Sociology in Our Times:
The Essentials
Diana Kendall
6th Edition
Chapter 1
The Sociological Perspective
and
Research Methods
Chapter Outline
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Putting Social Life into Perspective
The Importance of a Global Sociological
Imagination
The Origins of Sociological Thinking
The Development of Modern Sociology
Contemporary Theoretical Perspectives
Comparing Sociology with other Social
Sciences
Putting Social Life Into
Perspective
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Sociology is the systematic study of
human society and social interaction.
Sociologists study societies and social
interactions to develop theories of :
 How human behavior is shaped by
group life.
 How group life is affected by
individuals.
Why Study Sociology?
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Helps us gain a better understanding of
ourselves and our social world.
Helps us see how behavior is shaped by the
groups to which we belong and our society.
Promotes understanding and tolerance by
helping us look beyond personal experiences
and gain insight into the larger world order.
Society
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A society is a large social grouping that
shares the same geographical territory
and is subject to the same political
authority and dominant cultural
expectations, such as the United States,
Mexico, or Nigeria.
Fields That Use Social
Science Research
The Sociological Imagination
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The ability to see the relationship
between individual experiences and the
larger society.
Distinguishes between personal troubles
and social issues.
Personal Troubles
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Personal troubles are private problems
that affect individuals and the networks of
people with which they associate
regularly.
 Example: One person being
unemployed or running up a high credit
card debt could be identified as a
personal trouble.
Public Issues
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Public issues are problems that affect
large numbers of people and require
solutions at the societal level.
 Widespread unemployment and
massive, nationwide consumer debt are
examples of public issues.
Overspending as a Personal
Trouble
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People credit cards and spend more than they
can afford, affecting all aspects of their lives,
including health, family relationships, and
employment stability.
Sociologist George Ritzer suggests that people
may overspend through a gradual process.
 Credit cards lure people into consumption by
easy credit and entice them into further
consumption by offers of ‘payment holidays,’
new cards, and increased credit limits.
Overspending as a Public
Issue
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Between 1990 and 2000, credit card debt
tripled in the United States.
As corporations “write off ” bad debt from
those who declare bankruptcy or do not
pay their bills, all consumers pay either
directly or indirectly for that debt.
Overspending as a Public
Issue
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Poverty is forgotten as a social issue
when more affluent people are having a
spending holiday and consuming all they
can afford to purchase.
Sociologist Robert D. Manning found that
students are aggressively targeted by
credit card companies even though it is
accepted that some of the students will
ruin their credit while still in college.
Importance of a Global
Sociological Imagination
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Although existing sociological theory and
research provide a foundation for
sociological thinking, we must develop a
more global approach for the future.
In the 21st century, we face important
challenges in a rapidly changing nation
and world.
High Income Countries
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Nations with highly industrialized economies;
technologically advanced industrial,
administrative, and service occupations.
 Examples: United States, Canada, Australia,
New Zealand, Japan, and Western Europe.
Have a high standard of living and a lower
death rate due to advances in nutrition and
medical technology.
Personal debt may threaten economic even
among middle- and upper income people.
Middle Income Countries
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Nations with industrializing economies,
particularly in urban areas, and moderate
levels of national and personal income
 Example: The nations of Eastern
Europe and many Latin American
countries.
Low Income Countries
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Primarily agrarian nations with little
industrialization and low levels of national
and personal income.
 Examples: Many of the nations of Africa
and Asia, particularly the People’s
Republic of China and India, where
people typically work the land and are
among the poorest in the world.
Definitions
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Race is used to specify groups of people
distinguished by physical characteristics such
as skin color.
 There are no “pure” racial types, and race is
considered by most sociologists to be a
social construction people use to justify
social inequalities.
Ethnicity refers to the cultural heritage or
identity of a group and is based on factors such
as language or country of origin.
Definitions
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Class is the relative location of a person or
group within the larger society, based on
wealth, power, prestige, or other valued
resources.
Sex refers to the biological and anatomical
differences between females and males.
Gender refers to the meanings, beliefs, and
practices associated with sex differences,
referred to as femininity and masculinity.
Question
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Femininity and masculinity are _____related terms.
a. sex
b. gender
c. biology
d. anatomically
Answer: b
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Femininity and masculinity are genderrelated terms.
