Download What Is Sociology?

What Is Sociology?
The systematic study of human society.
◦Systematic
Scientific discipline that focuses attention on
patterns of behavior.
◦Human Society
Group behavior is the primary focus; how
groups influence individuals and vice versa.
◦At the “heart of sociology” is the sociological
perspective, which offers a unique view of
society.
The Sociological Perspective
 1. Seeing
the general in the particular.
◦ Looking for general patterns in the behavior of
particular people.
◦ Society shapes our life experiences, so we can
learn something about society (the general) in
behavior (the particular).
 2. Seeing the strange in the familiar.
◦ Looking for oddities and studying exceptions.
◦ Not taking for granted that which normally is
taken for granted.
The Sociological Perspective
3. Seeing personal choice in social context.
◦ People don’t simply just decide to do things.
◦ Ex: Durkheim’s 1897 Suicide Study
 Men, Protestants, Unmarried, Wealthy 
High Suicide Rates
 Why?
 Explained differences in suicide rates based
on social integration and social ties.
Suicide Rates Across the U.S.
Does this map support of refute Durkheim’s
theory? Why?
The Sociological Imagination
 Similar to the SP.
 Term coined by C. Wright Mills.
 Transforms personal problems into public
issues.
 A critical quality of mind that helps people “to
use information and to develop reason in order
to achieve lucid summations of what is going on
in the world and of what may be happening
within themselves” (Mills).
 The understanding that social outcomes are
shaped by social context, social actors, and
social actions.
Sociological Theory
Sociological Theory
 Theory - a statement of how and why facts are related
 Sociological theory explains social behavior in the real
world
 Theories are tested by gathering evidence.
 2 Fundamental Questions in Theory Building:
◦ What issues should we study?
◦ How should we connect the facts?
Sociological Theory
 Sociologists look to one or more theoretical
approaches to formulate theory.
◦ Theoretical Approach (or Paradigm) - a
set of fundamental assumptions that guides
thinking
◦ 3 Major Sociological Paradigms
 Structural-Functional
 Social-Conflict
 Symbolic-Interaction
Sociology, Eleventh Edition
Structural –Functional Paradigm
 S-F Approach – a framework for building theory that
sees society as a complex system whose parts work
together to promote solidarity and stability
 Points to social structure, any relatively stable
pattern of social behavior
 Shape our lives!
 Examples: Families, the Workplace, Education
Structural Functionalism
 Looks for each SS’s social functions, the
consequences of a social pattern for the
operation of society as a whole
 All social patterns function to tie people
together and to keep society going in its
present form
 Macro-Level Orientation – a broad focus on
social structures that shape society a whole
Sociology, Eleventh Edition
Who’s Who in S-F?
 Auguste Comte
◦ Pointed out the need to keep society unified when traditions were
breaking down rapidly.
 Emile Durkheim
◦ Helped establish sociology as a university discipline.
 Herbert Spencer
◦ Compared society to the human body (the organic approach).
 Talcott Parsons
◦ Sought to identify tasks that every society must perform.
 Robert K. Merton
◦ Pointed out that social structures all have many functions, some more
obvious than others.
◦ Distinguished between:
◦ Manifest & Latent Functions
◦ Dysfunctions (-)
Merton on Functions
 Manifest Functions – the recognized and intended
consequences of any social pattern
 Latent Functions – the unrecognized and unintended
consequences of any social pattern
 Example: Higher Education
 Manifest Functions?
 Provide information and skills people need to hold
jobs.
 Latent Functions?
 Marriage Brokering
 Limiting Unemployment
Merton on Functions
 But not all the effects of social structure are
good…
 Social Dysfunction – any social pattern that
may disrupt the operation of society
 Examples?
 Increasing Income Inequality
Sociology, Eleventh Edition
Social-Conflict Paradigm
 Social-Conflict Approach – a framework for building
theory that sees society as an arena of inequality that
generates conflict and change
 Highlights how factors such as class, race, ethnicity,
gender, and age are linked to inequality in terms of
money, power, education, and social prestige
 Rejects the S-F idea that social structure promotes the
operation of society as a whole, focusing instead on
how any social pattern benefits some people while
hurting others
Social-Conflict Paradigm
 S-C theorists look at ongoing conflict between
dominant and disadvantaged categories of people.
 People on top try to protect their privileges while the
disadvantaged try to gain more for themselves.
 Example: Higher Education
 Schooling reproduces class inequality from one
generation to the next by “tracking” students into
either college prep or vocational courses.
