The Sociological
Perspective
The systematic study of human society
What Is Sociology?
“...The systematic study of human society ”
– Systematic
• Scientific discipline that focuses attention on patterns of behavior
– Human society
• Group behavior is primary focus; how groups influence individuals
and vice versa
– At the “heart of sociology”
• The sociological perspective which offers a unique view of society
Why Take Sociology?
• Education and liberal arts
– Well-rounded as a person
– Social expectations
• More appreciation for diversity
– The global village
– Domestic social marginality
• Enhanced life chances
– Micro and macro understanding
– Increase social potentials
Benefits of the Sociological Perspective
1.
2.
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4.
Helps us assess the truth of common sense
Helps us assess both opportunities and constraints in
our lives
Empowers us to be active participants in our society
Helps us live in a diverse world
Importance of Global Perspective
• Where we live makes a great difference in shaping our lives
• Societies throughout the world are increasingly
interconnected through technology and economics.
• Many problems that we face in the United States are more
serious elsewhere.
• Thinking globally is a good way to learn more about
ourselves.
Global Map 1.1
Women’s Childbearing in Global Perspective
Is childbearing simply a matter of personal choice? A look around the world shows that it is not. In general,
women living in poor countries have many more children than women in rich nations. Can you point to some
of the reasons for this global disparity? In simple terms, such differences mean that if you had been born into
another society (whether you are female or male), your life might be quite different from what it is now.
Source: Data from Hamilton, Martin, & Ventura (2006). Map projection from Peters Atlas of the World (1990).
The Sociological Perspective
Peter Berger
• Seeing the general in the particular
– Sociologists identify general social patterns in the
behavior of particular individuals.
• Seeing the strange in the familiar
– Giving up the idea that human behavior is simply a
matter of what people decide to do
– Understanding that society shapes our lives
Durkheim’s Study of Suicide
• Emile Durkheim’s research showed that society affects even our most
personal choices.
– More likely to commit: male Protestants who were wealthy and
unmarried
– Less likely to commit: male Jews and Catholics who were poor and
married
• One of the basic findings: Why?
– The differences between these groups had to do with “social
integration.”
– Those with strong social ties had less of a chance of committing
suicide.
National Map 1.1
Suicide rates across the United States
This map shows which states have high, average, and low suicide rates. Look for patterns. By and large, high suicide rates occur where people
live far apart from one another. More densely populated states have low suicide rates. Do these data support or contradict Durkheim’s theory
of suicide? Why?
Source: Hoyert et al. (2006).
Figure 1.1
Rate of Death by Suicide, by Race and Sex, for the United States.
Suicide rates are higher for white people than for black people and higher for men than for
women. Rates indicate the number of deaths by suicide for every 100,000 people in each
category for 2003.
Source: Youert et al. (2006).
C. Wright Mills’
Sociological Imagination
• The power of the sociological perspective lies not
just in changing individual lives but in transforming
society.
• Society, not people’s personal failings, is the cause
of social problems.
• The sociological imagination transforms personal
problems into public issues.
The Origins of Sociology
• One of the youngest of academic disciplines, sociology has its origins
in powerful social forces.
• Social Change
– Industrialization, urbanization, political revolution, and a new
awareness of society
• Science
– 3-Stages: Theological, Metaphysical & Scientific
– Positivism–A way of understanding based on science
• Gender & Race
– These important contributions have been pushed to the margins
of society.
Sociological Theory
• Theory: a statement of how and why facts are related
– Explains social behavior to the real world
• Theoretical paradigm: A set of fundamental assumptions
that guides thinking
– Structural-functional
– Social-conflict
– Symbolic-interaction
Structural-Functional Paradigm
• The basics
– A macro-level orientation, concerned with broad patterns that
shape society as a whole
– Views society as a complex system whose parts work together to
promote solidarity and stability
• Key elements:
– Social structure refers to any relatively stable patterns of social
behavior found in social institutions.
– Social function refers to the consequences for the operation of
society as a whole.
Who’s Who in the StructuralFunctional Paradigm
• Auguste Comte
– Importance of social integration during times of rapid change
• Emile Durkheim
– Helped establish sociology as a discipline
• Herbert Spencer
– Compared society to the human body
• Robert K. Merton
– Manifest functions are recognized and intended consequences.
– Latent functions are unrecognized and unintended consequences.
– Social dysfunctions are undesirable consequences.
Social-Conflict Paradigm
• The basics:
– A macro-oriented paradigm
– Views society as an arena of inequality that generates conflict
and social change
• Key elements:
– Society is structured in ways to benefit a few at the expense of
the majority.
– Factors such as race, sex, class, and age are linked to social
inequality.
– Dominant group vs. disadvantaged group relations
Who’s Who in the
Social-Conflict Paradigm
• Karl Marx
– The importance of social class in inequality and social
conflict
• W.E.B. Du Bois
– Race as the major problem facing the United States in
the 20th century
Feminism and the
Gender-Conflict Approach
• A point of view that focuses on inequality and conflict
between women and men
• Closely linked to feminism, the advocacy of social equality
for women and men
• Women important to the development of sociology:
Harriet Martineau and Jane Addams
The Race-Conflict Approach
• A point of view that focuses on inequality
and conflict between people of different
racial and ethnic categories
• People of color important to the
development of sociology: Ida Wells
Barnett and W.E.B. Du Bois
Symbolic-Interaction Paradigm
• The basics
– A micro-level orientation, a close-up focus on social
interactions in specific situations
– Views society as the product of everyday interactions of
individuals
• Key elements
– Society is nothing more than the shared reality that
people construct as they interact with one another.
– Society is a complex, ever-changing mosaic of subjective
meanings.
Who’s Who in the
Symbolic-Interaction Paradigm
• Max Weber
– Understanding a setting from the people in it
• George Herbert Mead
– How we build personalities from social experience
• Erving Goffman
– Dramaturgical analysis
• George Homans & Peter Blau
– Social-exchange analysis
Critical Evaluation
• Structural-Functional
– Too broad, ignores inequalities of social class, race &
gender, focuses on stability at the expense of conflict
• Social-Conflict
– Too broad, ignores how shared values and mutual
interdependence unify society, pursues political goals
• Symbolic-Interaction
– Ignores larger social structures, effects of culture, factors
such as class, gender & race
Applying Theory
Major Theoretical Approaches
Applying the Approaches:
The Sociology of Sports
• The Functions of Sports
– A structural-functional approach directs our attention to
the ways in which sports help society operate
– Sports have functional and dysfunctional consequences
Sports and Conflict
• Social-conflict analysis points out that games people play
reflect their social standing.
• Sports have been oriented mostly toward males.
• Big league sports excluded people of color for decades.
• Sports in the United States are bound up with inequalities
based on gender, race, and economic power.
Figure 1.2
“Stacking” in Professional Football
Does race play a part in professional
sports? Looking at the various
positions in professional football, we
see that white players are more likely
to play the central and offensive
positions. What do you make of this
pattern?
Source: Lapchick (2006).
Sports as Interaction
• Following the symbolic-interaction approach, sports are less a
system than an ongoing process.
• All three theoretical approaches—structural-functional,
social-conflict, and symbolic-interaction—provide different
insights into sports. None is more correct than the others.
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