
the scientific study of

society (people living as a community)

and human behavior

What (do sociologists study)?
◦ Main interest – how people relate to one another and
influence each other’s behavior
◦ Focus on groups

How (what strategies do sociologists use)?
◦ Sociological perspective:
 an unbiased way to view the familiar, the
unfamiliar & ourselves
 viewing group behavior in a scientific,
systematic way (common sense= unreliable)
How & when did you develop your standard of beauty?


There is something inside each of us that
shapes our tastes, our likes and dislikes, what
we feel is and is not appropriate behavior.
That something is society.
The sociological perspective allows us to step
outside ourselves, passed our biased social
lens through which we ordinarily view the
world and see things more objectively.

Develop your sociological imagination:
◦ idea developed by C. Wright Mills
◦ the ability to see the connection
between the larger world and
your own personal life
Entry Door
Urinal 1
Urinal 2
Urinal 3
1
2
3

A man enters an empty restroom. Which of
the following urinals does the man use?
Entry Door
Urinal 1
Urinal 2
Urinal 3
1
2
3
BUT WAIT!
Why did you pick THAT
urinal?

A man enters the restroom but finds it occupied with
an individual in the far left urinal. Which of the
following urinals does the man use now?
Entry Door
Urinal 1
Urinal 2
Urinal 3
1
2
3
BUT WAIT!
Why did you pick THAT
urinal?

A man enters the restroom but finds it occupied with
an individual in the far left urinal AND the far right
urinal. What does the man do now?
Entry Door
Urinal 1
Urinal 2
Urinal 3
1
2
3
BUT WAIT!
What made you say that
answer?
What’s their
story?


You did something you were not comfortable
with because someone else told or asked you
to.
OR
You did something just because everyone
else was doing it.
“I was only following orders.”
-Adolf Eichmann
“There was a sign 'to disinfection'.
They opened the door, threw the
children in and closed the door. There
was a terrible cry. The bodies were
loaded on a rough wagon and taken to
a ditch. After that I didn't look at my
wife for four weeks.”
-Testimony of SS Private Boeck
What’s their
story?
What’s their
story?

You made an assumption about someone that
turned out to be totally wrong.
OR

You were unfairly or inaccurately
judged/described by someone who didn’t
know you at all.
“I once heard a story about a
homeless man on Hollywood Blvd
who really thought he was
invisible. But one day a kid
handed the man a Christian
pamphlet. The homeless guy was
shocked and amazed, “what! You
can see me? How can you see me?
I’m invisible!”
- http://invisiblepeople.tv/blog/
What’s their
story?


Social Science – studying human social behavior
or the institutions and functions of human
society in a scientific manner
Other social sciences: Anthropology, Psychology,
Economics, Political Science, & History
Your small group will be assigned one of the following
timeline items. On your piece of paper, write (bullets
are fine) a brief description of your item and create an
illustration that represents your item.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Factors that led to the development of
sociology as a distinct field of study (pg. 9-10)
Auguste Comte (pg. 10)
Herbert Spencer (pg. 10-11)
Karl Marx (pg. 12)
Émile Durkheim (pg. 12-13)
Max Weber (pg. 14)


Industrial Revolution
◦ Rapid growth of urban populations = social
problems (crime, unemployment, pollution,
urban life)
American & French Revolutions
◦ Demands for freedom and rights
◦ Scholars question traditional explanations of life
◦ Influence of science (learn through observation,
experiments & data collection)

Tenements: families lived in poverty and despair
Many women forced to work in factories

founder of sociology

first used science methods
to study social life

Two focus areas: social
order & social change

Social statics hold society
together & social dynamics
cause change
French philosopher
August Comte

Anti-other people’s ideas

Influenced by Darwin’s
evolution theories

Social Darwinism


Society - set of interdependent
parts that work together to
keep the system going
Social change & unrest naturally
occur as a society evolves
towards stability & perfection =
good, “survival of the fittest”
English sociologist
Herbert Spencer

Society is influenced by how
the economy is organized

2 social classes:


◦ Bourgeoisie = wealthy capitalists;
owners
◦ Proletariat = workers
Power imbalance would cause
a workers’ rebellion; workers
would win & create a society
without social classes
Conflict causes social change
German philosopher
Karl Marx


French sociologist
Émile Durkheim

Agreed: Society - set of
interdependent parts that
work together to keep the
system going
BUT he focused on the
function (benefits; what it
offers to keep the social
system going) of each part
(esp. religion)
Study only observable
things

Interested in separate groups
rather than society as a whole

Studied the effect of society on the
individual

Study feelings & thoughts (not just
observable things)

Verstehen – put yourself in the

Ideal type – a good example of
something; a basis for comparison
place of others & see the situation
through their eyes
German sociologist
Max Weber