“...the systematic study of human society ” systematic

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“...THE SYSTEMATIC STUDY OF HUMAN SOCIETY SYSTEMATIC SCIENTIFIC DISCIPLINE THAT FOCUSES ATTENTION ON PATTERNS OF BEHAVIOR HUMAN SOCIETY GROUP BEHAVIOR IS PRIMARY FOCUS; HOW GROUPS INFLUENCE INDIVIDUALS AND VICE VERSA AT THE “HEART OF SOCIOLOGY” THE SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE WHICH OFFERS A UNIQUE VIEW OF SOCIETY

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“...THE SYSTEMATIC STUDY OF HUMAN SOCIETY ” SYSTEMATIC SCIENTIFIC DISCIPLINE THAT FOCUSES ATTENTION ON PATTERNS OF BEHAVIOR HUMAN SOCIETY GROUP BEHAVIOR IS PRIMARY FOCUS; HOW GROUPS INFLUENCE INDIVIDUALS AND VICE VERSA AT THE “HEART OF SOCIOLOGY” - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Page 1: “...THE  SYSTEMATIC STUDY  OF  HUMAN SOCIETY  ” SYSTEMATIC

• “...THE SYSTEMATIC STUDY OF HUMAN SOCIETY ”– SYSTEMATIC

• SCIENTIFIC DISCIPLINE THAT FOCUSES ATTENTION ON PATTERNS OF BEHAVIOR

– HUMAN SOCIETY• GROUP BEHAVIOR IS PRIMARY FOCUS; HOW

GROUPS INFLUENCE INDIVIDUALS AND VICE VERSA– AT THE “HEART OF SOCIOLOGY”

• THE SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE WHICH OFFERS A UNIQUE VIEW OF SOCIETY

Page 2: “...THE  SYSTEMATIC STUDY  OF  HUMAN SOCIETY  ” SYSTEMATIC

• EDUCATION AND LIBERAL ARTS– WELL-ROUNDED AS A PERSON– SOCIAL EXPECTATIONS

• MORE APPRECIATION FOR DIVERSITY– THE GLOBAL VILLAGE– DOMESTIC SOCIAL MARGINALITY

• ENHANCED LIFE CHANCES– MICRO AND MACRO UNDERSTANDING– INCREASE SOCIAL POTENTIALS

Page 3: “...THE  SYSTEMATIC STUDY  OF  HUMAN SOCIETY  ” SYSTEMATIC
Page 4: “...THE  SYSTEMATIC STUDY  OF  HUMAN SOCIETY  ” SYSTEMATIC

The Sociological Perspective

OBSERVATIONS ARE CERTAINLY IMPACTED BY THE PERSONAL PERSPECTIVES THROUGH WHICH

PEOPLE COME TO VIEW THE WORLD

Page 5: “...THE  SYSTEMATIC STUDY  OF  HUMAN SOCIETY  ” SYSTEMATIC

Sociological Perspective• SEE THE GENERAL IN THE

PARTICULAR– GENERAL SOCIAL

PATTERNS IN THE BEHAVIOR OF PARTICULAR INDIVIDUALS

• INDIVIDUALS ARE UNIQUE…BUT

• SOCIETY’S SOCIAL FORCES SHAPE US INTO “KINDS” OF PEOPLE

Page 6: “...THE  SYSTEMATIC STUDY  OF  HUMAN SOCIETY  ” SYSTEMATIC

QUICK FIRE:What do people do?

Why do people do what they do?

Choose one of the following to answer:• What are 2 things that might

influence saying yes or no to a marriage proposal?

• What are 2 reasons why someone might consider suicide?

Page 7: “...THE  SYSTEMATIC STUDY  OF  HUMAN SOCIETY  ” SYSTEMATIC

STUDENTS SHOULD BE ABLETO SEE THE CONNECTION BETWEEN BIOGRAPHY ANDHISTORY!

