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Chapter 1
Taking a New Look at a Familiar
World
Sociology
• Sociology is the systematic
study of human societies.
• Everyday social life is the
product of a complex
interplay between societal
forces and personal
characteristics.
• Sociology examines the
interpersonal, historical,
cultural, organizational, and
global environments that
individuals inhabit.
Sociology vs. the Individual
• Individualistic
explanations
– We tend to look at
internal qualities to
explain experiences.
• Sociological
explanations
– We try to look at
external factors that
shape individual choices
and opportunities.
Thinking Sociologically
• Looking at “individual
problems”
• Example: the break-up of
a relationship, loss of a
job, or credit-card debt
– What are some of the
possible individual causes
of these events?
– Now, examine this within a
societal context. What are
some other possible
explanations?
Contrasting Fields
• Biologists and
psychologists focus on
processes within the
individual
– Biology: focuses on innate
characteristics (genetics, biochemical explanations)
– Psychology: focuses on personal
characteristics (the mind)
• Sociologists study what
goes on among people as
individuals, groups, and
societies
– Sociology: focuses on a systematic
study of human interaction (people
as a part of the larger society)
Thinking Sociologically
• How might research on
alcohol use differ
among these three
disciplines?
– Biology
– Psychology
– Sociology
The Sociological Imagination
C. Wright Mills (1916–1962)
• The ability to see the impact
of massive cultural and
historical processes on our
private lives
• The ability to recognize that
the solutions to many of our
most serious social
problems lie not in changing
the personal situations and
characteristics of individual
people but in changing the
social institutions and roles
available to them
Suicide
Émile Durkheim (1858–1917)
• Classic sociological work
titled Suicide, published
in 1897
• Compared statistics and
historical data across
different groups
– If suicide is an act based
in individual
explanations, rates
would be fairly constant
across time and place.
– However, this is not the
case.
Different Types of Suicide
• Fatalistic—when people
see no possible way to
improve their oppressive
circumstances
• Anomic—when a person’s
life has been suddenly
disrupted by a major
social event
• Egoistic—when a person
belongs to a group that
has weak ties
• Altruistic—when a
person’s ties to the
community are too strong
Fatalistic Suicide
• When people feel
horribly oppressed in
their social situation
• When people perceive
no possible way to
improve their lives
• Examples: inmates in
prison, slaves
Egoistic Suicide
• When people’s ties to
their social networks are
weak or deemphasized
• When people feel
alienated from social
networks
• When there may be too
much emphasis on
individualism
• Current U.S. society has
weaker ties and suicide
rates have risen as
Durkheim predicted
Altruistic Suicide
• When ties to one’s
community are too
strong, individuality
may be overshadowed
• In circumstances where
community or family
needs are considered
far superior to needs of
individual
• Examples may be found
in “greedy” group sects
Anomic Suicide
• When conditions
around which people
organize their lives
dramatically change
(economic depressions,
wars, famines etc.)
• May result in sense of
hopelessness and
despair
Suicide Rates Among Young African
Americans
• Potential individual-based
influences
– Growing sense of
hopelessness
– Reluctance to open up
about mental health issues
• Broader social factors
– More and more black
families moving into
middle class
– Increased pressure to
succeed in whitedominated professions
Thinking Sociologically
• Suicide rates among
young African
Americans have
dropped over the last
few years
Can you think of a
sociological reason to
account for this trend?
Summary
• Everyday social life is the product of a complex
interplay between societal forces and personal
characteristics.
• To explain why people are the way they are (or
do the things they do), we must understand
the interpersonal, historical, cultural,
organizational, and global environments they
inhabit.
• To understand either individuals or society, we
must understand both (C. W. Mills, 1959).