Transcript Essentials of Sociology, 7th Edition

Essentials of
Sociology
9th Edition
Chapter 1: The Sociological
Perspective
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1
The Sociological Perspective
The Sociological
Perspective
 Stresses the social contexts in which people live
 Looks at how people are influenced by their society
and how social forces affect human behavior
 “The Sociological Imagination” a term coined by
C. Wright Mills refers to being able to look beyond
common sense for explanations of why people act the
way they do
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2
The Sociological Perspective
Social Location
 Sociologists study ones social location to understand
human behavior
 Social Location refers to the corners in life that people
occupy
 Social Location includes:
 Jobs, Social Class, Race, Occupation, Sex, Religion
and other demographics
 Social Location can shape our ideas of who we are and
what we should attain in life
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3
The Sociological Perspective

Our own social locations help inform our
sociological perspective
 How does your sex influence the way you relate to others in
casual conversation?
 How does your social class help shape your goals in education?
 How does your race impact the way you view social interactions
at department stores?
The Sociological Perspective
The Birth of
Sociology
 Sociology emerged in the middle of the 1800’s
during a period of social upheaval
 The scientific method, which was used in the
physical sciences, led to the birth of Sociology
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5
The Sociological Perspective
Auguste Comte:
Founder of Sociology
 Lived in France
 Comte was the 1st Sociologist to
advocate using positivism to studying
social life
 Coined the term “Sociology” (the
study of society)
 Advocate of social reform
 Practiced “Armchair Philosophy”
1798-1857
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6
The Sociological Perspective
Herbert Spencer:
Social Darwinism
 Lived in England
 Disagreed with Comte that
Sociology should guide reform
 Societies evolve from lower to
higher forms
 Coined the term “Survival of the
Fittest”
 Did not conduct scientific studies
1820-1903
©Huton-Deutsch Collection/Corbis
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7
The Sociological Perspective
Karl Marx:
Class Conflict
 Class conflict is the engine of
human history
 Proletariat vs. the Bourgeoisie
 Marxism is not the same as
Communism
 “I am not a Communist”
1818-1883
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8
The Sociological Perspective
Emile Durkheim:
Social Integration
 1st Professor of Sociology
 Studied suicide rates in several
European countries in which he
concluded social forces underlie
suicidal behavior
 We must examine how social
forces, such as social integration,
affect human behavior
1858-1917
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9
The Sociological Perspective
Max Weber:
Religion
 Lived in Germany
 Disagreed with Marx
 Religion is the central force in
social change
 The Protestant Ethic is tied to
the rise of capitalism
1864-1920
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10
The Sociological Perspective
Sexism in
Early Sociology
 Attitudes of the Time
• 1800s Sex Roles Rigidly Defined
• Higher education reserved for
men and the wealthy
 Harriet Martineau
• Published Society in America
Before Durkheim and Weber
Were Born
• Known for translating Comte’s
works from French to English
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1802-1876
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The Sociological Perspective
Jane Addams and
Social Reform
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Came from a background of privilege
She worked tirelessly for social justice
Co-founded the Hull House in 1889
Campaigned for laws against child labor
Co-winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931
1860-1935
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12
The Sociological Perspective
W.E.B. Du Bois and
Race Relations
 1st African American to earn a doctorate at
Harvard
 Every year between 1896 and 1914 he
published a book on race relations between
African Americans and White
 He became active in social reform after
years of collecting and interpreting data
 Founded the N.A.A.C.P.
1868-1963
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13
The Sociological Perspective
Talcott Parson and C. Wright Mills:
Theory vs. Reform
 Talcott Parsons developed abstract models of society
that influenced a generation of sociologists.
 C. Wright Mills urged Sociologists to get back to
social reform. He believed that our freedom was being
threatened by the power elite—the top leaders of
business, politics, and the military.
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14
The Sociological Perspective
Basic and Applied Sociology
 Some sociologists see their role as basic sociology:
analyzing some aspect of society, with no goal other
than gaining knowledge.
 One attempt to go beyond basic sociology is applied
sociology, using sociology to solve problems.
Figure 1.3 Comparing Basic and Applied Sociology.
Source: By the author. Based on DeMartini 1982, plus events since then.
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15
The Sociological Perspective
.
Basic, Applied, and Public
-
What type of sociology best
describes the type of research
seen on the left?
-
How might the researcher’s
findings be different if women
were included in her study?
-
Figure 1.4 Call-Back Rates by Race–Ethnicity and Criminal Record
Source: Courtesy of Devah Pager
The Sociological Perspective
Three Theoretical
Perspectives
 Theory-a general statement about how some parts of
the world fit together and how they work
 Sociologists use theories to conduct sociological
research
 Allows Sociologists to view a social problem from
many different perspectives
 Symbolic Interactionist
 Functional Analysis
 Conflict Theory
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17
The Sociological Perspective
Symbolic
Interactionism
 Symbolic Interactionists believe that
individuals evaluate their own conduct by
comparing themselves with others
 Symbolic Interactionists study:
 How people interpret symbols
 How people interact one on one
 How people behave according to how they
define themselves and others
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18
The Sociological Perspective
Functional Analysis
 The Functional Analysis perspective views
society as a whole unit, made up of interrelated
parts that work together.
 Functional Analysists study:
 The structure of society
 How each part of society has certain functions
that must be fulfilled
 What happens to society when dysfunctions
occur
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The Sociological Perspective
Conflict Theory
 Founded by Karl Marx
 Groups competing for scarce resources
 Groups competing for power and authority
 Conflict can be positive as it can bring about
positive change
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The Sociological Perspective
Two Levels of
Sociological Analysis
 Macro Level - Large Scale Patterns in
Society
 Functional Analysis and Conflict Theory
are components of Macroanalysis
 Micro Level- Social interactions on a
small scale
 Symbolic Interactionism is a component of
Microanalysis
Which level of analysis is best?
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The Sociological Perspective
Doing Sociological
Research
 The Scientific Research Model Follows Eight Basic
Steps:
(1) Selecting a topic
(5) Choosing a research method
(2) Defining the problem
(6) Collecting the data
(3) Reviewing the literature
(7) Analyzing the results
(4) Formulating a hypothesis (8) Sharing the results
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The Sociological Perspective
The Sociological Perspective