Page 8: “...THE  SYSTEMATIC STUDY  OF  HUMAN SOCIETY  ” SYSTEMATIC

• DURKHEIM’S STUDY OF SUICIDE– MORE LIKELY TO COMMIT

• MALE PROTESTANTS WHO WERE WEALTHY AND UNMARRIED HAD HIGHER SUICIDE RATES

– PROTESTANTISM AND INDIVDUALISM

– LESS LIKELY TO COMMIT• MALE JEWS AND CATHOLICS WHO WERE POOR AND MARRIED

– BEING CATHOLIC AND GROUP-ORIENTATION

• ONE OF THE BASIC FINDINGS: WHY?– THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THESE GROUPS HAD TO DO WITH

“SOCIAL INTEGRATION”• THOSE WITH STRONG SOCIAL TIES HAD LESS OF A CHANCE OF

COMMITING SUICIDE

Page 9: “...THE  SYSTEMATIC STUDY  OF  HUMAN SOCIETY  ” SYSTEMATIC

What will we study using our “sociological

perspective”?• Social interaction/relationships – How do

individuals behave when in groups? How do groups influence individual behavior?

• Social structures - What patterns can we identify during social interaction? Are there breaks in patterns?

• Social change/dynamics – Have these patterns changed over time?

Page 10: “...THE  SYSTEMATIC STUDY  OF  HUMAN SOCIETY  ” SYSTEMATIC

Sociological Imagination

• Sociological Imagination = ability to identify relationships between self and society

Page 11: “...THE  SYSTEMATIC STUDY  OF  HUMAN SOCIETY  ” SYSTEMATIC

THE DISCIPLINE’S ORIGINS SOCIOLOGY SPRANG FROM THREE

SEPARATE, YET INTERDEPENDENT REVOLUTIONS (1700-1900)THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION

A BELIEF IN SCIENCE BEGAN TO REPLACE TRADITIONAL (religious) FORMS OF AUTHORITY

THE ECONOMIC REVOLUTION INDUSTRIALISM AND CAPITALISM WERE

CHANGING ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL PATTERNS

THE POLITICAL REVOLUTION MORE DEMOCRATIC VALUES AND STANDARDS

WERE BEING ADOPTED

Page 12: “...THE  SYSTEMATIC STUDY  OF  HUMAN SOCIETY  ” SYSTEMATIC

PERS

ON

ALIT

IES

• AUGUSTE COMTE (1798-1857)– POSITIVISM

• KARL MARX (1818-1883)– CLASS CONFLICT/STRUGGLE

• HERBERT SPENCER (1820-1903)– SOCIAL DARWINISM

• EMILE DURKHEIM (1858-1917)– GROUP FORCES; SOCIAL SOLIDARITY

• W.E.B. DU BOIS (1868-1963)– PLIGHT OF AFRICAN AMERICANS

Page 13: “...THE  SYSTEMATIC STUDY  OF  HUMAN SOCIETY  ” SYSTEMATIC

WOMEN IN SOCIOLOGY• HARRIET MARTINEAU (1802-1876)– TRANSLATED THE WORKS OF AUGUSTE COMTE – FOCUSED ON ISSUES SURROUNDING

• WOMEN’S RIGHTS• SLAVERY• THE WORKPLACE AND FACTORY LAWS

• JANE ADDAMS (1860-1933)– SOCIAL WORKER– DEVELOPED PLAN TO HELP IMMIGRANTS NEW TO

CITY LIFE IN AMERICA• HULL HOUSE IN CHICAGO• NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER, 1931

Page 14: “...THE  SYSTEMATIC STUDY  OF  HUMAN SOCIETY  ” SYSTEMATIC

SOCIAL PERSPECTIVE(Theoretical Perspective)

