SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY: SEEING THE INVISIBLE VARIABLES/FACTORS OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR AND CONDITION/DESTINY Auguste Comte, the Father of Sociology 2016-03-23 1 © Dr. Francis Adu-Febiri 2015 Presentation Outline 1. Introduction: Seeing the Invisible 2. Paradigm: Methods and Theories 3. Explaining Human Behaviour and Condition: Biology, Psychology & Sociology 4. The Sociological Paradigm Shift 5. Major Paradigms of Sociology: – – – – – Functionalism Social Conflict Interactionism Feminism Postmodernism 6. Application of the Paradigms 2 INTRODUCTION: SEEING THE INVISIBLE While social forces are themselves invisible (unless revealed by sociological paradigms/theories), they produce effects that are seen and felt in every act of people. » Everything we see/feel/experience in the social world is an effect of invisible social forces. CAUSE (X) INVISIBLE EFFECT (Y) VISIBLE Discovering or revealing the invisible is the objective of paradigms (research 3 and theorizing) INTRODUCTION: SOCIOLOGY SEEING THE INVISIBLE CAUSE (X) INVISIBLE (Unmanifest) MACRO SOCIAL FORCES MICRO SOCIAL FORCES - - Human Agency Culture Political Economy Social Closures Patriarchy SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION - Functionalist Paradigm 2016-03-23 Social Conflict Paradigm Macro Feminist Paradigm SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF REALITY - Interactionist Paradigm - Micro Feminist Paradigm - Postmodernist Paradigm EFFECT (Y) VISIBLE (Manifest) - Human Behavior - Human Condition - Human Destiny 4 INTRODUCTION: SEEING THE INVISIBLE 1. Invisible macro and micro social forces are the X (independent variables or the “Unmanifest”) or causal factors and what we see, feel, think and experience are all Y (dependent variables or the “Manifest”) or effects. 2. The theories dimension of Sociological Paradigms identify and name these invisible social forces 3. The invisible macro social forces are Culture, Political Economy, Social Closures and Patriarchy; The invisible micro social force is Human Agency 4. The macro sociological paradigms of Functionalism, Social Conflict, and Feminism reveal the macro social forces; The micro 2016-03-23 5 sociological paradigms of Interactionism and postmodernism PARADIGM: A SYSTEM OF THEORY & METHODS The term PARADIGM was first used by Thomas Kuhn (1962) to represent a particular way of thinking and seeing the world that is shared by a community of scholars, researchers, or scientists, and also one that is used to represent commitments, worldviews, beliefs, values, methods and approaches that are shared across a discipline (Chilisa 2012, pp. 19-20). THEORY = Scientific Explanation or Proposition Statement on relationships between/among concepts. METHODS = Design and process for Systematic Investigation Methods Theory Methods Theory PARADIGM Theory 2016-03-23 Methods Theory Methods 6 THEORY DIMENSION OF PARADIGMS “Theory is a set of propositions that suggests why events occur in the manner they do”…Theories consist of concepts and the linkages or relationships between them (Kenneth R. Hoover 1980, p. 37 and 38). Examples: » E=mc² in the Physical Sciences » S(p) in Sociology 2016-03-23 7 THE UTILITY OF THE THEORY DIMENSION OF PARADIGMS 2016-03-23 8 THE UTILITY OF PARADIGMS A paradigm is constructed and “used by scientists to provide logical explanations for why things happen the way they do” (Ballantine 1993: 5). As explanations and predictions, paradigms or theoretical perspectives in sociology suggest CAUSES for behaviors, events, human conditions, human destiny, and social structures, including culture. The higher the abstraction the a) more particular social circumstances it could explain and predict with little and b) the more one can know without much memorization of information. Examples: E=mc²; S(p). 