Sociological Perspective

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• Someone who can’t find a job is _____.

• Homelessness is the result of ______.

• Immigrants come here because of____.

The Nature of Sociology

• Sociology - The scientific study of social structure– Social Structure - The patterned interaction

of people in social relationships• Group behavior vs.. Individual Behavior - does

the individual’s characteristics matter in a group setting?

• Conformity - behavior that matches group expectations.

• Perspective - A particular point of view– Sociological Perspective - The view that

looks at groups, not individuals

• Sociological Imagination (C. Wright Mills)- The ability to see the link between society and self– Looks at how social pressure affect

behavior?– Challenges conventional wisdom(ideas

people assume to be true)

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Origins of Sociology

• Auguste Comte - founder of sociology– Positivism - knowledge

should be derived from

scientific observation– Social Static - The study of

social stability and order– Social Dynamics - The study

of social change

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Harriet Martineau

• Pioneering feminist

• Saw a link between

slavery and oppression

of women

• Women’s lack of economic

power keeps them dependent

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• Jane Addams– Focused on imbalance of power among

social classes– Believed upper class exploited lower class

• W.E.B. DuBois– Studied social structure of African

Americans

• Herbert Spencer– Social Darwinism - Natural selection would

ensure the survival of the fittest society

• Karl Marx– Believed class conflict would lead to

classless society

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• Emile Durkheim– Mechanical solidarity - Social dependence

based on widespread consensus of values and beliefs

– Organic solidarity - social interdependence based on a high degree of specialization roles

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• Max Weber– Verstehen - Understanding social behavior

by putting yourself in the place of others– Rationalization - The mind-set emphasizing

knowledge, reason, and planning

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Theoretical Perspectives

• Functionalism – emphasizes the contributions of each part of a society – assumes societies tend to return to a state of stability

– Manifest – intended and recognized

– Latent – unintended and unrecognized

– Dysfunction – negative consequence of an aspect of society

Theoretical Perspectives

• 1. conflict perspective – emphasizes conflict, competition, change, and constraints(limits) within a society

• 2. symbolic interaction – focuses on the interaction among people based on mutually understood symbols– a. Herbert Blummer – coined term and outlined 3

assumptions• We learn the meaning of a symbol by how others react to it• once we learn the meaning, we base our behavior on them• we use the meaning of symbols to imagine how others will

respond to our behavior