What is Sociology?
Sociology is the study of human interaction and the
relationships which are the result. It looks at collective
behavior, people in groups, cultures, populations and overall
societies.
Comparing Sociology to the other sciences:
The Natural Sciences
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Biology (Zoology, Botany)
Geology (Earth Science)
Chemistry
Physics
The Social Sciences
• Anthropology (Linguistics, Ethnology, Physical & Cultural,
Archeology)
• Economics
• History
• Philosophy
• Political Science
• Psychology
• Sociology
Pioneers of Sociology
Auguste Comte
Max Weber
Emile Durkheim
Herbert Spencer
Karl Marx
Harriet Martineau
Jane Addams
WEB DuBois
C. Wright Mills
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Topics of study:
Culture (comparative cultures)
Socialization
Deviance and social control
Social class (stratification) wealth and poverty
Gender and ethnicity/race and age (‘isms)
Social Institutions (the economy, religion, the government, education, marriage and the
family, the military, medicine and health)
Demographics (populations)
Social movements
Social change
Social problems
Features particular to Sociology:
• Unlike history its primarily concern is with events in the present.
• Unlike political science and economics it does not focus on a single
social institution.
• Unlike anthropology its primary focus is on contemporary societies.
• Unlike psychology its focus is on group behavior and variables
external to the individual.
Types of Sociology
• As sociologists study human behavior they focus on people’s
patterned relationships, sociologists study the recurring aspects of
human behavior.
• This leads them to focus on two principle aspects of life in society:
• 1. Group membership (including institutions)
• 2. Face to face interaction
• In the first type of sociology, structural, the focus is placed upon the
group. Structural sociologists are interested in how membership in
a group such as religion, education, government, gender,
occupation, ethnicity, or age influence people’s behaviors and
attitudes.
• In the second type of sociology, interactional, greater emphasis and
focus is placed on the individuals, their communication and
relationships with others.
Methods of study:
• Quantitative methodology lends itself to a statistical orientation.
This approach uses numbers and statistics and percentages to
represent people’s patterns of behavior.
• Qualitative sociology places a greater meaning on the behaviors
themselves. They focus on how people construct their worlds, how
they develop their ideas and attitudes and especially how they
communicate with each other. These sociologist attempt to
determine how people’s meanings (called symbols, mental
constructs, ideas, and stereotypes) affect their ideas of self and
others.
Comparing Basic and Applied Sociology
• Basic or “Pure” Sociology: research whose purpose it is to make
discoveries about life in human groups, not to make changes in
those groups
• Applied Sociology: uses sociology to solve problems, from the
micro level of family relationships to the macro level of crime and
pollution
Levels of Analysis
• Micro level: small, focused, intimate look at sociological
phenomena. Face to face, as through the interactionist perspective
• Macro level: larger, structural, institutional, national or even global
perspective
Theoretical Perspectives
Symbolic Interactionism: society is viewed as composed of symbols
that people use to establish meaning, develop their views of the
world and communicate with each other
Functional Analysis: framework in which society is viewed as
composed of various parts, each with a function that, when fulfilled,
contributes to society’s equilibrium.
Conflict Theory: framework in which society is viewed as composed of
groups that are competing for limited resources
Chapter One Review
• Featured Learning Objectives:
1,2,8,11,13,18
• Vocabulary Terms
• Key People Featured
• Chart 1.3
• Table1.1
• In Sum Features
• Chapter Summary and Review