• THEORY: A STATEMENT OF HOW AND WHY FACTS ARE RELATED

• PERSPECTIVE: A SET OF FUNDAMENTAL ASSUMPTIONS THAT GUIDES THINKING

PEOPLE HOLD DIFFERING OPINIONS ABOUT THEIR SOCIAL WORLD

WE ALL COME FROM DIFFERENT SOCIALEXPERIENCES AND THEYBIAS OUR ASSUMPTIONS

UP WITH

PEOPLE

DOWN WITHPEOPLE

Page 15: “...THE  SYSTEMATIC STUDY  OF  HUMAN SOCIETY  ” SYSTEMATIC

FUNCTIONALIST PERSPECTIVE• THE BASICS

– A MACRO-ORIENTED (LARGE-SCALE) PARADIGM– VIEWS SOCIETY AS A COMPLEX SYSTEM WITH MANY INTERDEPENDENT

PARTS (INSTITUTIONS – family, government, religion, etc)– THE PARTS WORK TOGETHER TO PROMOTE SOCIAL STABILITY AND ORDER – MAJOR CHANGES TO THE SYSTEM’S PARTS IS NOT REQUIRED OR DESIRED;

SYSTEM SEEKS TO MAINTAIN IT EQUILIBRIUM• KEY ELEMENTS:

– MANIFEST FUNCTION – intended and recognized consequence of some element of society

– LATENT FUNCTION – unintended/unrecognized consequence

– DYSFUNCTION – negative consequence on stability of social system

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• THE BASICS:– A MACRO-ORIENTED PARADIGM

FOCUS- VIEWS SOCIETY AS A STRUCTURED SYSTEM BASED ON INEQUALITY– SOCIAL CONFLICT BETWEEN GROUPS OVER SCARCE

RESOURCES IS THE NORM• KEY ELEMENTS:

– SOCIETY IS STRUCTURED IN WAYS TO BENEFIT A FEW AT THE EXPENSE OF THE MAJORITY

– FACTORS SUCH AS RACE, SEX, CLASS, AND AGE ARE LINKED TO SOCIAL INEQUALITY

– DOMINANT GROUP VS. MINORITY GROUP RELATIONS• SOCIAL CHANGE OCCURS DUE TO CONFLICT-i.e. Feminist Perspective

CONFICT THEORY

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THE BASICS:• MICRO-ORIENTED PARADIGM (smaller scale)

– THE VIEW THAT SOCIETY IS THE PRODUCT OF EVERYDAY INTERACTIONS

– SOCIETY IS A COMPLEX MOSAIC OF UNDERSTANDING THAT EMERGES FROM THE VERY PROCESS OF INTERACTING

KEY ELEMENTS• SYMBOLS – anything that represents something else• SYMBOLIC INTERACTION – focus on how people use

symbols (meaning, language, and thought)

INTERACTIONIST PERSPECTIVE

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http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-august-17-2009/poll-bearers

QUICK FIRE

• How can poorly designed social research affect public policy?

• What are some possible reasons for inaccurate statistics?

Page 19: “...THE  SYSTEMATIC STUDY  OF  HUMAN SOCIETY  ” SYSTEMATIC

TO BEGIN WITH, THERE ARE JUST TWO SIMPLE REQUIREMENTS:

• LOOK AT THE WORLD USING THE SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE– A VARIETY OF SOCIAL BEHAVIORS CALLING FOR

INVESTIGATION• BE CURIOUS AND ASK QUESTIONS

– TAKE OFF THE “SOCIAL BLINDERS” THAT STOP MAKING ONE CURIOUS

Page 20: “...THE  SYSTEMATIC STUDY  OF  HUMAN SOCIETY  ” SYSTEMATIC

COMMON SENSE VS. SCIENCE• POOR PEOPLE ARE MORE LIKELY THAN RICH

PEOPLE TO BREAK THE LAW– YES, BUT WE TEND TO PROSECUTE THE POOR MORE, AND WE CREATE

LAWS THAT SEEM TO ENSURE WE WILL PROSECUTE THE POOR MORE OFTEN

• MOST POOR PEOPLE IGNORE OPPORTUNITIES TO WORK– IT IS TRUE FOR SOME, BUT NOT ALL POOR PEOPLE, AND KEEP IN MIND

THAT MANY OF THOSE CLASSIFIED AS POOR ARE NOT EXPECTED TO BE WORKING (E.G., CHILDREN, THE ELDERLY, THE DISABLED, ETC.)

• WORLDWIDE, MOST PEOPLE MARRY BECAUSE THEY ARE IN LOVE– IN MOST SOCIETIES, ROMANTIC LOVE HAS LITTLE TO DO WITH GETTING

MARRIED TO SOMEONE

Page 21: “...THE  SYSTEMATIC STUDY  OF  HUMAN SOCIETY  ” SYSTEMATIC

Did you know?!?

