Transcript Essentials of Sociology, 7th Edition

Essentials of
Sociology
9th Edition
Chapter 1: The Sociological
Perspective
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1
The Sociological Perspective
Chapter Overview
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The Sociological
Perspective
The Origins of
Sociology
Sexism in Early
Sociology
Sociology in North
America
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Theoretical
Perspectives in
Sociology
Doing Sociological
Research
Research Methods
Ethics in Sociological
Research
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2
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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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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The Sociological Perspective
The Birth of
Sociology
 Sociology emerged in the middle of the 1800’s
during a period of social upheaval
 The Industrial Revolution challenged traditional
ideas about social life
 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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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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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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Resource, NYould
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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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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
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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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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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
Applying Theories
 Each theoretical perspective looks at statistical data in
a different light, i.e. marriage and divorce rates
Figure 1.5 U.S. Marriage, U.S. Divorce
Source: By the author. Based on Statistical Abstract of the United States 1998:Table 92 and 2009:Tables 77, 123; earlier editions for earlier years.
The broken lines indicate the author’s estimates.
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The Sociological Perspective
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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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22
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
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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)
Advantage: A researcher is able to reach a
large number of people at one time
Disadvantage: Low response rate (phone calls,
mail) and people may not be truthful
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The Sociological Perspective
Participant Observation
 The researcher observes individuals and
they are aware of the researcher’s presence
 Advantage: The researcher is able to gather
useful information
 Disadvantage: The individual may not act
naturally
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The Sociological Perspective
Unobtrusive
Observation
 The researcher observes individuals without the
 knowledge of the researcher’s presence
Advantage: The researcher can observe individuals
acting naturally and true to themselves
Disadvantage: Ethical concerns on the part of the
participants
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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.
Advantage: It can be a valuable way to collect
information in a timely manner
Disadvantage: Some information may be missing or
inaccurate
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29
The Sociological Perspective
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.
Advantage: The independent variable can be isolated as the
cause of change
Disadvantage: It is a controlled laboratory setting and not
a natural setting.
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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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The Sociological Perspective