2016-03-23 9 THE UTILITY OF PARADIGMS “Identification of causes is at the heart of theories and, of course, knowledge about causes is of practical importance if we are interested in creating, enhancing, reinforcing, reducing, or eliminating a given situation or behavior” (Hurst 2005, p. 6). » Paradigms help to change lives and communities 2016-03-23 10 EXPLAINING HUMAN BEHAVIOR: A Contested Terrain EFFECT (Y) CAUSE (X) INVISIBLE (Unmanifest) SUPERNATURAL FORCES - Religion NATURAL FORCES - Biology - Psychology VISIBLE (Manifest) - Human Behavior - Human Condition - Human destiny SOCIAL FORCES - Sociology 2016-03-23 11 EXPLAINING HUMAN BEHAVIOR: A Contested Terrain Why do people behave the way they do and why is the human condition the way it is? Specifically, why do we have technology, the Internet, sickness, love, dating, sex, marriage, family, schools, successful people, the poor, volunteers, charity, happy people, capitalism, child abuse, terrorism, sexism, racism, violence, financial crises, homelessness, globalization, equal access to health care in Canada, suffering, crime, etc.? Providing the correct answer to the question as to what determines human behaviour and human condition has been a contest among biological, psychological and sociological paradigms. – A PARADIGM IN BIOLOGY: Inside the body: DNA – A PARADIGM IN PSYCHOLOGY Inside the brain: Mental Processes/Personality Type/Self-esteem – SOCIOLOGICAL PARADIGM: Outside the body: The Social World (Social Structure, culture and human agency). 2016-03-23 12 THE SOCIOLOGICAL PARADIGM SHIFT: – Sociology has caused a paradigm shift about the world and human behavior/condition because of the Sociological Theories that Sociological Research has helped to create. » Paradigms connect Research Methods and Theories 2016-03-23 13 THE SOCIOLOGICAL PARADIGM SHIFT S(p) The personal (or particular behavior/condition/experience) is a function of Social Forces. This formula points to the Physics roots of Sociology: Auguste Comte, the father of sociology, was a physicist and the original name given to sociology was “Social Physics”. 2016-03-23 14 SOCIOLOGICAL PARADIGM SHIFT Main Theory Similarities and differences in peoples’ behavior and conditions are a function of SOCIAL FORCES, namely, the S(p) invisible structures and dynamics of the social world Social Closures Culture Human Agency HUMAN BEHAVIOR & CONDITION Patriarchy Political Economy 2016-03-23 15 MAJOR PARADIGMS OF SOCIOLOGY 2016-03-23 16 MAJOR PARADIGMS OF SOCIOLOGY The sociological perspective is dominated by four major paradigms: – – – – – Structural Functionalist Paradigm (FUNCTIONALISM) Social Conflict Paradigm (SOCIAL CONFLICT) Interactionist Paradigm (INTERACTIONISM) Feminist Paradigm (FEMINISM) Postmodernist Paradigm (POSTMODERNISM) 2016-03-23 17 DIFFERENT EMPHASIS OF THE MAJOR PARADIGMS OF SOCIOLOGY Functionalism and Social Conflict paradigms are Macro Models of sociology and connect with the concept of Sociological Imagination. Interactionist Paradigm is a Micro Model of sociology and connects with the concept Social Construction of Reality . Feminist Paradigm is both Macro and Micro, but mainly Macro. Postmodernism is both Macro and Micro, but mainly Micro STRUCTURE CULTURE (Macro) HUMAN (Macro) AGENCY (Micro) FUNCTIONALISM & POSTMODERNISM emphasize CULTURE in the Social Structure SOCIAL CONFLICT emphasizes STRUCTURE (Political Economy & Social Closures) in the Social Structure FEMINISM emphasizes STRUCTURE (Patriarchy) and HUMAN AGENCY, but mainly PATRIARCHAL 2016-03-23 18 STRUCTURE INTERACTIONISM emphasizes HUMAN AGENCY PREVAILING MODELS OF SOCIOLOGICAL EXPLANATION MACRO MODEL (Sociological Imagination): Culture, Political Economy, Social Closures, Patriarchy Variation in Social Structure Variation in Behavior & Human Condition MICRO MODEL (Social Construction of Reality): Definition of Interaction Situation Variation in Human Agency Variation in Behavior & Human Condition FUSION or COMPOSITE MODEL (Structuration): A B Variation in Behavior & Structure of Situation Definition of Situation 2016-03-23 Human 19 Condition CONNECTIONS Paradigms Sociological Theory S(p) Social Forces Major Concepts 1. Functionalism Macro Social Force CULTURE 2. Social Conflict Macro Social Force Sociological STRUCTURE: Political Economy