Download Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach, 7/e

Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective
Sociology: A Down-to-Earth
Approach 7/e
James M. Henslin
Chapter One: The Sociological Perspective
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2005
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Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective
Sociology

Is the science that
studies human society
and social behavior.
Sociologists are
mainly interested in
Social Interaction.
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Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective
Sociological Perspective




Sociology teaches us to look at
social life in a scientific/ systematic
way.
By adopting the sociological
Perspective, we can look beyond
commonly held beliefs to the
hidden meanings behind human
actions.
The sociological perspective tells
us that we are human beings and
that we have learned our behavior
from others.
The sociological Perspective can
help us broaden our view of the
social world. To view things
objectively.
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Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective
Sociological Perspective

Sociology can also
help us find an
acceptable balance
between our personal
desires and the
demands of our social
environment.
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Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective
Sociological Perspective

If we do what we want
to do we will conflict
with others a great
portion of the time.
But if we always do
what others tell us we
will not grow as
individuals.
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Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective
Seeing the Broader Social Context
 How Groups Influence
People

How People are Influenced
by Their Society

People Who Share a
Culture

People Who Share a
Territory
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Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective
Social Location—Corners in Life

Jobs

Income

Education

Gender
 Age

Race
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Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective
C. Wright Mills—Connection
Between History and Biography
 History—Location in Broad
Stream of Events

Biography—Individual’s
Specific Experiences
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Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective
Sociological Imagination


Sociology can also help us
view our own lives in a
broader social and
historical context.
The ability to see the
connection between the
larger world and our
personal lives is what C.
Wright Mills termed the
sociological Imagination.
According to Mills good
students of society possess
this.
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Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective
The Growing Global Context

The Global Village

Instant Communication

Sociology Studies both the Global
Network and Our Unique
Experiences
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Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective
Sociology and the Other Sciences

The Natural Sciences—Explain and Predict
Events in Natural Environment

The Social Sciences—Examine Human
Relationships
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Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective
Anthropology

The comparative study
of various aspects of
past and present
cultures, and is the
social science closest
to sociology.
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Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective
Psychology

The social Science that
deals with the behavior
and thinking of organisms,
and differs from sociology
primarily because it
focuses on the individual
rather than on the group
and draws heavily on tools
of the natural sciences.
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Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective
Social Psychology

Is the study of how an
individual’s behavior
and personality are
affected by the social
environment.
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Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective
Economics


Is the study of the
choices people make
in an effort to satisfy
their wants and needs.
Or what this guy tried
to teach you!
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Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective
Political Science

The examination of
the organization and
operation of
governments.
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Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective
History

Is the study of past
events and what we
learn from them.
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Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective
The Goal of Science

Explain Why Something Happens

Make Generalizations

Look for Patterns

Move Beyond Common Sense
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Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective
Origins of Sociology

Tradition vs. Science

Emerged mid-1800s

Grew Out of Social
Upheaval

The Scientific Method
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Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective
Early Years of Sociology

Sociology took root in
the 19th Century
primarily in France,
Germany and
England. These
nations most strongly
felt the effects of the
Industrial Revolution.
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Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective
Auguste Comte and Positivism

Applying the Scientific Method
to Social World

Coined the Term “Sociology”

“Armchair Philosophy”
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Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective
Comte


Like most French scholars
he was interested in
finding a solution to the
chaos of the French
Revolution.
He was heavily influenced
by the study of the natural
sciences. Comte said
sociologists could use
similar methods to
uncover laws that govern
the operation of society.
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Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective
Comte

Comte said
sociologists should be
concerned with two
problems:
 Order
 Change
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Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective
Comte-Social Statics

He used the term
social statics to
describe the process
by which the overall
structure of a society
remains relatively
stable.
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Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective
Comte-Social Dynamics

He applied the term
social dynamics to the
processes by which
elements within a
society change in a
systematic fashion to
allow social
development.
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Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective
Comte-Cerebral Hygiene

At one point in his life
he practiced cerebral
hygiene, in which he
refused to read any
other scholars work.
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Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective
Herbert Spencer—Social Darwinism

Second Founder of Sociology

Lower and Higher Forms of Society

Coined Phrase “Survival of the Fittest”
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Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective
Spencer

Spencer was largely
influenced by the views of
Charles Darwin. Spencer
viewed society as a set of
interdependent parts that
work together to maintain
the system over time.
Spencer thought of society
in terms of Darwin’s
theory of Evolution.
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Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective
Spencer

No corrections should be
made to correct social ills.
He coined the phrase
Survival of the Fittest in
reference to the weeding
out process. Because of
the strong evolutionary
orientation of Spencer’s
brand of sociology, it
came to be known as
Social Darwinism.
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Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective
Karl Marx and Class Conflict

