Transcript Sociology
Chapters 1 and 2 Sociology Sociology is the study of social structure Perspective is a particular point of view. Ex: Babies look cuter to their parents Sociological perspective Sociologists study the group or society as a whole Psychologists study from the individual perspective EX: Why crime is committed Group perspective Sociologists realize that we behave differently in social settings. Our behavior is shaped by the groups we are in Ex: Family, teams, co-workers, or friends The questions is: How much are our opinions shaped by the group? Founders of Sociology Sociology pioneers August Comte Father of Sociology Coined the term sociology Must study society scientifically to make it stronger Developed the difference between social statics (the study of social stability and order) and social dynamics (the study of social change) More pioneers Harriet Martineau • Believed that the lack of economic power kept women dependent and inferior to men Herbert Spencer • Introduced Social Darwinism • Survival of the fittest • Poor and rich deserve their status • Interference through welfare or taxes is bad Karl Marx • Capitalism will lead to rebellion and produce a classless, communist society Emile Durkheim • Believed that society must have mechanical solidarity in order to survive • Mechanical solidarity is an agreement on values, beliefs, strong pressure to conform, and dependence on family and tradition • Organic solidarity is the idea that we are dependent on each other for goods and services. Max Weber Suffered a mental breakdown • Single most important influence on sociology Came up with Verstehen • Understand social behavior by putting yourself in their shoes Surveys Surveys Survey Most widely used research method for sociologists Population Everyone with the characteristics a researcher wants to study Ex: high school seniors, single mothers, etc. Sample Limited number of cases drawn from a larger population Must be representative Collecting data Secondary analysis Use data that is already collected Ex: prison records, census records Participant Observation Researchers involve themselves in a group they are studying with or without the group’s knowledge Ex: Black like Me Causation Causation Events occur in predictable, nonrandom ways Ex: What goes up must come down Multiple Causation Events occur for many different reasons Ex: Crime is caused by drugs, poor parenting, peer pressure, etc. These are called variables Variables Variables Characteristics that are subject to change Ex: age, education, occupation Quantitative variables Variables that can be measured and given a numerical value Ex: literacy rate, income average, years of schooling Qualitative variables Identified by membership in a group or category Ex: Gender, marital status Correlation Correlation Looks at how things are related to one another Positive correlation Both variables move in the same direction As study time increases, test scores increase Negative correlation Variables move in opposite directions Grades decrease as television viewing increases Positive and Negative Correlations