Imagination & Social Closures 3. Interactionism & Postmodernism Micro Social Force: HUMAN AGENCY 4. Feminism Mainly Macro Social Forces: STRUCTURE: Patriarchy STRUCTURATION PARADIGM “..our background and circumstances may have influences on who we are but we are responsible for whom we become” (Rosin 2012, p. 114)‘ Sociological Imagination Social Construction of Reality Sociological Imagination QUIZ 1 Your friend is seeking an answer to his question, “In what ways do social institutions or structures–like the criminal justice system—serve the needs of the powerful over the powerless”. What model of the sociological paradigm would be the most appropriate in providing the framework to produce the correct answer to your friend’s question? A) Spirit Model B) Micro Model C) Macro Model D) Fusion or Composite Model 2016-03-23 21 QUIZ 2 “If people in Canadian society are concerned about the high divorce rate and want to fix it, they must focus on individual action; they must not focus on social structures and social arrangements”. This viewpoint on divorce is representative of what sociological model? A) Meso Model B) Micro Model C) Macro Model D) Composite Model 2016-03-23 22 FUNCTIONALIST Paradigm or Theoretical Perspective HARMONY AND COHESION 2016-03-23 Cultural Consensus 23 Functionalism’s Story: Universal homogenous culture Storyline #1. Society is made up of objective social system that seeks agreement and consensus over culture--shared meanings, values and beliefs among its subsystems. Storyline #2. People’s private behaviour and thinking are pushed and pulled by culture--the shared meanings, values and beliefs developed through socialization (Russell Westhaver 2013, p. xix). Storyline #3: Anything that exists and persists in the social structure is functional for the system. Dysfunctional phenomena are eliminated. FUNCTIONALIST PARADIGM EFFECT (Y) CAUSE (X) Homeostasis need of Society: Cultural Interrelated parts of society, CONDUIT including people, their Social Relationships behaviors, experiences, Conditions, and destinies. Macro Social Force UNMANIFEST MANIFEST FUNCTIONALIST PARADIGM FOCUS: Macro: Social Structure, particularly CULTURE. MAIN CONCEPTS: Homeostasis (Equilibrium, Social Solidarity, Social Order, Social Stability, Integration, Consensus), Function, Dysfunction). MAIN THEORY: Society, like a biological organism, is an evolving complex structure of interrelated parts/processes each of which serves a function (manifest or latent) by contributing to homeostasis which is the overall stability and integration of society for the benefit of the whole. The stability is characterized by a social consensus whereby members of the social structure share a common culture. Dysfunctional parts/processes causing conflicts and contradictions are eliminated. 2016-03-23 “…actors 26 [people] are motivated to achieve a goal or end as defined by the cultural system in which they live.” (Talcott Parsons). FUNCTIONALIST PARADIGM 1. FUNCTION(AL): Contributes to social order or stability or social solidarity, that is, homeostasis needs (universal and homogenous cultures) of the whole social structure. Two types of functions: Manifest & Latent a) MANIFEST FUNCTION – Functions of societal elements and processes that are intended and obvious or commonly recognized (e.g., Education transmits knowledge and skills). b) LATENT FUNCTION – Functions of societal elements and processes unintended and often provide hidden contributions to societal homeostasis (e.g., Education serves as babysitter and marriage market). 