mcgraw-hill © 2005 the mcgraw-hill companies, inc. all rights reserved. 1 the sociological...

McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

1

The Sociological Perspective



2

The Sociological Perspective

THE SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE

part


1

chapter


CHAPTER OUTLINE

•What is Sociology?•What is Sociological Theory?•The Development of Sociology•Major Theoretical Perspectives•Applied and Clinical Sociology•Developing the Sociological Imagination•Appendix: Careers in Sociology

1UNDERSTANDING SOCIOLOGY


4 What is Sociology?

█Sociology– The systematic study of social behavior in

human groups.

– Examines the influence of social relationships on people’s attitudes and behavior.

– Studies how societies are established and change.



█The Sociological Imagination– Definition: An awareness of the

relationship between an individual and the wider society.

– It is the ability to view our own society as an outsider might, rather than from the perspective of our limited experiences and cultural biases.



█Sociology and the Social Sciences– In contrast to other social sciences,

sociology emphasizes the influence that groups can have on people’s behavior and attitudes and the ways in which people shape society.



█Sociology and Common Sense– Knowledge that relies on “common sense”

is not always reliable.

– Sociologists must test and analyze each piece of information that they use.



█ Figure 1.1: Race of Victims in Death Penalty Cases

Source: Death Penalty Information Center 2003


9 What is Sociological Theory?

█ Theory: An attempt to explain events, forces, materials, ideas or behavior in a comprehensive manner.

█ Sociological Theories: Seek to explain problems, actions, or behavior.

█ Effective theories should explain and predict.

█ Sociologists employ theories to examine the relationships between observations or data that may seem completely unrelated.


10 The Development of Sociology

Continued...

█Early Thinkers– Auguste Comte 1798–1857

• --Coined the term sociology as the science of human behavior

– Harriet Martineau 1802–1876• --Studied social behavior in England and the

United States

– Herbert Spencer 1820–1903• --Studied “evolutionary” change in society



█Early Thinkers– Émile Durkheim 1858–1917

• --Pioneered work on suicide

– Max Weber 1864–1920• --Taught the need for “insight” in intellectual

work

– Karl Marx 1818–1883• --Emphasized the importance of the economy

and of conflict in society



█Modern Developments– Charles Horton Cooley 1864–1929

• --Pioneered work on small groups within society

– Jane Addams 1860–1935• --Combined sociological study with activism

– Robert Merton 1910–2003• --Works on deviant behavior and crime



█Merton’s Micro and Macro Approaches to the Study of Society– Macrosociology: Concentrates on large-

scale phenomena or entire civilizations.

– Microsociology: Stresses the study of small groups and often uses experimental study in laboratories.



Source: Figure 1-2 (p.15) in Richard T. Schaefer and Robert P. Lamm, Sociology: An Introduction. 5th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Auguste Comte1798 1857

1802 1876Harriet Martineau

1820 1903Herbert Spencer

Karl Marx

Émile Durkeim

Jane Addams

George Herbert Mead

Max Weber

Charles Horton Cooley

W.E.B. Du Bois

Talcott Parsons

Robert Merton

C. Wright Mills

Erving Goffman

1818 1883

1858 1917

1860 1935

1863 1931

1864 1920

1864 1929

1868 1963

1902 1979

1910

1916 1962

1922 1982

The “time lines” shownhere give an idea ofrelative chronology.

█ Prominent Contributors to Sociological Thought

2003


15 Major Theoretical Perspectives

Continued...

█Functionalist Perspective– Emphasizes the way that parts of a society

are structured to maintain its stability.

– Views society as a vast network of connected parts, each of which helps to maintain the system as a whole.

– Each part must contribute or it will not be passed on from one generation to the next.



█ Functionalist Perspective– Manifest Functions of institutions are open,

stated, conscious functions. They involve the intended, recognized, consequences of an aspect of society.

– Latent Functions are unconscious or unintended functions and may reflect hidden purposes of an institution.

– A dysfunction is an element or a process of society that may actually disrupt a social system or lead to a decrease in stability.



Continued...

█Conflict Perspective– Assumes that social behavior is best

understood in terms of conflict or tension between competing groups.

– Conflict is not necessarily violent.

– Conflict can be over economics or over competing values.



Continued...

█Conflict Perspective– The Marxist View: Conflict is seen not

merely as a class phenomenon but as a part of everyday life in all societies.

– This view emphasizes social change and redistribution of resources, making conflict theorists more radical than functionalists.



Continued...

█ Conflict Perspective– A Racial View: W. E. B DuBois: Encourages

sociologists to view society through the eyes of those segments of the population that rarely influence decision making.

– Sociology, contended DuBois, had to draw on scientific principles to study social problems such as those experienced by Blacks in the United States.



█ Interactionist Perspective– Generalizes about everyday forms of social

interaction in order to understand society as a whole.

– Interactionism is a sociological framework for viewing human beings as living in a world of meaningful objects. These “objects” may include material things, actions, other people, relationships, and even symbols.



█Feminist Perspective– Definition: Views inequity in gender as

central to all behavior and organization.

– Unlike conflict theory, with which it is sometimes allied, the feminist perspective often focuses on the micro-level relationships of everyday life, just as interactionists do.



█ Table 1.1: Comparing Major Theoretical Perspectives

View of society Stable, well integrated Characterized by tension Active in influencing andand struggle between affecting everyday social groups interaction

Level of analysis Macro Macro Micro analysis as a way emphasized of understanding the

larger macro phenomena

Key concepts Manifest functions Inequality Symbols Latent functions Capitalism Nonverbal communication Dysfunction Stratification Face-to-face interaction

View of the People are socialized to People are shaped People manipulate individual perform societal functions by power, coercion, symbols and create their

and authority social worlds through interaction

Functionalist Conflict Interactionist

Continued…



█ Table 1.1: Comparing Major Theoretical Perspectives

View of the Maintained through Maintained through Maintained by shared social order cooperation and force and coercion understanding of

consensus everyday behavior

View of social Predictable, reinforcing Change takes place all Reflected in people’schange the time and may have social positions and their

positive consequences communications with others

Example Public punishments Laws reinforce the People respect laws or reinforce the social order positions of those disobey them based on

in power their own past experience

Proponents Émile Durkheim Karl Marx George Herbert Mead Talcott Parsons W. E. B. Du Bois Charles Horton Cooley Robert Merton Ida Wells-Barnett Erving Goffman

Functionalist Conflict Interactionist



█The Sociological Approach– Sociologists make use of all four

perspectives.

– Each perspective offers unique insights into the same issue.


25 Applied and Clinical Sociology

█ Applied Sociology: The use of the discipline of sociology with the specific intent of yielding practical applications for human behavior and organizations.

█ Clinical Sociology: The use of the discipline of sociology with the specific intent of altering social relationships and facilitating change.

█ Basic Sociology: Seeks a more profound knowledge of the fundamental aspects of social phenomena.


26Developing a Sociological Imagination

█Theory in Practice

█Research in Action

█The Significance of Social Inequality

█Speaking Across Race, Gender, and National Boundaries

█Social Policy Throughout the World


27 Social Inequality

Video © NBC News Archives.

(Click inside frame to start video)

█ Barbara Ehrenreich discusses her book Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By In America