Sociological Theory

What is theory? A way to explain how facts are related ▫These facts should be based on empirical evidence Provides a framework for interpretation– a lens through which we can examine certain social phenomena. In Sociology, the primary question theory seeks to answer: ▫What holds society together?

Macro-level theories: Structure- Functionalism ▫Auguste Comte ▫Herbert Spencer ▫Emile Durkheim ▫Robert Merton—  Manifest Function  Latent Function  Dysfunction

Led to… Social Facts ▫External to the individual ▫Have coercive power of the individual ▫Transcend time

Macro-Level Theories, cont: Conflict Theory ▫Karl Marx  Means of production  Bourgeois  Proletariat ▫Max Weber  The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism

Micro-Level Theories Symbolic Interaction W.I. Thomas ▫“Thomas Theorem”  “What some perceives as real is real in its consequences.”

C.H. Cooley “The Looking Glass Self” ▫We imagine how we appear to others ▫We imagine how others are judging said appearance ▫Our sense of self develops from those judgements

G.H. Mead Imitation Play (pretending) Game ▫Generalized Other ▫Significant Other  I  Me

G. H. Mead