2016-03-23 27 FUNCTIONALIST PARADIGM 2. DYSFUNCTION(AL): Contributes to disorder or instability (E.g., ANOMIE). Simultaneously Dysfunctional and Functional: – E.g., CRIME subsystem is dysfunctional in that it causes violence, loss of property and fear to some individuals and groups. However, crime is also functional for society because it leads to heightened awareness of shared moral bonds, increased social cohesion and economic benefits. QUIZ 3 In your sociology of sports class you learned that from the perspective of colleges, college/university athletes have these functions: enhancing school spirit, providing recreation and exercises for students, and helping to publicize the name of the college or university. One of your classmates suggests to you that these stated functions constitute “manifest functions”. Do you think your classmate is right in labeling these as manifest functions instead of latent functions? A). Yes B). No C). Correct D) Wrong 2016-03-23 29 FUNCTIONALIST PARADIGM VIEW OF INDIVIDUAL: People are socialized to perform societal functions. – Individual behavior and experiences as well as the human condition are determined by the social structural need (universal and homogenous) for homeostasis. VIEW OF THE SOCIAL ORDER: Society seeks stability and integration because rapid changes and conflicts in culture are dysfunctional—they disrupt homeostasis: – This order is maintained through cooperation or cultural consensus VIEW OF SOCIAL CHANGE: Change is gradual, predictable and reinforcing of homeostasis PROPONENTS: – – – – Emile Durkheim Herbert Spencer Talcott Parsons Robert Merton CRITIQUING FUNCTIONALISM See Page 50 of Ravelli and Webber 2014 2016-03-23 31 SOCIAL CONFLICT Paradigm or Theoretical Perspective 2016-03-23 32 Social Conflict’s Story Storyline #1. Society is made up of subgroups that are in ruthless competition for scarce resources, particularly property (money/wealth), power and prestige. Storyline #2. Because of competition, society is never harmonious; conflict is normal in a society where there are inequalities and oppression. Storyline #3. Power and property play a disproportionate role in shaping the structure of society and the behavior and experiences of individuals and groups within it. Storyline #4: People’s private behaviour and thinking are pushed and pulled by their struggle over scarce resources and differences in power, authority and control (Russell Westhaver 2013, p. xix). SOCIAL CONFLICT PARADIGM CAUSE (X) Scarce Political, Economic & Social Resources -Power -Property -Prestige -Privilege EFFECT (Y) CONDUIT Competitive & Unequal Social Relationships Conflict & Change in -Social Structure -Culture -Behavior -Experiences -Human condition -Change Macro Social Force UNMANIFEST MANIFEST SOCIAL CONFLICT PARADIGM FOCUS: MACRO: Social Structure, particularly POLITICAL ECONOMY (power and property/wealth) and SOCIAL CLOSURE (structured inequalities or prestige of status groups): MAIN CONCEPTS: Competition, Inequality, Conflict and Change MAIN TEORY Socio-structural forces, particularly the dialectics of capitalist political economy and social closures, through the ideology of scarcity, create competition over valued resources that produces inequalities in property (wealth), power, privilege, and prestige (status) resulting in conflict among social groups, particularly social classes, that create conflict which dictates human behavior, culture, condition, experiences, access to resources, and possible revolutionary social change. Feminist theories, Post-Structural Theories, Queer Theory, PostColonial Theory, Anti-Racist Theories, and Globalization Theories are responses to or offshoots of the Social Conflict Paradigm. 2016-03-23 35 SOCIAL CONFLICT PARADIGM VIEW OF THE INDIVIDUAL: People are shaped by power, money and prestige. VIEW OF SOCIETY: Tension and struggle between groups. VIEW OF SOCIAL ORDER: Maintained through force or threat of force. VIEW OF SOCIAL CHANGE: Inevitable and revolutionary. PROPONENTS: – Karl Marx – W.E.B. Du Bois 2016-03-23 – Ida Wells-Barnett 36 CRTIQUING SOCIAL CONFLICT PARADIGM See page 57 of Ravelli and Webber 2014. 2016-03-23 37 INTERACTIONIST PARADIGM 2016-03-23 “Looking-glass Self” 38 Looking-glass self: –“What we think of ourselves is influenced by how we imagine other people see us”. “Ultimately we may become the kind of person we believe others see us as”—a self-fulfilling prophecy. 