Sociology and the Age of
Enlightenment
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The origins of sociological thinking can be
traced to the scientific revolution in the
late 17th and mid-18th centuries and the
Age of Enlightenment.
A basic assumption of the Enlightenment
was that scientific laws had been
designed with a view to human
happiness.
Sociology and the Age of
Enlightenment
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In France, the Enlightenment was dominated by
the philosophers, including Montesquieu,
Rousseau, and Turgot.
They believed human society could be
improved through scientific discoveries.
If people were free from the ignorance of the
past, they could create new forms of political
and economic organization, which would
produce wealth and destroy the aristocracy.
Sociology and the Age of Revolution,
Industrialization, and Urbanization
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The Enlightenment produced an intellectual
revolution in how people thought about social
change, progress, and critical thinking.
Views of the philosophers regarding equal
opportunity stirred political and economic
revolutions in America and France.
The Industrial Revolution occurred in the 19th
and 20th centuries, when economic,
technological, and social changes occurred as
technology shifted from agriculture to
manufacturing.
Sociology and the Age of Revolution,
Industrialization, and Urbanization
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Industrialization is the process by which
societies are transformed from dependence on
agriculture and handmade products to an
emphasis on manufacturing and related
industries.
Urbanization is the process by which an
increasing proportion of a population lives in
cities rather than in rural areas.
August Comte
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Considered the “founder of sociology.”
Comte’s philosophy became known as
positivism— a belief that the world can
best be understood through scientific
inquiry.
Comte believed objective, bias-free
knowledge was attainable only through
the use of science rather than religion.
Two Dimensions Of Comte’s
Positivism
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Methodological - the application of
scientific knowledge to physical and social
phenomena.
Social and political - the use of such
knowledge to predict the likely results of
different policies so that the best one
could be chosen.
Harriet Martineau
Believed society would improve when:
 Women and men were treated equally.
 Enlightened reform occurred.
 Cooperation existed among all social
classes.
Herbert Spencer
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Spencer’s major contribution to sociology
was an evolutionary perspective on social
order and social change.
Social Darwinism - the belief that those
human beings, best adapted to their
environment survive and prosper,
whereas those poorly adapted die out.
Emile Durkheim
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Believed the limits of human potential are
socially, not biologically based.
One of his most important contributions to
sociology was the idea that societies are built
on social facts.
 Social facts are patterned ways of acting,
thinking, and feeling that exist outside any
one individual but that exert social control
over each person.
Karl Marx
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Viewed history as a clash between
conflicting ideas and forces.
Believed class conflict produced social
change and a better society.
Combined ideas from philosophy, history,
and social science into a new theory.
Max Weber
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Believed sociological research should
exclude personal values and economic
interests.
Provided insights on rationalization,
bureaucracy and religion.
Georg Simmel
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Theorized about society as a web of
patterned interactions among people.
Analyzed how social interactions vary
depending on the size of the social group.
Developed formal sociology, an approach
that focuses attention on the universal
recurring social forms that underlie the
varying content of social interaction.
Jane Adams
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Founded Hull House, one of the most
famous settlement houses, in Chicago.
One of the authors of a methodology text
used by sociologists for the next forty
years.
Awarded Nobel Prize for assistance to the
underprivileged.
W. E. B. Du Bois
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One of the first to note the identity conflict
of being both a black and an American.
Pointed out that people in the U.S.
espouse values of democracy, freedom,
and equality while they accept racism and
group discrimination.
Question
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____________examined religion,
politics, child rearing, slavery, and
immigration.
a. Auguste Comte
b. Harriet Martineau
c. Herbert Spencer
d. Emile Durkheim
e. Karl Marx
Answer: b
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Harriet Martineau examined religion,
politics, child rearing, slavery, and
immigration.
Question
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_____________stressed that history is a
continuous clash between conflicting
ideas and forces.
a. Auguste Comte
b. Harriet Martineau
c. Herbert Spencer
d. Emile Durkheim
e. Karl Marx
Answer: e
• Karl Marx stressed that history is a
continuous clash between conflicting
ideas and forces.
Sociological Research
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Theory - a set of logically interrelated
statements that attempt to describe, explain,
and predict social events.
Research is the process of collecting
information for the purpose of testing an
existing theory or generating a new one.
The relationship between theory and research
has been referred to as a continuous cycle.
