The Sociological Point of View

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The Sociological Point of View
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Key Things in Sociology

• People are first and foremost a social being.
• Live in groups
• Constantly exposed to social interaction with
  others

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SOCIOLOGY

• Is best defined as the scientific study of social
  interaction

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OBJECTIVES

• To enable people to live intelligently in their
  social world
• To deal with social problems they encounter,
  especially conflict and social change.
• Examples survivor series, big brother

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Shipwreck Activity
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Situation

• Assume that your are part of a 10-member group
  that is shipwrecked on a deserted tropical
  island. The island has a plentiful supply of wild
  fruits and plants, insects birds, fish, and
  hardwood trees. Some fresh water can be found in
  small island pools, but the bulk of the water is
  contaminated b salt from the ocean. Your group
  had time to rescue the following items.

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Items

• 2 large fishing knives
• 4 plastic gallon jugs of water
• 1 25 foot rope
• 1 large plastic tarp
• 1 set of binoculars
• 1 can opener
• 20 cans of fruit and vegetables

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What to do

• Establish a list of rules, procedures, and task
  assignments that would allow the group to survive
  on the island indefinitely.
• Each group will share their list in class and
  explain how they came to agree on their list and
  whether they encountered any problems in reaching
  a consensus.

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Remember

• For society to operate efficiently, members must
  work together toward common goals. To ensure that
  most people cooperate for the common good,
  societies establish rules of conduct and
  expectations for behavior.

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The Sociological Point of View
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Section 1 Examining Social Life
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Definitions

• Sociology is the science that studies human
  society and social behavior.
• Social Interaction how people relate to one
  another and influence each others behavior.
• Phenomenon is a observable fact or event

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The Sociological Perspective

• Gain a new view or perspective for looking at
  ourselves and the world.
• Common sense vs scientific fact
• Sociological Perspective helps us see better
  (objectively)
• Gives us insight
• The world as a whole
• Connection between the larger world and our
  personal lives is called Sociological
  Imagination (C. Wright Mills)
• Read aloud page 21

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Sociologys Place in the Social Sciences

• Social Science disciplines that study various
  aspects of human social behavior
• Anthropology study of various aspects of past
  and present cultures.
• Psychology study of the mind and the individual.
• Social Psychology study of how an individual
  behavior and personality are affected by the
  social environment.
• Economics study of the choices people make in an
  effort to satisfy their wants and needs.
• Political Science study of government.
• History study of past events.

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Question

• Why is studying groups important?

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Question

• Why is important to have a sociological
  imagination?

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Sociology Then and Now
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What created Sociology?

• 19th Century
• Rapid social and political changes in Europe
  during the 17th Century (Industrial Revolution)
• Growth of Cities and the problems it created
  (SOCIAL PROBLEMS)
• Housing, crime, relationships,
• Let to the American and French Revolution
• Need for Study

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Early Years

• France, Germany England (19th Century)
• Several key individuals surfaced

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Auguste Comte
Photo

• French philosopher
• Founder of Sociology (1st to use the term)
• Approve life after the French Revolution
• Wanted to use Scientific Method to discover
  problems and find solutions
• Social Status the society stay the same
• Social Dynamics elements w/I society that
  created change

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Karl Marx
Photo

• Germany
• Believed society is influenced by the economic.
• Created the idea of Have and Have Nots
• Focus on material and production
• Developed the idea of Communism (Dialete Theory)
• Lived during the beginnings of a Capitalistic
  Society

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Herbert Spencer
Photo

• England
• Influenced by Charles Darwin
• The idea that society was a live
• Believed that social change occurred through
  problems therefore no attempt to resolve the
  problem should be taken.
• That the best for society will survive

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Emile Durkheim
Photo

• France
• First to apply the methods of science to the
  study of society
• Should only study what can be seen (no study of
  feelings for example)

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Max Weber
Photo

• German
• More interested in the study of Groups
• How society affects the individual
• Verstehen the idea of placing yourself in that
  person place and seeing it through their eyes.

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Current Perspectives
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More Definitions

• Theory is a systematic explanation of the
  relationship among phenomena.
• Theorectical Perspective is a general set of
  assumptions about the nature phenomena.

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Three broad theorectial perspectives in modern
sociology
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Functionalist Perspective

• View society as a set of interrelated parts that
  work together to produce a stable social system.
• Society lead together through consensus.
• What functions for example exist in a family,
  church, place of work.
• Dysfunction is the negative consequence an
  element has for the stability of the social
  system. (crime)
• Manifest function is the intended function
• Latent function is the unintended function

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Conflict Perspective

• Focus on those forces in society that promote
  competition and change
• Class Struggle Theory

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Interactions Perspective

• Focus on how individual interact with one another
  in society
• Look at the individual and how the individual
  see themselves
• Symbol anything that stands for something else.
• Symbolic Interaction used to study topics like
  child development, relationships within groups
  and mate selection.

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Applying Sociology

• Collecting Data (scientific information) is
  important to sociologist
• Six Methods or techniques

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Six Methods

• Historical Method - examining any materials from
  the past
• Tools, clothes, pictures, documents, etc.
• Content Analysis - counting the number of times a
  particular word, phrase, idea, event, symbol or
  other element appears in a given context.
• TV, radio, recordings, photographs, art,
  newspapers, magazines, books, etc.

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Six methods continued

• Survey Method -
• Random Survey (???)
• Two techniques used to find out information
• Questionnaire
• Interviews
• Observation - observe the behavior of individuals
  in actual social settings
• Controlled environment
• Uncontrolled environment

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Six methods continued

• The Case Study - Observational techniques,
  researcher of past
• Statistical Analysis - using mathematical data
• Using Variables - (a characteristic that can
  differ from one individual to another).

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Key to Research

• Analyzing the data
• Making ASSUMPTIONS (NOT FINDINGS)
• Reporting mistakes in research

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Question

• How has Sociology evolved?