 Many sociologists use S-C analysis to help reduce
inequality.
 Macro-Level Orientation
 Who’s Who?: Karl Marx - Emphasized the importance
of social class in inequality and social conflict.
The Gender-Conflict Approach
 Gender-Conflict Approach – a point of view that
focuses on inequality and conflict between women
and men
 Closely linked to feminism, support for social equality
for women and men.
 Importance lies in making us aware of how society
places men in positions of power over women.
 Examples:
 Home  Men = Head of Household
 Workplace  Men = More Income & Powerful
Positions
 Mass Media  Women = Sexualized
The Race-Conflict Approach
 Race-Conflict Approach – a point of view that focuses on
inequality and conflict between people of different racial
and ethnic categories
 Importance lies in making us aware of how society places
select groups in positions of power over minorities.
Symbolic-Interaction Paradigm
 Symbolic-Interaction Approach – a framework for building
theory that sees society as the product of the everyday
interactions of individuals
 Micro-Level Orientation – a close-up focus on social
interaction in specific situations
Symbolic Interaction
 Sees society as nothing more than the reality that
people construct for themselves as they interact
with one another.
 We live in a word of symbols and we attach
meaning to virtually all of these.
 Example: Words, Wink, Flag
 Therefore we create reality as we define our
surroundings, decide what we think of others,
and shape our own identities.
Sociology, Eleventh Edition
Who’s Who in S-I?
 Max Weber (Doesn’t really fit in any one paradigm.)
◦ Taught us to understand a setting from the actor’s point of
view
 George Herbert Mead
◦ Examined how personalities develop from social
experience.
 Erving Goffman
◦ Creator of dramaturgical analysis, which describes how we
resemble actors on a stage as we play out our various
roles.
Critical Evaluation
 Structural-Functional
◦ Too broad.
◦ Ignores inequalities of social class, race & gender.
◦ Focuses on stability at the expense of conflict.
 Social-Conflict
◦ Too broad.
◦ Ignores how shared values and mutual interdependence unify
society.
◦ Pursues political goals.
 Symbolic-Interaction
◦ Ignores larger social structures.
◦ Ignores the effects of culture.
◦ Ignores factors such as class, gender & race
False Division
• This is a false division.
• The fullest understanding of our social
world comes from using all the paradigms.
• Sociologists rarely identify with just one
paradigm.
• May change from project-to-project.
• May change over the course of their career.
• May combine multiple paradigms.
Applying the Paradigms: Sports
• Functions of Sports
• S-F approach looks at the ways in which sports help
society operate.
• What are the functions of sports?
• Manifest – providing recreation, a means of
getting in physical shape, harmless way to let off
steam
• Latent – building social relationships, creating
jobs, encouraging competition and the pursuit of
success (both American ideals)
• Dysfunctional – recruiting to college based on
athletic ability instead of academic prowess
Applying the Paradigms: Sports
 Sports and Conflict
◦ S-C analysis of sports points out that the
games people play reflect their social standing.
 Income, Gender, Race
◦ Also points out that sports are a big business
that provides big profits for a small number of
people.
Sports as Interaction
◦ Sports as Interaction
◦ Views sporting events as complex, face-to-face
interactions.
 Guided by Rules
 But people are still spontaneous and
unpredictable.
◦ Sports are seen as an ongoing process rather
than a system.
◦ Each player understands and interprets the
game a little differently.
◦ The behavior of any single player may change
overtime.
Sociology, Eleventh Edition
Race and Sport: “Stacking”
in Professional Football
Does race play a part in
professional sports? Looking at
the various positions in
professional football, we see
that white players are more
likely to play the central and
offensive positions. What do
you make of this pattern?
Source: Lapnick (2007)
Society: The Basics, 10th Edition by John
Macionis
Copyright  2009 by Pearson Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights
reserved.
Research Methods
How Do We Know?
• Belief or Faith
• Expert Testimony
• Simple Agreement
• Science - a logical system that bases
knowledge on direct systematic observation
• Relies on evidence.
• Most widely accepted way of knowing.
• This is where sociology falls.
Common Sense vs.
Scientific Evidence
• “Poor people are far more likely than rich people
to break the law.”
• “The United States is a middle-class society in
which most people are more or less equal.”
• “Most poor people don’t want to work.”
• “Differences in the behavior of females and males
are just ‘human nature.’ ”
• All of these are disputed by sociological
evidence!
Rich people more likely to cheat than poor
people; Wealthy more apt to lie, dodge
traffic laws
• The seven-part study by psychologists at the University of
California Berkeley and the University of Toronto analyzed
people's behavior through a series of experiments.