Engine of Human History is Class
Conflict

The Bourgeoisie vs. The Proletariat

Marxism Not the Same as
Communism
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Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective
Marx


Marx believed that the overall
structure of society is highly
influenced by economics.
According to Marx society is
divided between those who own
the means of production and
those who only own their labor.
The imbalance of power would
eventually lead to a conflict.
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Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective
Marx


Marx was deeply troubled by
the social conditions that came
out of a capitalist society. He
said that social scientists had a
duty to try to change the plights
of the many less fortunate,
unlike most social scientists.
Marx did not consider himself a
sociologist, nor do most
sociologists consider
themselves to be Marxist.
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Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective
Durkheim and Social Integration

Got Sociology Recognized as Separate
Discipline

Studied How Social Forces Affect Behavior

Identified “Social Integration”—Degree to
Which People are Tied to Social Group
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Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective
Emile Durkheim


(1858-1917) was French
and was a teacher at the
University of Bordeaux
when he was in his
twenties.
Durkheim was the first
sociologist to
systematically apply the
methods of science to the
study of society.
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Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective
Durkheim


He was concerned
with the problem of
social order.
He viewed society as a
set of interdependent
parts that maintain the
system over time.
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Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective
Durkheim


He viewed the role of
these parts in terms of
Functions.
Function- is the
positive consequence
that an element of
society has for the
maintenance of the
social system.
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Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective
Durkheim


He also believed that
sociology should only
study those aspects of
society that are
directly observable.
He also used statistical
analysis to study
society.
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Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective
Max Weber and the Protestant Ethic
 Religion and the Origin of Capitalism

Religion is Central Force in Social Change

Protestant Ethic and Spirit of Capitalism
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Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective
Weber


He said sociologists
should go beyond
studying what is
directly observed.
He thought they
should uncover the
thoughts and feelings
of individuals.
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Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective
Verstehen and Social Facts
 Weber



Verstehen—“To Grasp by Insight”

Importance of Subjective Meanings
Durkheim

Stressed Social Facts

Explain Social Facts with Other Social
Facts
How Social Facts and Verstehen Fit
Together
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Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective
Weber


They could do this by
using Verstehen- which is
the empathetic
understanding of the
meanings others attach to
their actions.
In essence the sociologist
puts themselves in the
place of others and
attempts to see the world
through their eyes.
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Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective
Weber


He also applied the idea of
ideal type- which is a
description of the essential
characteristics of some
aspect of society.
An ideal type is
constructed by examining
many different features of
a phenomenon and
describing its essential
parts.
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Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective
Values in Sociological Research

Sociology Should be Value-Free

Sociology Should be Objective

Research Should Involve Replication

Goals and Uses of Sociology
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Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective
Sexism in Early Sociology


Attitudes of the Time

1800s Sex Roles Rigidly Defined

Few People Educated Beyond
Basics
Harriet Martineau

Published Society in America
Before Durkheim and Weber Were
Born

Her Work was Ignored
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Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective
Sociology in North America

First Soc. Dept. U. of Chicago

Albion Small
 Early
History: Tension Between
Social Reform and Sociological
Analysis
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Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective
Sociology in North America


Jane Addams and Social Reform

Hull House

Nobel Prize

NAACP
W. E. B. Du Bois and Race Relations


NAACP
Talcott Parsons and C. Wright Mills: Theory
vs. Reform

Grand Theorists
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Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective
Current Perspectives


Theory
 is a systematic explanation of the relationships among
phenomena.
Theoretic Perspective
 is a general set of assumptions about the nature of
phenomena.
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Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective
Functionalist Perspective



View society as a set of
interrelated parts that
work together to produce a
stable social system.
Society is held together
through consensus.
Functionalists view
society in terms of their
functions-their positive
consequences for society.
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Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective
Functionalist



Dysfunction
 is the negative consequence an element has for
the stability of the social system. EX. Crime
Manifest Function
 is the intended and recognized consequence of
some element of society.
Latent Function
 is the unintended and unrecognized
consequence of an element of society.
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Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective
Conflict Perspective

Focus on those forces in
society that promote
competition and change.
Following Karl Marx,
conflict theorists are
interested in how those
who posses more power in
society exercise control
over those with less.
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Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective
Interactionist Perspective

Focus on how
individuals interact
with one another in
society. These
sociologists are
interested in the ways
in which individuals
respond to one another
in everyday situations.
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Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective
Symbolic Interactionism


Interaction between
people that takes place
through the use of
symbols.
Symbol
 is anything that
stands for
something else.
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