1. Sociology  Systematic study of human societies with scientific methods  It involves –Reflection –Observation –Description –Comparison  Social influences in relationships, groups, societies, and social change

2. Social Riddles  Sociology is the search for solutions of social riddles  Social Riddles are perplexing questions that don’t have obvious answers – or the obvious answers are: 1) wrong, 2) simplistic, or 3) unquestioned

5. Two Levels of Riddles  Macro-Level –Large scale, broad structures of society –Interactions between nations, communities, organizations, and other large social units  Micro-Level –Small scale social interactions that occur between small groups, families, couples, and individuals –Reference Groups

6. Three Types of Riddles  Riddles of Organization –Why does poverty persist?  Riddle of Comparison –Why don’t we eat hamsters? (labels)  Riddle of Contradiction –Is murder always murder?

8. The Grand Riddle  How much freedom do we have to shape ourselves and our culture? –Are we only products of our culture? –Are we all independent to change?