• For instance, drivers of expensive vehicles such as Mercedes,
BMW and Toyota's Prius hybrid were seen breaking the rules
more often at four-way intersections than people who drove a
Camry or Corolla.
• In another test using a game of dice, given the opportunity to
win a $50 prize, people who self-reported high socio-economic
status were more likely to lie and say that they had rolled higher
numbers than they actually had.
Sociology, Eleventh Edition
Possible explanations
• The exercise showed that people could be trained to think more highly
of themselves, and that they would in turn act with more greed and
less ethicality, demonstrating that status drives greed.
• The study, which appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy
of Sciences, theorizes that a series of factors "may give rise to a set of
culturally shared norms among upper class individuals.
• Previous research linking poverty and violent crime also disproves the
notion that all poor people are more ethical than the rich, it added.
• However, self-interest is "a more fundamental motive among society's
elite, and the increased want associated with greater wealth and
status can promote wrongdoing," it said.
Sociology, Eleventh Edition
Applied and Clinical Sociology
• Social Policy
• Example – Northeast Florida Center for
Community Initiatives
• Homeless Census and surveys
• Magnolia project in Underprivileged areas of
Jacksonville Florida
• Medical Sociology – How healthcare
professional deal with disease
Sociology, Eleventh Edition
Palliative and Supportive Care, Volume 14, Issue 4 August 2016, pp.
330-340
Use of a values inventory as a discussion aid about end-of-life
care: A pilot randomized controlled trial
Shailaja Menon (a1) (a2), Laurence B. McCullough (a3), Rebecca J.
Beyth (a4), Marvella E. Ford (a5), Donna Espadas (a1) (a2) and
Ursula K. Braun (a1) (a6)
Abstract:
We examined the utility of a brief values inventory as a discussion aid
to elicit patients' values and goals for end-of-life (EoL) care during
audiotaped outpatient physician–patient encounters.
Sociology, Eleventh Edition
3 Frameworks for Investigation
• Scientific/Positivist Sociology: the study of society
based on scientific observation of social behavior
• Relies on empirical evidence, which is information
we can verify with our senses.
• Interpretive Sociology: the study of society that focuses
on the meanings people attach to their social world
Positivist Sociology
• Positivist Sociology - the study of society based on
scientific observation of social behavior
• Main Question: How does society work?
• Concepts, Variables, and Measurement
• Concept – a mental construct that represents some
aspect of the world in a simplified form
• Examples: Family, Economy, Social Class, Gender
• Variable – a concept whose values change from
case to case
• Examples: Height, Social Class
Positivist Sociology
• Measurement - a procedure for determining
the value of a variable in a specific case
• Some variables are really easy to
measure.
• Ex: Blood Pressure
• Others, particularly sociological variables,
are more difficult.
• Ex: Social Class
• Researchers have to make decisions about
how to operationalize a variable, stating
exactly what they are measuring.
Sociology, Eleventh Edition
Positivist Sociology
• Statistics
• Sociologists often deal with and study large numbers of
people.
• How can we easily report income for thousands or even
millions of people?
• List of Everyone
• Statistics
• Descriptive Statistics – state what is “average” for a large
population - Most Common?
• Mean – the arithmetic average of all measures
• Median – the score at the halfway point in an
ascending series of numbers
• Mode – the score that occurs most often
Positivist Sociology
• Reliability & Validity
• Measurements must be both reliable and valid.
• Reliability – consistency in measurement
• Do repeated measurements give the same result
each time?
• Validity – actually measuring what you intend to
measure
• Is your measure actually gathering data on what
you are interested in?
• Objectivity
• PS calls for researchers to be neutral, objective and
value-free.
Positivist Sociology
• Correlation & Cause
• Correlation – a relationship in which two or more
variables change together
• Cause & Effect – a relationship in which change in one
variable causes change in another
• Ex: ↓ Social Integration  ↑ Suicide Rates (Durkheim
1897)
• Correlation ≠ Causation
• Just because two variables change together does NOT
mean that they have a cause and effect relationship.
• When two variables change together, but neither one
causes the other, sociologists describe the relationship
as spurious.
• It is usually the result of some third factor.
• Ex: ↑ Ice Cream Sales  Assaults
• Spurious Variable? Summer
Limitations of Scientific Sociology
• Human behavior is too complex to predict precisely any
individual’s actions.
