Sociology: Understanding Human Society and Social Interactions

1. Chapter 1 The Sociological Perspective and Research Methods

2. Putting Social Life Into Perspective • Sociology is the systematic study of human society and social interaction. • Sociologists study societies and social interactions to develop theories about : • How behavior is shaped by group life • How group life is affected by individuals

3. Society • A large social grouping that shares the same geographical territory and is subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. • We are all affected by global interdependence • a relationship in which the lives of all people are intertwined • any nation’s problems are part of a larger global problem.

4. Why Study Sociology • Gain a better understanding of ourselves and our social world. • See how behavior is shaped by the groups to which we belong • Promotes understanding and tolerance • helps us look beyond personal experiences and gain insight into the larger world order

5. Fields That Use Social Science Research

6. The Sociological Imagination • The ability to see the relationship between individual experiences and the larger society. • Distinguishes between personal troubles and social issues.

7. Suicide • As a Personal Trouble: • Many people consider suicide to be theresult of personal problems. • As a Public Issue: • Sociologist Emile Durkheim related suicide to the issue of cohesiveness in society instead of viewing it as an isolated act that could be understood by studying individual personalities or inherited tendencies.

8. Suicide Rates by Race and Sex • Rates indicate the number of deaths by suicide for every 100,000 people in each category for 2001.

9. Importance of a Global Sociological Imagination • The future of our nation is intertwined with the future of other nations on economic, political, environmental, and humanitarian levels. • Understanding diversity and developing tolerance for people who are different from us is important for our personal, social, and economic well-being.

10. High-income Countries • These are nations with highly industrialized economies; technologically advanced industrial, administrative, and service occupations; and high levels of national and personal income. • Examples: United States, Canada • They generally have a have a high standard of living and a lower death rate due to advances in nutrition and medical technology.

11. Middle-income countries • Sometimes referred to as developing countries, these are nations with industrializing economies, particularly in urban areas, and moderate levels of national and personal income. • Examples: Nations of Eastern Europe and many Latin American countries, where nations such as Brazil and Mexico are industrializing rapidly.

12. Low-income Countries • Low-income countries are primarily agrarian nations with little industrialization and low levels of national and personal income. • Examples: Many of the nations of Africa and Asia, particularly India and the People’s Republic of China.

13. Comparing Countries

14. Race, Ethnicity and Class • Race is a term used to specify groups of people distinguished by physical characteristics. • Most sociologists consider race a social construction used to justify inequalities. • Ethnicity refers to cultural identity and is based on factors such as language or country of origin. • Class is based on wealth, power, prestige, or other valued resources.

15. Sex and Gender • 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.

16. The Development of Sociological Thinking • Idea of observing how people lived, what they thought, and doing so in a systematic manner came about because of two processes • Industrialization • Urbanization • Problems became more visible, new social thinkers wanted to understand why and how society was changing

17. Auguste Comte • 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.

18. Two Dimensions Of Comte’s Positivism • 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 the best one could be chosen.

19. Harriet Martineau • Believed society would improve when: • women and men were treated equally • enlightened reform occurred • cooperation existed among all social classes

20. Herbert Spencer • Contributed an evolutionary perspective on social order and social change. • Social Darwinism • The belief that the human beings best adapted to their environment survive and prosper, whereas those poorly adapted die out.

21. Emile Durkheim • Believed the limits of human potential are socially based. • One of his most important contributions was the concept of social facts. • Social facts are patterned ways of acting, thinking, and feeling that exist outside any one individual but exert social control over each person.

22. Karl Marx • 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.

23. Max Weber • Believed sociological research should exclude personal values and economic interests. • Provided insights on rationalization, bureaucracy and religion.

24. Georg Simmel • 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.

25. Jane Addams • 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.

26. W. E. B. Du Bois • 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.

27. Theoretical Perspectives • Theoretical perspectives are based on ideas about how social life is organized. • The major perspectives in U.S. sociology are: • Functionalist • Conflict • symbolic interactionist • postmodernist perspectives

28. Major Theoretical Perspectives

29. Major Theoretical Perspectives

30. Polling Question • Which sociological perspective do you think explains the concept of inequality in our society the most accurately? • Structural-functional • Conflict • Symbolic interactionist • Feminist

31. The Sociological Research Process • Research is the process of systematically 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.

32. Theory and Research Cycle

33. Quantitative and Qualitative Research • Quantitative research focuses on data that can be measured numerically. • Example: comparing rates of suicide • Qualitative research focuses on interpretive description rather than statistics to analyze underlying meanings and patterns of social relationships.

34. Conventional Research Model • Select and define the research problem. • Review previous research. • Formulate the hypothesis. • Develop the research design. • Collect and analyze the data. • Draw conclusions and report the findings.

35. Qualitative Research Method • Researcher begins with a general approach rather than a highly detailed plan. • Researcher has to decide when the literature review and theory application should take place.

36. Qualitative Research Method • The study presents a detailed view of the topic. • Access to people or other resources that can provide necessary data is crucial. • Appropriate research method(s) are important for acquiring useful qualitative data.

37. Research Methods: Survey Research • Describes a population without interviewing each individual. • Standardized questions force respondents into categories. • Relies on self-reported information, and some people may not be truthful.

38. Research Methods: Analysis of Existing Data • Materials studied may include: • books, diaries, poems, and graffiti • movies, television shows, advertisements, greeting cards • music, art, and even garbage

39. Research Methods: Field Research • Study of social life in its natural setting. • Observing and interviewing people where they live, work, and play. • Generates observations that are best described verbally rather than numerically.

40. Approaches to Field Research • Participant observation • Collecting observations while part of the activities of the group being studied. • Ethnography • Detailed study of the life and activities of a group of people over a period of years.

41. Research Methods: Experiments • Study the impact of certain variables on subjects’ attitudes or behavior. • Designed to create “real-life” situations. • Used to demonstrate a cause-and-effect relationship between variables.

42. Polling Question • If you possessed the money, skill, and other necessary resources, in which one area would you like to conduct research? • Racial profiling • The cause(s) of sexual orientation • Sexual assault and abuse • The effects of divorce on children