1. Developing a Sociological Perspective
Chapter 1
Developing a Sociological Perspective

2. Chapter Outline What is Sociology? The Sociological Imagination
The Significance of Diversity
The Development of Sociology
Theoretical Frameworks in Sociology

3. What Is Sociology? The study of human behavior in society.
A scientific way to think about society and its influence on humans.
Includes the study of social behavior and social change.

4. Question What do the following people have in common?
Dan Akroyd (actor; comedian)
Debra Winger (actress)
Saul Bellow (novelist; Nobel Prize recipient)
Joe Theissman (NFL quarterback)
Rev. Jesse Jackson
Robin Williams (comedian; actor)
Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Ronald Reagan

5. Answer
They were all sociology majors.

6. Disciplines of Sociology
Psychology analyzes human behavior.
Anthropology is the study of human cultures.
Political Science is the study of politics.

7. Disciplines of Sociology
Economics studies the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services.
Social Work uses the social sciences to serve people in need.

8. The Sociological Imagination
Ability to see societal patterns that influence life.
C. Wright Mills wrote about sociological perspective in The Sociological Imagination.
Sociology can reveal how society shapes our lives.

9. Troubles and Issues
Troubles are private problems in an individual’s life.
Issues affect large numbers of people
Issues shape the context within which troubles arise.

10. Debunking Studying the patterns and processes that shape behavior.
Questioning actions and ideas that are usually taken for granted.
Acting as “an outsider within.”

11. Understanding Diversity
Understanding diversity is critical to understanding society because patterns of social change and social structure are influenced by diverse group experiences.
Diversity includes:
the shaping of social institutions by different social factors
the formation of group and individual identity
the process of social change

12. Share of Minorities in the U.S. Population

13. America’s Diversity: % White

14. America’s Diversity: % African American

15. America’s Diversity: % Hispanic

16. America’s Diversity: % Asian American

17. America’s Diversity: % American Indian

18. Sociology and the Enlightenment
Faith in the ability of human reason to solve society’s problems.
Belief that natural laws and processes in society are used for the general good.

19. Influence of the Enlightenment
Positivists - society could be studied using the natural sciences.
Humanitarianism - human reason can direct social change for the betterment of society.

20. Sociology in Europe: Comte
French philosopher
Coined the term sociology
Believed sociology could discover laws of human social behavior and help solve society’s problems

21. Sociology in Europe: Tocqueville
French citizen who traveled to the United States 1831
Wrote an analysis of U.S. democratic culture and society.
In the United States the tyranny of kings was replaced by the “tyranny of the majority.”

22. Sociology in Europe: Martineau
British citizen who toured the United States in 1834.
Wrote Society in America, an analysis of social customs she observed.
Wrote first sociological methods book on participant observation.

23. Classical Sociological Theory: Durkheim
Viewed society as an entity larger than the sum of its parts.
Conceptualized social facts as social patterns external to individuals.
Discovered the social basis of human behavior.

24. Classical Sociological Theory: Marx
Work was devoted to explaining how capitalism shaped society.
Profit is produced through the exploitation of the working class.
Considered the economic organization of society the most important influence on what humans think and how they behave.

25. Classical Sociological Theory: Weber
Theorized that society had three dimensions: political, economic,and cultural.
Believed that to understand social behavior one had to understand the meaning that a behavior had for social actors.

26. Sociology in America
American sociologists believed sociology could help solve social problems.
The Chicago School - concerned with the relationship of individual to society and society as a human laboratory.

27. Key Sociological Concepts
Social structure Organized pattern of social relationships and institutions that together constitute society
Social institutions Established and organized systems of social behavior with a recognized purpose.

28. Key Sociological Concepts
Social change The alteration of society over time.
Social interaction A behavior between two or more people that is given meaning.

29. Sociological Theory: Individual and Society
Functionalism
Individuals occupy fixed social roles.
Conflict Theory
Individuals subordinated to society.
Symbolic Interaction
Individual and society are interdependent.

30. Sociological Theory: View of Inequality
Functionalism
Inevitable; functional for society
Conflict Theory
Result of struggle over scarce resources.
Symbolic Interaction
Inequality demonstrated through meaning of status symbols.

31. Sociological Theory: Basis of Social Order
Functionalism
Consensus on common values.
Conflict Theory
Power; coercion
Symbolic Interaction
Collective meaning systems; society created through social interaction

32. Sociological Theory: Source of Social Change
Functionalism
Disorganization and adjustment to achieve equilibrium.
Conflict Theory
Struggle; competition
Symbolic Interaction
Ever-changing web of relationships and meaning of things.

33. Sociological Theory: Criticisms
Functionalism
A conservative view of society that underplays power differences among and between groups.
Conflict Theory
Understates the degree of cohesion and stability in society.
Symbolic Interaction
There is little analysis of inequality and it overstates the subjective basis of society.

34. Polling Question
Which sociological perspective do you think is generally the weakest in explaining things in our society?
A.) Functionalist
B.) Conflict Theory
C.) Symbolic interaction

35. Polling Question
Which sociological perspective do you think explains the concept of inequality in our society the most accurately?
A.) Functionalist
B.) Conflict Theory
C.) Symbolic interaction

36. Quick Quiz

37. 1. Sociology is the study of:
a. personality types
b. political philosophy
c. human behavior
d. the distribution of goods and services

38. Answer: c
Sociology is the study of human behavior.

39. 2. The ability to see the societal patterns that influence individual and group life is referred to as:
a. commonsense
b. social speedup
c. Wright's Theorem
d. the sociological imagination

40. Answer: d
The ability to see the societal patterns that influence individual and group life is referred to as the sociological imagination.

41. 3. The sociologist that first coined the term sociology is:
a. Auguste Comte
b. Emile Durkheim
c. Karl Marx
d. Harriet Martineau

42. Answer: a
The sociologist that first coined the term sociology is Auguste Comte.

43. 4. According to Karl Marx, the most important influence on what humans think and how they behave is:
a. the socio-emotional organization of society
b. the economic organization of society
c. the political organization of society
d. the religious organization of society

44. Answer : b
According to Karl Marx, the most important influence on what humans think and how they behave is the economic organization of society.

45. 5. Symbolic interactionism emphasizes:
a. the role of coercion and power
b. class struggles
c. face-to-face contact
d. the interdependent parts of society

46. Answer: c
Symbolic interactionism emphasizes face-to-face contact.