• Findings represent how categories of people typically act
• The mere presence of the researcher may affect the
behavior being studied
• Hawthorne Effect
• Social patterns change across time & place
•
• Sociologists are part of the world they study, making
value-free research difficult.
Interpretive Sociology
• Interpretive Sociology - the study of society that focuses on the
meanings people attach to their social world
• Major Q: How do people attach meaning to their actions?
• PS holds close to science and is well-suited for lab research whereas IS
does not hold as close to science and is better suited for fieldwork.
Positivist Sociology
Interpretive Sociology
Focus: Observable Action
Focus: Meaning of Action
Reality: Exists “Out There”
Reality: Socially Constructed
Data: Quantitative
Data: Qualitative
• Quantitative Data – numerical measurements of outward behavior
• Qualitative Data – researchers’ perceptions of how people understand
their world
Ethical Guidelines for Research
• Sociologists Should…
• Strive to be technically competent & fair-minded.
• Disclose findings in full without omitting significant data & be willing
to share their data.
• Protect the safety, rights and privacy of subjects.
• Obtain informed consent (IC).
• IC – subjects are aware of the risks and responsibilities and agree
to participate
• Disclose all sources of funding and avoid conflicts of interest.
• Demonstrate cultural sensitivity.
• Submit to IRB review.
• Examples of Violations:
• Zimbardo’s Prison Experiment
• Tuskegee Syphilis Studies
Research Methods
2016 Presidential debate
• Who has the better temperament?
• Issue of validity
• Max Weber’s ideal type
Temperament - the combination of mental, physical,
and emotional traits of a person; natural
predisposition.
• Four temperaments is a proto-psychological theory
that suggests that there are four fundamental
personality types:
• sanguine (optimistic and social)
• choleric (short-tempered or irritable)
• melancholic (analytical and quiet)
• phlegmatic (relaxed and peaceful)
Most formulations include the possibility of mixtures of
the types.
Choleric (short-tempered or
irritable)
• The choleric temperament is traditionally associated with fire.
People with this temperament tend to be egocentric and
extroverted. They may be excitable, impulsive, and restless,
with reserves of aggression, energy, and/or passion, and try to
instill that in others.
• They tend to be task-oriented people and are focused on
getting a job done efficiently; their motto is usually "do it now."
They can be ambitious, strong-willed and like to be in charge.
They can show leadership, are good at planning, and are often
practical and solution-oriented. They appreciate receiving
respect and esteem for their work.
Melancholic (analytical and quiet)
• The melancholic temperament is traditionally associated
with the element of earth. People with this temperament
may appear serious, introverted, cautious or even
suspicious. They may be focused and conscientious. They
often prefer to do things themselves, both to meet their
own standards and because they are not inherently sociable.
Phlegmatic temperament
• The phlegmatic temperament is traditionally associated with
water. People with this temperament may be inward and
private, thoughtful, reasonable, calm, patient, caring, and
tolerant. They tend to have a rich inner life, seek a quiet,
peaceful atmosphere, and be content with themselves. They
tend to be steadfast, consistent in their habits, and thus
steady and faithful friends.
sanguine (optimistic and social)
The sanguine temperament is traditionally
associated with air. People with this temperament
tend to be lively, sociable, carefree, talkative, and
pleasure-seeking. They may be warm-hearted
and optimistic. They can make new friends
easily, be imaginative and artistic, and often have
many ideas. They can be flighty and changeable;
thus sanguine personalities may struggle with
following tasks all the way through and be
chronically late or forgetful
Methods of Research
• Research Method – a systematic plan for doing
research
• 4 Common Methods:
• Experiments
• Surveys
• Participant Observation
• Secondary Data
How does Texas compare? It's not good.
Texas has either the second or third highest rate of food insecurity in the
country at 18.5%. Arkansas and Mississippi are tied for first place with
19.2%. That's the latest data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
On a typical day in the 18 southeast Texas counties served by the
Houston Food Bank, 66,200 people are hungry and can't afford to buy
food. Of that number, 5,000 are children.
One in five households in the same area faces food insecurity. They live
with the threat of being hungry, or having inconsistent access to enough
nutritious food.
It's even worse for kids: one in four children is food insecure in southeast
Texas.
In Texas, 6.5% of households experience hunger, or "very low food
security."
.