2016-03-23 39 Interactionism’s Story Storyline #1: Society is made up of shared or contested subjective meanings generated through ongoing social interaction (Russell Westhaver 2013, p. xix) Storyline #2: People’s private behaviour and Thinking are shaped by how they understand different symbols. Depending on their understanding of the symbols, they may agree with, resist, or change the meaning of those symbols (ibid.). Storyline #3: Through the power of choice, people create their own images/identities and their worlds. INTERACTIONIST PARADIGM President Obama’s eulogy for Nelson Mandela, Johannesburg, December 10, 2013 We will never see the likes of Nelson Mandela again. But let me say to the young people of Africa, and young people around the world you can make his life’s work your own. Over thirty years ago, while still a student, I learned of Mandela and the struggles in this land. It stirred something in me. It woke me up to my responsibilities - to others, and to myself - and set me on an improbable journey that finds me here today. And while I will always fall short of Madiba’s example, he makes me want to be better. He speaks to what is best inside us. After this great liberator is laid to rest; when we have returned to our cities and villages, and rejoined our daily routines, let us search then for his strength - for his largeness of spirit somewhere inside ourselves. And when the night grows dark, when injustice weighs heavy on our hearts, or our best laid plans seem beyond our reach - think of Madiba, and the words that brought him 2016-03-23 41 comfort within the four walls of a cell: INTERACTIONIST PARADIGM President Obama’s eulogy for Nelson Mandela, Johannesburg, December 10, 2013 It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul. What a great soul it was. We will miss him deeply. May God bless the memory of Nelson Mandela. May God bless the people of South Africa. Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/transcript-remarks-president-barack-obama-nelsonmandela-service-article-1.1542986#ixzz2nHdMZEsf INTERACTIONIST PARADIGM People respond to their definition of a situation rather than to objective situations. 2016-03-23 43 INTERACTIONIST PARADIGM EFFECT (Y) CAUSE (X) Human Agency: -Capacity for thought - Self-indication - Definition of the Situation/Symbols - Looking-Glass Self Micro Social Force UNMANIFEST CONDUIT Social Interaction Groups & Societies: -Behaviors -Experiences - Image/Identity -Culture - Human condition MANIFEST INTERACTIONIST PARADIGM FOCUS: MICRO: Individual and group interactions: MAIN CONCEPTS: Human Agency, Definition of Situation, Symbols, Looking-glass Self, Interaction MAIN THEORY: Through the process of the looking-glass self, Individuals and groups as human agents define (assign subjective meanings to) situations (symbols), and align their interactions with the definitions to construct their behavior, experiences, access to resources, social conditions, images/identities, cultures, and worlds to make/manage impressions. People are action units or active agents, not passive beings or products of objective macro social forces; they are active beings who engage 45 2016-03-23 with others to organize their world and give it meaning. INTERACTIONIST PARADIGM: KEY CONCEPTS VIEW OF INDIVIDUAL: To understand individual and group behavior, social scientists must see the world from the eyes of that individual or group--verstehen (Max Weber). a. Human Agency and Definition of the Situation: – People are action units or human agents who through participation in social acts construct their identities/images, cultures, and worlds to make/manage impressions to maximize their advantages and minimize disadvantages. b. Looking-glass self: – “What we think of ourselves is influenced by how we imagine other people see us”. “Ultimately we may become the kind of person we believe others see us as”—a self-fulfilling prophecy. 2016-03-23 46 INTERACTIONIST PARADIGM: KEY CONCEPTS VIEW OF SOCIETY: Individual interactions construct society Definition of the Situation: Thomas Theorem: – Sociologist W.I. Thomas (1931) highlighted the importance of definitions/meanings in social behavior. People respond to their definition of a situation rather than to objective situation or society. Therefore: A) situations people define as real become real in their consequences (W.I. Thomas). 