Transcript PowerPoints

Sociology
Why Study Sociology?
1. Understand – Sociology is the “study of
society” – an organized group of persons
associated together for religious, cultural,
scientific, political, patriotic, or other purposes.
2. Encourage critical thinking – Famous Peter
Berger (Boston University) quote: “It can be
said that the first wisdom of sociology is this –
things are not what they seem”
3. Gain knowledge – by recognizing social
forces, this gives us power over those forces
(get along better in society)
4. Ultimately, make the world a better place?
Origins of Sociology
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Sociology grew as a result of social
upheaval in the early 1800s
Industrial Revolution - Europe changing
from agricultural to factory, rural to
urban
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Cities were depressing, dirty and crowded
places
Work was long hours, low pay, poor
working conditions
The average person was not happy with
society
The Discovery Of Social Facts
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In 1825, the French Ministry of Justice began to
collect criminal justice statistics.
 Soon, they expanded the data collection to
include activities such as suicide, illegitimate
births and military desertion.
 Became known as
moral statistics
due to the moral
implications of the
activities (lack of
loyalty, infidelity,
religious spite,
etc.)
André Michel Guerry
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Became fascinated with all the statistics
and devoted himself to interpreting them.
In 1833, he published the Moral Statistics
of France and launched Sociology.
Guerry’s Research: Stability
and Variation
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Rates were stable from year to year:
– In any French city or department, almost
exactly the same number of people
committed suicide, stole, or gave birth out
of wedlock.
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Rates varied from one place to another:
– The number of suicides varied greatly from
city to city…what causes this???
Why Findings Important?
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If crime and suicide are purely
individualistic (private, personal) then
why the macro-level patterns?
Perhaps factors outside the individual?
Guerry and disciples began to think of
social forces – population density,
economic issues, religious variation,
environment
Auguste
Comte
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About the same time (early to mid 1800s) a
French philosopher argues that scientific
method could be applied to social life
 Goal to uncover “laws” that govern society …
lead to social reform and a better place to live
 Coined the term “sociology” – “study of society”
 Credited with being “founder” of sociology
Durkheim
and Suicide
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In, 1897 Frenchman,
Émile Durkheim,
published Suicide.
Durkheim called himself a sociologist – term
from Comte, method from Guerry
First to think of Theory and Research
Stressed that high suicide rates reflect
weaknesses in the relationships among
members of a society, not in the character or
personality of the individual.
Later would call this social integration
Indicators of Social Integration?
(remember it was the 1800’s)
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Protestants had higher rates of suicide. Why?
(encourages in freedom of thought and
individualism…disappointment if not achieved)
 Males? (greater independence than females)
 Unmarried?
 Some patterns hold
today (for example
more males commit
suicide)
The Sociological Imagination
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C. Wright Mills: Seeing the link between
incidents in the lives of individuals and large
social forces.
Peter Berger: discovering the general in the
specific
Do we have personal freedom when making
choices? Yes, but….
Examples?????
“Choice” limited and structured
The Social Scientific Process:
8 Steps
Wonder. Science always begins with
someone wondering why.
2. Conceptualize. Scientists must be precise
about what it is they are wondering about.
3. Theorize. To explain something, we must
say how and why a set of concepts are
related.
4. Operationalize. Identify indicators of each
concept to make a theory testable.
1.
The Social Scientific Process:
8 Steps
Hypothesize. Formulate predictions about
what will be observed in the connections
among the indicators of the concepts.
6. Observe. Use the appropriate research
design to gather observations.
7. Analyze. Compare what we observe with
what the hypothesis said we would see.
8. Assess. Change theories to fit the evidence.
5.
Example: Will they know we
are Christians by love?
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Wonder, conceptualize, theorize,
operationalize, hypothesize, observe,
analyze, assess
Unit of analysis? Individual or
aggregate?
Micro or macro
Unobtrusive or Obtrusive
Free will…………..Determinism
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Free will = humans act according to the
dictates of their own will
 Determinism = human actions determined by
factors (physical, biological or environment)
outside the individual
 “Soft determinism”
 Rational Choice = human actions free but
predictable
Stark Quote p. 23
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Sociological theories of crime do not assume
that criminals have no choices. Instead, they
concentrate on how different people have a
different basis for making choices and
different alternatives from which to choose
 People make rational choices. This makes
their behavior free and predictable
 Example: sell $20 for 35 cents
 We can predict what they will do without
seeing them as predetermined robots
What do Sociologists study?
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Beliefs
Values
Rules
Religions
Politics
Economics
Roles
Cultures
Patterns in Behavior
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A personal behavior may be a result of a
larger pattern
House break-ins increase in my
neighborhood, I am fighting with my
boyfriend/girlfriend
Fight with your boyfriend or
girlfriend….
Psychologists think….
- one person is to blame
- one or both people are changing
Sociologists think….
- outside influences are contributing
- pressure of dating in high school
Social Facts
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Sociologists use social facts to explain
patterns
Social Fact – any social activity or
situation that can be observed and
measured
Examples: attendance, crime patterns,
religious affiliation, dropout rates,
unemployment, educational level,
scores, divorce stats
Your Turn! (using assigned computer)
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Using 5 different countries outside of
North America, find a pattern significant
to that country
One needs to be a crime pattern
Another must be economic in nature
A third should be an educational pattern
The last two can be any pattern you
choose, for example: marriage rates,
religious patterns, child related, sports
oriented, etc…
What do Sociologists study?
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Beliefs
Values
Rules
Religions
Politics
Economics
Roles
Cultures
What Sociologists Do
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Teach (schools and colleges)
Advise (businesses, govt, consult,
human resource)
Research (surveys, urban planning,
criminology)
Counsel (therapists, program directors,
social services)
Theoretical Perspectives
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There are 3 major Sociological
Perspectives
I will ask you to choose one, based on
your beliefs
The perspectives illustrate ways to view
society
The Functionalist
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Every part of society has a function
If something doesn’t fit in, it will be
eliminated naturally (go out of business
or style, for example)
Dysfunctions disrupt the working
system (like crime)…they must be
contained so that the society can
remain stable
Some dysfunctions are intended, others
are not
The Conflictionist (Conflict)
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Encourage competition and change
Not violent conflict or competition
Peaceful negotiations between groups
Social conflict arises from competition
over limited resources (politics for ex)
Differing points of views are necessary
for society and advancement
The Interactionist
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Studies how individuals respond to one
another
Society is a collection of small
interactions
Observe and record the intentions and
meanings of individual actions
Symbols – shared in daily life in a
society or group. The group
understands the social meanings