Sociology

Why Study Sociology? Understand – Sociology is the “study of society” – an organized group of persons associated together for religious, cultural, scientific, political, patriotic, or other purposes. Encourage critical thinking – Famous Peter Berger (Boston University) quote: “It can be said that the first wisdom of sociology is this – things are not what they seem” Gain knowledge – by recognizing social forces, this gives us power over those forces (get along better in society) Ultimately, make the world a better place?

Origins of Sociology Sociology grew as a result of social upheaval in the early 1800s Industrial Revolution - Europe changing from agricultural to factory, rural to urban

Cities were depressing, dirty and crowded places Work was long hours, low pay, poor working conditions The average person was not happy with society

The Discovery Of Social Facts In 1825, the French Ministry of Justice began to collect criminal justice statistics. Soon, they expanded the data collection to include activities such as suicide, illegitimate births and military desertion. Became known as moral statistics due to the moral implications of the activities (lack of loyalty, infidelity, religious spite, etc.)

André Michel Guerry Became fascinated with all the statistics and devoted himself to interpreting them. In 1833, he published the Moral Statistics of France and launched Sociology.

Guerry’s Research: Stability and Variation Rates were stable from year to year: In any French city or department, almost exactly the same number of people committed suicide, stole, or gave birth out of wedlock. Rates varied from one place to another: The number of suicides varied greatly from city to city…what causes this???

Why Findings Important? If crime and suicide are purely individualistic (private, personal) then why the macro-level patterns? Perhaps factors outside the individual? Guerry and disciples began to think of social forces – population density, economic issues, religious variation, environment

Auguste Comte About the same time (early to mid 1800s) a French philosopher argues that scientific method could be applied to social life Goal to uncover “laws” that govern society … lead to social reform and a better place to live Coined the term “sociology” – “study of society” Credited with being “founder” of sociology

Durkheim and Suicide In, 1897 Frenchman, Émile Durkheim, published Suicide. Durkheim called himself a sociologist – term from Comte, method from Guerry First to think of Theory and Research Stressed that high suicide rates reflect weaknesses in the relationships among members of a society, not in the character or personality of the individual. Later would call this social integration

Indicators of Social Integration? (remember it was the 1800’s) Protestants had higher rates of suicide. Why? (encourages in freedom of thought and individualism…disappointment if not achieved) Males? (greater independence than females) Unmarried? Some patterns hold today (for example more males commit suicide)

The Sociological Imagination C. Wright Mills: Seeing the link between incidents in the lives of individuals and large social forces. Peter Berger: discovering the general in the specific Do we have personal freedom when making choices? Yes, but…. Examples????? “Choice” limited and structured

The Social Scientific Process: 8 Steps Wonder. Science always begins with someone wondering why. Conceptualize. Scientists must be precise about what it is they are wondering about. Theorize. To explain something, we must say how and why a set of concepts are related. Operationalize. Identify indicators of each concept to make a theory testable.

The Social Scientific Process: 8 Steps Hypothesize. Formulate predictions about what will be observed in the connections among the indicators of the concepts. Observe. Use the appropriate research design to gather observations. Analyze. Compare what we observe with what the hypothesis said we would see. Assess. Change theories to fit the evidence.

Example: Will they know we are Christians by love? Wonder, conceptualize, theorize, operationalize, hypothesize, observe, analyze, assess Unit of analysis? Individual or aggregate? Micro or macro Unobtrusive or Obtrusive

Free will…………..Determinism Free will = humans act according to the dictates of their own will Determinism = human actions determined by factors (physical, biological or environment) outside the individual “Soft determinism” Rational Choice = human actions free but predictable

Stark Quote p. 23 Sociological theories of crime do not assume that criminals have no choices. Instead, they concentrate on how different people have a different basis for making choices and different alternatives from which to choose People make rational choices. This makes their behavior free and predictable Example: sell $20 for 35 cents We can predict what they will do without seeing them as predetermined robots

What do Sociologists study? Beliefs Values Rules Religions Politics Economics Roles Cultures

Patterns in Behavior A personal behavior may be a result of a larger pattern House break-ins increase in my neighborhood, I am fighting with my boyfriend/girlfriend

Fight with your boyfriend or girlfriend…. Psychologists think…. - one person is to blame - one or both people are changing Sociologists think…. - outside influences are contributing - pressure of dating in high school

Social Facts Sociologists use social facts to explain patterns Social Fact – any social activity or situation that can be observed and measured Examples: attendance, crime patterns, religious affiliation, dropout rates, unemployment, educational level, scores, divorce stats

Your Turn! (using assigned computer) Using 5 different countries outside of North America, find a pattern significant to that country One needs to be a crime pattern Another must be economic in nature A third should be an educational pattern The last two can be any pattern you choose, for example: marriage rates, religious patterns, child related, sports oriented, etc…

What do Sociologists study? Beliefs Values Rules Religions Politics Economics Roles Cultures

What Sociologists Do Teach (schools and colleges) Advise (businesses, govt, consult, human resource) Research (surveys, urban planning, criminology) Counsel (therapists, program directors, social services)

Theoretical Perspectives There are 3 major Sociological Perspectives I will ask you to choose one, based on your beliefs The perspectives illustrate ways to view society

The Functionalist Every part of society has a function If something doesn’t fit in, it will be eliminated naturally (go out of business or style, for example) Dysfunctions disrupt the working system (like crime)…they must be contained so that the society can remain stable Some dysfunctions are intended, others are not

The Conflictionist (Conflict) Encourage competition and change Not violent conflict or competition Peaceful negotiations between groups Social conflict arises from competition over limited resources (politics for ex) Differing points of views are necessary for society and advancement

The Interactionist Studies how individuals respond to one another Society is a collection of small interactions Observe and record the intentions and meanings of individual actions Symbols – shared in daily life in a society or group. The group understands the social meanings