2016-03-23 47 INTERACTIONIST PARADIGM: KEY CONCEPTS VIEW OF SOCIAL ORDER: Focuses more on fluidity than stability. When there is stability it emerges and maintained through Sympathetic Introspection: Sympathetic Introspection – When people attach the same meanings to symbols (situations, behaviours or reality) in the same way, stable relationships or institutions result. Human interaction operates on SYMBOLS: – labels, signs, gestures, objects, words, sounds, values, beliefs, and colors that are given meaning by the interacting parties. 2016-03-23 48 5. Hence, SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM: INTERACTIONIST PARADIGM: KEY CONCEPTS VIEW OF SOCIAL CHANGE: Individuals negotiate social change through their interaction with each other and symbols. Proponents: – Marx Weber – Georg Simmel – George Herbert Mead – Charles Horton Cooley – Erving Goffman INTERACTIONIST PARADIGM: Society is a complex of symbols that people’s human agency constructs, interprets and use to make and/or manage impressions. Ideas Signs DEFINITION OF THE SITUATION Self & Others Objects THE SITUATION: Complex of Symbols HUMAN BEHAVIOR & EXPERIENCES Events Clothing Statuses & 2016-03-23 Roles Sounds Language Other Representations 50 CRITIQUING THE INTERACTIONIST PARADIGM See page 61 of Revelli and Webber 2014. 2016-03-23 51 FEMINIST Paradigm or Theoretical Perspective Resistance of Patriarchy: The Gender Gap 2016-03-23 52 Male Dominance? Feminism’s Story Storyline #1: Society is made up of subgroups of males/men and females/women that struggle over scarce resources and differences in power, authority and control Storyline #2: Society is never harmonious; conflict between men and women is normal in a society where there are inequalities and oppression against females. Storyline #3: Society is gendered, meaning that women almost always experience inequality and subordination when compared to men (Russel Westhaver 2013, p. xix). Storyline #4: People’s private behaviour and thinking are shaped by ideas and practices that favour men over women. Men are able to act and think because they can access important resources; women act and think because they do not have access to these resources (ibid.). Storyline #5: Gender conflict is intersected by social class, racial, ethnic, age, sexuality, etc. conflicts. Storyline #6: Within any particular society, there are subgroups of (and individual) men and women who cherish different and conflicting interests. Storyline #7: The “Gender Risk” is higher for women than men FEMINIST PARADIGM EFFECT (Y) CAUSE (X) Patriarchy: Men’s social power and social privilege CONDUIT Social Relationships Women’s Inequality and Oppression - Sexism -Gender conflict - Social change Macro Social Force MANIFEST UNMANIFEST FEMINIST PARADIGM FOCUS: MACRO & MICRO: Patriarchy and the micro responses of men and women to it. MAIN CONCEPTS: Patriarchy (Male Dominance), Inequality, Oppression, Sexism, Conflict and Change: MAIN THEORY Society is a complex economic, political, cultural and micro interaction system of male dominance or patriarchy that privileges boys/men and produces inequality, oppression and sexism against girls/women. The macro and micro resistance of girls/women to these gender inequality and oppression produces gender conflict. Social change may result from these processes. FEMINIST PARADIGM VIEW OF THE INDIVIDUAL: Differs according to social class, race, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, and physical ability. VIEW OF SOCIETY: Patriarchal system VIEW OF SOCIAL ORDER: Maintained through standpoints that do not include those of women. VIEW OF SOCIAL CHANGE: Social change through reforms or revolutions is essential in order to bring about equality. PROPONENTS: Betty Friedan Dorothy Smith Margrit Eichler 2016-03-23 Nellie McClung 56 FEMINIST PARADIGM KEY CONCEPTS: 1. PATRIARCHY:--a system of male dominance that works to the advantage of males and to the disadvantage of females. 