Theoretical Perspectives
Theory
Functionalist
Conflict
View of Society
Composed of interrelated
parts that work together to
maintain stability.
Society is characterized by
social inequality; social life is
a struggle for scarce
resources.
Theoretical Perspectives
Theory
View of Society
Symbolic
Behavior is learned in interaction
Interactionist with other people.
Postindustrialization,
consumerism, and global
Postmodernist communications bring into
question assumptions about
social life and the nature of reality.
Question
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Which sociological perspective do you
think explains the concept of inequality in
our society the most accurately?
a. Structural-functional
b. Conflict
c. Symbolic Interactionist
d. Feminist
Question
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____ perspectives are based on the
assumption that society is a stable,
orderly system.
a. Functionalist
b. Interactionist
c. Conflict
d. Feminist
Answer: a
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Functionalist perspectives are based on
the assumption that society is a stable,
orderly system.
Question
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_____ perspectives are based on the
assumption that groups are engaged in a
continuous power struggle for control of
scarce resources.
a. Functionalist
b. Interactionist
c. Conflict
d. Feminist
Answer: c
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Conflict perspectives are based on the
assumption that groups are engaged in a
continuous power struggle for control of
scarce resources.
Sociology and Anthropology
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Anthropology seeks to understand
human existence over geographic space
and evolutionary time.
Sociology seeks to understand
contemporary social organization,
relations, and change.
Sociology and Psychology
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Psychology is the study of behavior and
mental processes - what occurs in the
mind.
Sociological research examines the
effects of groups, organizations, and
institutions on social life.
Sociology and Economics
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Economists attempt to explain how the
limited resources of a society are
allocated among competing demands.
Economists focus on economic systems
such as monetary policy, inflation, and the
national debt.
Sociologists focus on a number of social
institutions, one of which is the economy.
Sociology and Political
Science
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Political scientists concentrate on
political institutions.
 Sociologists study political institutions
within the context of other social
institutions, such as families.
Quick Quiz
1.
Sociology is the systematic study of:
a. intuition and commonsense
knowledge.
b. human society and social interaction.
c. the production, distribution, and
consumption of goods and services in
a society.
d. personality and human development.
Answer: b
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Sociology is the systematic study of
human society and social interaction.
2. The ability to provide theory and research
beyond one's own country enveloping
countries all over the world is known as
a _____ approach.
a. global
b. developed nation
c. developing nation
d. personal awareness
Answer: a
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The ability to provide theory and
research beyond one's own country
enveloping countries all over the world is
known as a global approach.
3. ______________ is the process by
which societies are transformed from
dependence on agriculture and
handmade products to an emphasis on
manufacturing and related industries.
a. Urbanization
b. Globalization
c. Industrialization
d. Gentrification
e. none of these choices
Answer: c
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Industrialization is the process by
which societies are transformed from
dependence on agriculture and
handmade products to an emphasis on
manufacturing and related industries.
4. The idea that research should be
conducted in a scientific manner and
would exclude the researcher’s personal
values and economic interests was
emphasized by:
a. Jane Addams.
b. Karl Marx.
c. Georg Simmel.
d. Max Weber.
Answer: d
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The idea that research should be
conducted in a scientific manner and
would exclude the researcher’s personal
values and economic interests was
emphasized by Max Weber.
5. Who believed that the limits of human
potential are socially based, not
biologically based?
a. Auguste Comte
b. Harriet Martineau
c. Herbert Spencer
d. Emile Durkheim
e. Karl Marx
Answer: d
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Karl Marx believed that the limits of
human potential are socially based, not
biologically based.
6. Where was the first department of
sociology established?
a. Ohio
b. Michigan
c. Chicago
d. Texas
e. California
Answer: c
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The first department of sociology was
established in Chicago.
7. Emphasis was placed on the individual’s
possession of critical reasoning and
experience during:
a. the industrial revolution.
b. the Enlightenment.
c. urbanization.
d. the Middle Ages.
Answer: b
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Emphasis was placed on the individual’s
possession of critical reasoning and
experience during the Enlightenment.
8. The early social thinker who coined the
term Sociology and his or her philosophy
became known as positivism is:
a. Karl Marx.
b. Emile Durkheim.
c. Auguste Comte.
d. Harriet Martineau.
Answers: c
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The early social thinker who coined the
term Sociology and his or her philosophy
became known as positivism is Auguste
Comte.