predict Events in Natural
Environment
Examples include biology, geology, chemistry, and
physics.
 The
Social Sciences
 Social sciences attempt to objectively understand
the social world.


Examine Human Relationships
Divided into Specialized Fields Based on Their Subject
Matter
Anthropology
 Studies Culture
 Anthropologists often study tribal societies and their
goal is to understand a people’s culture, which
includes: artifacts, structure, ideas and values, and
forms of communication.
 Economics
 Studies the Production and Distribution of Goods and
Services
 Economists want to know how social goods are being
produced and distributed.

 Political


Science
Studies How People Govern Themselves
Political scientists focus on politics and government.
 Psychology


Studies Processes Within Individuals
Psychologists study the processes that occur within the
individual.
 Sociology
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Similarities to Other Disciplines
Sociology is Still Distinct
Sociology overlaps other disciplines in that they
study culture, fiscal inequality, governments, and
how people adjust to difficulties in their lives.
 Scientists


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

move beyond common sense.
Explain Why Something Happens
Make Generalizations
Look for Patterns
Predict What Will Happen
Move Beyond Common Sense
 Sometimes
sociologists study issues or make claims
through their research that are unpopular.




Nooks and Crannies People Prefer Hidden
People Attempt to Keep Secrets
People Feel Threatened by Information
They peer behind the scenes to get past those sugarcoated images
 Basic

Sociology
Analyzing some aspect of society to only gain
knowledge
 Applied

Using sociology to solve problems
 Public

Sociology
Using the sociological perspective for the benefit of
the public
 Social

Sociology
Reform is Risky
Disrupting the status quo can be challenging
How can Dora the Explorer be an example of
applied sociology? The text explains the reason.
 Clara
Rodriguez is the sociological consultant
for Dora the Explorer. She advises on the
social implications of what the viewers will
see on the program.
 This ranges from advice about Dora as a role
model for girls to what aspects of Latino
culture to present and even to colors, music,
and Spanish phrases.
 How
People Use Symbols in Everyday Life
 Applying Symbolic Interactionism

Changing meaning of symbols affects expectations
The Meaning
 The Meaning
 The Meaning
 The Meaning

of
of
of
of
Marriage
Divorce
Parenthood
Love
George Herbert Mead (1863– 1931)
is one of the founders of symbolic
interactionism, a major
theoretical perspective in
sociology. He taught at the
University of Chicago, where his
lectures were popular. Although he
wrote little, after his death
students compiled his lectures into
an influential book, Mind, Self,
and Society.
 Society
is a Whole Unit Made Up of Interrelated
Parts that Work Together
 Functionalism, Structural Functionalism
 Robert Merton and Functionalism
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Manifest Functions
Latent Functions
Latent Dysfunctions
 Applying
Functional Analysis
Robert K. Merton (1910–2003),
who spent most of his academic
career at Columbia University,
was a major proponent of
functionalism, one of the main
theoretical perspectives in
sociology.
Sociologists who use the functionalist perspective stress how
industrialization and urbanization undermined the traditional
functions of the family. Before industrialization, members of the
family worked together as an economic unit, as in this photo of a
farm family in Minnesota in the 1890s. As production moved away
from the home,
it took with it first the father and, more recently, the mother. One
consequence is a major dysfunction, the weakening of family ties.
 Karl
Marx and Conflict Theory
 Conflict Theory Today
 Feminists and Conflict Theory
 Applying Conflict Theory
 Each
Approach is a Lens
 Functionalists

Macro Level: large-scale patterns of society.
 Symbolic

and Conflict Theorists −
Interactionists −
Micro Level: what people do when they are in one
another’s presence.
 First
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Phase of Sociology
Sociological Research Improves Society
 Second
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Sociological Research Develops Abstract Knowledge
 Third
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Phase of Sociology
Phase of Sociology
Sociologists Find Ways to Apply Their Research Findings
 Broaden
our Horizons
 Consider Global Issues
 Universal Principles
 Sociology
Should be Value-Free
 Sociology Should be Objective
 Research Should Involve Replication
 Goals and Uses of Sociology
 That bias has no place in research is not a matter of
debate