Map the meal gap 2015
In the last year, the number of children who are at-risk of
hunger1-in-4-kids-01.png increased by 18,630 in
southeast Texas. While the overall food insecurity rate
dropped very slightly in the 18 counties served by the
Houston Food Bank, it got worse for kids. The
percentage of food insecure children grew from last
year’s 24.7% to 26%. That’s one in four southeast Texas
children, a total of 448,490 kids who live in homes that
While the overall food insecurity rate dropped very slightly in the 18 counties served by the Houston Food Bank, it got worse for kids.
don’t have consistent access to enough nutritious food.
Overall in southeast Texas, the food insecurity rate
continues to hover around 18% when adults are factored
in, down from 19% last year.
d insecurity rates on a county-by-county basis across America.
The percentage of food insecure
Experiments
 Experiments – a research method for investigating cause and
effect under highly controlled conditions
 Explanatory (asks why)
 Tests Hypotheses
 Hypothesis - a statement of possible relationship between
2 or more variables; if-then statements
 Ideal Experiment has 4 Steps:
 Specify the IV and DV. (Conceptualization &
Operationalization)
 Measure the initial value of the DV. (Pre-Test)
 Expose the DV to the IV. (Stimulus)
 Measure the DV again. (Post-Test)
 Sometimes use Experimental and Control Groups
 Experimental: Receives IV
 Control: Receives Nothing or Placebo
Survey Research
 Survey – a research method in which subjects
respond to a series of statements or questions in a
questionnaire or an interview
 Descriptive; good for studying attitudes.
 Population vs. Sample
 Population - the people who are the focus of the
research
 Sample - the part of the population that represents
the whole
 Random vs. Non-Random
 Random  All Subjects Have Equal Chance of
Selection
Survey Research
 Two Types of Surveys:
 Questionnaire – a series of written questions a
researcher presents to subjects
 Open-Ended vs. Close-Ended – Examples?
 Administration – Self vs. Interviewer; Phone vs.
Mail
 Interviews - a series of questions a researcher
administers in person to respondents
 Rapport, Probing, Influence
 Piloting – testing the survey on a small group before
launching it fully; ensures that a survey is
understandable
Examples of surveys
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being
National Survey on Drug Use and Health
National Survey Residential Care Facilites (NSRCF)
NC Governors Seat Belt Survey
Platforms for Integrating Longitudinal Exposure Surveys
PRAMS Field Test
Recovery Management Checkups for Women Offenders
Screening, Brief Intervention, Referral and Treatment
Sexually Active Men's Study
Other Research Methods
 Participant Observation - a research method in
which investigators systematically observe people
while joining in their routine activities
 AKA fieldwork, ethnography, case study
 Exploratory & Descriptive
 Entrée, Key Informant
 Secondary Analysis - a research method in which a
researcher uses data collected by others
 Examples?
 Census & GSS
 Houston Area Survey
Street Corner Society
Participant observer research
• In the late 1930s, on a fellowship from Harvard
University,Whyte lived in the North End of Boston,
which was mostly inhabited by first- and secondgeneration immigrants from Italy. Whyte, who came
from a well-to-do family, considered the neighborhood a
slum, and wanted to learn more about its "lower class"
society.[2] Whyte lived in that district for three and a
half years, including 18 months he spent with an Italian
family. Through this work, Whyte became a pioneer in
participant observation.
10 Steps In Sociological Investigation
1. Select and define a topic.
•
What is your topic?
2. Review the literature.
•
What have others already learned?
3. Develop key questions to ask.
•
What, exactly, are your questions?
4. Assess requirements for study.
•
What will you need to carry out research?
5. Consider ethical issues.
•
Are there ethical concerns?
10 Steps In Sociological Investigation
6. Select a research methodology.
•
What method will you use?
7. Collect the data.
•
How will you record the data?
8. Interpret the findings.
•
What do the data tell you?
9. State conclusions.
•
What are your conclusions?
10. Publish the findings.
•
How can you share what you have learned?
Conclusion
• Sociology is simply a new way of knowing that can
benefit you in many ways.
• Studying sociology requires:
• The Sociological Perspective
• The Sociological Imagination
• Sociologists build theory and gather evidence because
sociology is a science.
• There are three major theoretical paradigms in
sociology:
• Structural-Functional
• Symbolic-Interaction
• Social-Conflict
Conclusion
 “Common sense” about the social world is often inaccurate.
 There are three major methods of sociological inquiry:
 Scientific Sociology
 Interpretive Sociology
 Critical Sociology
 There are four major methods of sociological investigation:
 Experiments
 Surveys
 Participant Observation
 Secondary Analysis
 There are two ways to build theory: inductive & deductive.
 However, sociology – like all sciences – involves several steps
including interpretation and presentation which can “spin” reality.