Imagine that you (or your research team) wanted to
conduct steps one through eight to study religious diversity
in the United States.
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What will your topic be?
What will you define as the problem?
Where will you locate background literature?
What will be your working hypothesis?
Which research method will you choose?
How will you collect the data?
How might you analyze and share the results?
The Sociological Perspective
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The Sociological Perspective
Surveys
 One of the most commonly used methods of
sociological research are surveys
 The researcher:
 Must make sure that the sample is random and representative
of the population
 Must make sure that the questions (open ended or closed
ended) are neutral
 Must establish rapport with the interviewees (face to face)
Participant Observation
The researcher observes individuals and they
are aware of the researcher’s presence
Unobtrusive Observation
 The researcher observes individuals without the
 knowledge of the researcher’s presence
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The Sociological Perspective
Secondary Analysis
When the researcher gathers information from secondary sources it is referred
to as secondary analysis.
Secondary sources include: newspapers, historical documents, police reports,
and other data collected by various societal agencies.
Experiments
 Experiments are not commonly used in Sociological research, but they can
be a valuable source of information.
 The basic experiment involves:
 The experimental group—those exposed to the independent variable
(something that causes a change)
 The control group—those not exposed to the independent variable.
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27
The Sociological Perspective
Ethics in Sociological Research
 The researcher :
 Must be open and honest with research subjects
 Must remain free of personal biases
 Protecting Subjects - Brajuha Research
 Misleading Subjects - Humphreys Research
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28
The Sociological Perspective

How might your own values and social location
impact the way you view the world?
 For example, do you think
this photo from Holy Week
in Spain would be interpreted
differently by Spaniards
than by Americans?
James M. Henslin
The Sociological Perspective