• Ice cream causes crime!!

Page 22: “...THE  SYSTEMATIC STUDY  OF  HUMAN SOCIETY  ” SYSTEMATIC

• CONCEPTS– ABSTRACT IDEAS THAT REPRESENT SOME ASPECT OF THE WORLD,

ALBEIT IN A SOMEWHAT SIMPLIFIED FORM (i.e. crime, poverty, education, etc)

• VARIABLES– CONCEPTS WHOSE VALUES CHANGE FROM CASE TO CASE– INDEPENDENT AND DEPENDENT VARIABLES

• MEASUREMENT OF VARIABLES– THE MEANS BY WHICH THE VALUE OF A VARIABLE IS DETERMINED

A LOGICAL SYSTEM THAT DERIVES KNOWLEDGEFROM DIRECT, SYSTEMATIC OBSERVATION

Page 23: “...THE  SYSTEMATIC STUDY  OF  HUMAN SOCIETY  ” SYSTEMATIC

• RELIABILITY - THE QUALITY OF CONSISTENT MEASUREMENT– DOES AN INSTRUMENT PROVIDE FOR A CONSISTENT

MEASURE OF THE SUBJECT MATTER?• VALIDITY - THE QUALITY OF MEASURING

PRECISELY WHAT ONE INTENDS TO MEASURE– DOES AN INSTRUMENT ACTUALLY MEASURE WHAT IT

SETS OUT TO MEASURE?

• WHAT ASSUMPTIONS MUST BE MADE ABOUT ISSUES OF RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY WHEN PERFORMING RESEARCH?

Page 24: “...THE  SYSTEMATIC STUDY  OF  HUMAN SOCIETY  ” SYSTEMATIC

RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN VARIABLES

• TYPES OF VARIABLES– INDEPENDENT: THE VARIABLE THAT CAUSES THE CHANGE

(OVERCROWDING)– DEPENDENT: THE VARIABLE THAT CHANGES (DELINQUENCY)

• CAUSE AND EFFECT– A RELATIONSHIP IN WHICH CHANGE IN ONE VARIABLE CAUSES CHANGE

IN ANOTHER• EXAMPLE: OVERCROWDING CAUSES DELINQUENCY

• CORRELATION– WHEN TWO OR MORE VARIABLES CHANGE TOGETHER THEY

DEMONSTRATE CORRELATION

– Spurious correlation – when causation is falsely identified because a third, unseen variable is actually the cause

Page 25: “...THE  SYSTEMATIC STUDY  OF  HUMAN SOCIETY  ” SYSTEMATIC

CORRELATION CAUTION

IF TWO VARIABLES VARY TOGETHER, THEY ARE SAID TO BE CORRELATED. IN THISEXAMPLE, DENSITY OF LIVING CONDITIONS

AND JUVENILE DELINQUENCY INCREASE AND DECREASE TOGETHER.

Page 26: “...THE  SYSTEMATIC STUDY  OF  HUMAN SOCIETY  ” SYSTEMATIC

CHECKING THE EFFECT OF A THIRD VARIABLE

WHEN A THIRD VARIABLE IS CONSIDERED, IN THIS CASE THAT OF INCOME LEVEL, IS IT DISCOVERED THAT LOW INCOME MAY BE RELATED TO BOTH DENSITY OF LIVING CONDITIONS AND DELINQUENCY RATES.

IN OTHER WORDS, AS INCOME LEVEL DECREASES, BOTH DENSITY OF LIVING CONDITIONS AND DELINQUENCY RATES

Page 27: “...THE  SYSTEMATIC STUDY  OF  HUMAN SOCIETY  ” SYSTEMATIC

ORIGINAL CORRELATION DISAPPEARS

THUS, WHEN INCOME LEVEL IS CONTROLLED (EXAMINE ONLY CASES WITH THE SAME INCOME LEVEL) DO THOSE WITH HIGHER DENSITY LIVING CONDITIONS STILL HAVE A HIGHER DELINQUENCY RATE? THE ANSWER IS NO. THERE IS NO LONGER A CORRELATION BETWEEN THESE TWO VARIABLES!