2. Status quo gender relations embodies SEXISM that causes and reflects INEQUALITY against and OPPRESSION of women. – Sexism:--belief that the male sex is superior to the female sex. – Gender Inequality:--skewed access to wealth, power, and prestige in favor of males. – Gender Oppression:--Restrictions on women’s lives. 2016-03-23 57 FEMINIST PARADIGM 3. Gender inequality and oppression underlie GENDER CONFLICT and such conflict is the impetus to changes in GENDER RELATIONS. – Gender Conflict:--The clash of the interests (particularly economic and political) of males and females. 4. INTERSECTIONALITY: Gender is textured by social class, race, ethnicity, age, sexuality, etc. –Triple or Multiple Jeopardy experienced by certain women. 2016-03-23 58 CRITIQUING THE FEMINIST PARADIGM Women-centered and as such overly biased and explicitly ideological. –Feminism is a form of political activism and therefore it is more of a social movement than scientific theory of society. 2016-03-23 59 POSTMODERNIST PARADIGM: Multiculturalism & Hyperreality 2016-03-23 60 POSTMODERNIST PARADIGM: Multiculturalism & Hyperreality There is no universal, normal and homogenous cultural reality (Tepperman 2015, p. 15): – Reality is fragmentary—disjointed and often conflicting: Multiculturalism » Deconstruct the modernist dominating or hegemonic ideology of universal, homogeneous cultural truth, » Reality as conceptualized by modernism is an illusion. It does not exist. » Hyperreality is what exists. 2016-03-23 61 MAJOR CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FOUR MAJOR SOCIOLOGICAL PARADIGMS SOCIAL CHANGE METHODOLOGY FOCUS FUNCTIONALISM Positivism Quantitative Deductive Macro: Culture SOCIAL CONFLICT Criticalism Quantitative Deductive Macro: Political Revolution Interpretism Qualitative Inductive Micro: Human Agency Individual adaptation & innovation Liberal: Feminist/Critical Quanti/Quali Deduct/Inductive Micro & Macro: Patriarchy Evolution Revolution Radical: Social Engineering: 62 Equity Legislation INTERACTIONISM FEMINISM 2016-03-23 Evolution Economy & Social Closure POLICY Conservative Modernization Assimilation Radical: Social Engineering: Equity Legislation Individual choices & freedom QUIZ 4 In your encounters with human behaviour and conditions, you have come to the conclusion that people construct their own worlds through the processes of negotiating the meanings of symbols in human society. Which of the four major sociological paradigms would agree with your conclusion? A) Social Conflict Paradigm B) Functionalist Paradigm C) Interactionist Paradidm D) Feminist Paradigm 2016-03-23 63 Identify the paradigms applied in 1-3 1. I feel crazy (or stupid or fearful or overwhelmed), so something must be wrong with my genes. 2. I feel crazy (or stupid or fearful or overwhelmed), so something must be wrong with my mental processes. 3. I feel crazy (or stupid or fearful or overwhelmed), so something must be wrong with the society I inhabit. 2016-03-23 64 Identify the paradigms applied in 4&5 4. I feel crazy (or stupid or fearful or overwhelmed), so something must be wrong with the culture of the society I inhabit. 5. I feel crazy (or stupid or fearful or overwhelmed), so something must be wrong with money or power or prestige of the society I inhabit. 2016-03-23 65 Identify the paradigms applied in 6&7 6. I feel crazy (or stupid or fearful or overwhelmed), so something must be wrong with male power of the society I inhabit. 7. I feel crazy (or stupid or fearful or overwhelmed), so something must be wrong with the meaning I put on (or how I construct the realities of) the culture or money or power or prestige or social interactions of the society I inhabit . 2016-03-23 66 CONCLUSION The Social World is made up of manifest and unmanifest variables/factors. The manifest factors are the effect of the unmanifest factors. The objectives of sociological paradigms are to discover and identify the unmanifest factors (causal factors or predictors) and use them to explain, and where necessary to predict, the manifest factors (the effect). 2016-03-23 67