Transcript SOCIOLOGY AND PSYCHOLOGY

SOCIOLOGY
Chapter 1, section 1
THE STUDY OF OUR SOCIETY
AND
ITS INHABITANTS
SOCIOLOGY DEFINED
• Sociology – the scientific study of social
structure.
• individuals, groups, and institutions that up
human society
SOCIOLOGY…
Sociologists study a “group” rather than an
individual perspective. Sociology involves:
• Predominant (major) behaviors
• Attitudes
• Types of relationships within society
PERSPECTIVE
• Perspective is a particular point of view.
• Sociologists study patterns of behavior and perspectives
shared by various groups in society.
• EXERCISE: Construct a map showing how you would get to
Charlotte High School (from where you are sitting)
• Why did you choose that route? Defend your route as
being “the best” or “the easiest” or “the quickest.”
• As social beings, our perspectives or social maps are not
always the same
• Thus, our reality is not the same, either
SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
• Sociological Perspective allows you to look at the behavior of
groups – not individual or personal
• Sociologists attempt to explain these actions without relying
on personal factors.
• For example: young men join gangs because SOCIETY has
taught them to be “masculine” - to be “tough.”
SOCIAL STRUCTURE
• Social Structure is the patterned interaction
of people in social relationships.
• Sociologists are interested in a groups
“patterned” interaction.
• What are some patterns you can identify in a
classroom or cafeteria?
GROUP VS. INDIVIDUAL
BEHAVIOR
• All groups encourage conformity ((behavior that
matches a group’s expectations)
• The group is more than the sum of its parts
(individuals)
• Conformity occurs in a group because members have
been taught to value the group’s ways (perspective).
• Question: Do you conform to groups even when your
personal preferences are not the same as the
group’s? Can you give an example?
SOCIOLOGICAL
IMAGINATION
• A Sociological Perspective allows us to develop
a Sociological Imagination
• S.I. - the ability to see the link between society
and yourself.
• A developed S.I. helps us:
– make our own decisions (not conform)
– Challenge and question “conventional wisdom”
(ideals people assume are true)
SOCIOLOGY
Chapter 1, section 2
THE ORIGINS
OF
SOCIOLOGY
CONTRIBUTORS TO SOCIOLOGY
• Auguste Comte – French
philosopher, considered the father
of Sociology
• Developed theory called
“Positivism.”
• Positivism states that social
behavior and events can be
measured scientifically.
• Distinguished Social Statics from
Social Dynamics
• Social Statics: The study of social
stability and order.
• Social Dynamics: The study of
social change.
Harriet Martineau
• Popular English writer
• Established the idea of
“feminism”
– Linked slavery and the
oppression of women
– Supporter of the
emancipation of women
and slaves
– Women’s lack of
economic power =
dependence on men
HERBERT SPENCER’S AND SOCIAL DARWANISM
• Compared society to the human body and believed
society had structure.
– Like the body, society is composed of parts
(structure) that work together for survival of the
whole.
– The eyes and heart are essential to the function of the
body
– Religious and educational institutions are essential
for society’s function.
• Introduced “Social Darwinism” (based on Charles
Darwin’s theory of “natural selection” – a survival of
the fittest concept)
– S.D. - individuals or groups achieve advantage over
others as the result of genetic or biological
superiority.
• Believed people “evolve” into the different classes that
makeup society.
• Society should not interfere and try to make poor people
rich. This is done “naturally.”
– Harm is done if society interferes with the “natural”
social selection
Karl Marx
 Karl Marx supported the theory of “economic determinism” and
despised Capitalism.
 Economic Determinism states that all social patterns and institutions
were controlled by economic factors.
 Argued that economics is the driving force behind history.
 Ec. Det. formed the basis for Socialism.
 Marx believed that CLASS STRUGGLE/CONFLICT is at the core
of society.
 Society is made up of a struggle between the “haves” of society and
the “have-nots”
 Promoted a classless society.
 “Haves” or owners of society = “Bourgeoisie”
 “Have-nots” or workers of society = “Proletariat”
 Believed workers would overtake owners (capitalists) and create a
classless (communist) society
EMILE DURKHEIM
• Preindustrial times society based
on “Mechanical Solidarity”
– Society existed because of a
conformity among members of
society
– Dependence on family and tradition
• Industrial societies based on
“Organic Solidarity” – social
interdependency
• Organic Solidarity suggests that
members of society play
specialized roles.
– Each are dependent on one another
for goods and services. No one is
self-sufficient
– People “need” stores and store
owners “need” consumers
Max Weber
• “Walk in my shoes!”
• To understand group behavior, one must use
the method Verstehen.
– Put yourself mentally in someone else’s
place
– Allows you to shed your values and see
things from a different perspective
• Identified rationalization as a key influence in
the change of preindustrial to an industrial
society
– Rationalization emphasizes knowledge,
reason, and planning
• Pioneered research techniques that helped
prevent personal bias from affecting results
W.E.B. DUBOIS
AND
JANE ADDAMS
• Dubois
– African-American educator and social activist
– Concentrated on racial discrimination within
America’s society and the assumption that blacks
were inferior to whites
• Addams
– Worked for social reform
– She saw many examples of government and
businesses exploiting workers
– Focused on the social problems created by the
imbalance of power among the social classes.
SOCIOLOGY
Chapter 1, section 3
THEORETICAL
PERSPECTIVES
THEORETICAL
PERSPECTIVES
• Theoretical Perspective is a set of
assumptions accepted as true
• Sociology includes 3 major Theoretical
Perspectives:
1) Functionalism
2) Conflict Theory
3) Symbolic Interactionism
FUNCTIONALISM
• Functionalism emphasizes the
contributions or functions of each part
of society.
– Stresses the ways in which groups
work together to create a stable
society.
– Society is an integrated whole
– Change in one part creates change
in others
• How does Functionalism explain social
change?
– Changes in the economy may
change the family (Industrial
Revolution and farming – family
size)
– Other examples?
CONFLICT PERSPECTIVE
• Conflict Perspective emphasizes
the role of conflict, competition,
and constraint.
– Focuses on the disagreements
among groups or between societies
– Examples?
• How does Conflict perspective
explain social change?
– As the balance of power among
groups shift, change occurs.
– Examples?
SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM
• Symbolic Interactionism
focuses on the interaction
among people and on
mutually shared symbols.
– A symbol is something chosen
to represent something else
– Object, word, gesture
• We learn the meaning of a
symbol from the way we see
others reacting to it
– Whistling in America means
something different then in
Latin America.
– Disaproval