Page 28: “...THE  SYSTEMATIC STUDY  OF  HUMAN SOCIETY  ” SYSTEMATIC

SO…WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?

THE FINDINGS LEAD ONE TO CONCLUDE THAT INCOME LEVEL IS A CAUSE OF BOTH DENSITY OF LIVING CONDITIONS AND THE DELINQUENCY RATE.

THERE MAY BE A CORRELATION BETWEEN THE ORIGINAL VARIABLES, BUT NOW DOUBT CAN BE CAST UPON THE THOUGHT THAT ONE CAUSES THE OTHER.

SPURIOUSCAUSE

CAUSE

Page 29: “...THE  SYSTEMATIC STUDY  OF  HUMAN SOCIETY  ” SYSTEMATIC

CORRELATION OR CAUSATION? How do you know?

• CORRELATION – TWO OR MORE VARIABLES CHANGE TOGETHER

• CONDITIONS FOR CAUSATION TO BE CONSIDERED– EXISTENCE OF A CORRELATION– THE INDEPENDENT (CAUSAL) VARIABLE PRECEDES THE

DEPENDENT VARIABLE IN TIME– NO EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT A THIRD VARIABLE IS

RESPONSIBLE FOR A SPURIOUS CORRELATION BETWEEN THE TWO ORIGINAL VARIABLES

Page 30: “...THE  SYSTEMATIC STUDY  OF  HUMAN SOCIETY  ” SYSTEMATIC

STRATEGIES FOR SYSTEMATICALLY CARRYING OUT SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH• EXPERIMENTS

– HIGHLY CONTROLLED CONDITIONS• SURVEYS

– QUESTIONNAIRES AND INTERVIEWS• PARTICIPANT OBSERVATIONS

– JOINING IN ACTIVITIES OF GROUPS• EXISTING SOURCES

– SECONDARY ANALYSIS OF DATA

Page 31: “...THE  SYSTEMATIC STUDY  OF  HUMAN SOCIETY  ” SYSTEMATIC

Scientific Research – Method to their Madness

• SELECT AND DEFINE TOPIC• LITERATURE REVIEW IS CONDUCTED• ASSESS REQUIREMENTS FOR STUDY• DEVELOP KEY QUESTIONS TO ASK• CONSIDER ETHICAL ISSUES• DEVISE A RESEARCH STRATEGY• COLLECT THE DATA• INTERPRET THE FINDINGS• STATE CONCLUSIONS• PUBLISH THE FINDINGS

SO MANY THINGSTO GET RIGHT!

Page 32: “...THE  SYSTEMATIC STUDY  OF  HUMAN SOCIETY  ” SYSTEMATIC

THINK ABOUT WHY EACH REQUIREMENT IS IMPORTANT!!• MUST ENSURE CONFIDENTIALITY • MUST RECEIVE INFORMED CONSENT• SUBJECTS SHOULD BE MADE AWARE OF THE

TRUE PURPOSE OF RESEARCH – ALWAYS IMPORTANT?

• MAINTAIN AWARENESS OF ANY DANGERS

Page 33: “...THE  SYSTEMATIC STUDY  OF  HUMAN SOCIETY  ” SYSTEMATIC

A Lack of Ethics in Past Medical Research

• Holocaust victims• Tuskegee airmen• Milgram experiment part 1• Milgram experiment part 2• Milgram experiment part 3• Stanford experiment

Page 34: “...THE  SYSTEMATIC STUDY  OF  HUMAN SOCIETY  ” SYSTEMATIC

Problems, Problems, Problems• Identify a social problem you believe exists in our

school, city, state, or nation (dependent variable)• Formulate a hypothesis – What do you think is

causing this problem? (independent variable)• Is it possible that there are other causes to this

problem?• Identify a research method that you believe

would be best to study the cause of this problem and be able to explain why this is the best option.

• Choose one research method you would NOT use and explain why it would not be appropriate for your “research project”.