Sociology Ch 1

8/12/2019 Sociology Ch 1

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The Sociological Perspectives

• Soc io logy i s the sys tem at ic s tud y o fhu m an so c iety. A t th e hear t o fso c io logy i s a sp ec ial po in t o f v iewcal led the so cio log ical Persp ect ive .



• Society is viewed as a complex system of parts (structures) that interact to perform various necessary functions

• Shared values, norms, attitudes and beliefs (consensus)

• Seeing the general in the particular

• Macrosociology

Structural - Functional



Conflict Theory

• Views society as a struggle for resources and power • Change is inevitable, often beneficial and can be violent

• Conflict between the classes determines social change • Some groups prosper at the expense of others • Conflict is universal; social consensus is limited and

inequality is widespread

• Macrosociology



Symbolic Interactionism

• Studies society through interactions within individual and small groups

• Interaction between individuals is negotiated throughshared symbols, gestures and nonverbal communications

• Humans are social animals and require interaction • Asks the questions” “How do individuals experience

one another?” “How do they interpret the meaning of these interactions?” and “How do people construct a sense of self and the society as a whole?”

• Microsociology



Sociological Theory

• The Structural Functional Approach • The Social -Conflict Approach•

Feminism and the Gender-Conflict Approach• The Race-Conflict Approach• The Symbolic-Interaction Approach• Humans are social animals and require interaction • “How do individuals experience

one another?” “How do they interpret the meaning of these interactions?” and “How do people construct a sense of self and the society as a whole?”

• Microsociology



Auguste Comte(French)(1798-1857)

• Coined the term “sociology” • Believed society could be studied like any other science • Key concepts: positivism, sociology the “queen” of sciences,

social engineering



Harriet MartineauEnglish (1802-1876)

• Translated A. Comte’s work into English • Concerned with social change and the plight of women

and children in English factories during the early phasesof industrialization

• First acknowledged female sociologist

• Examined emerging American society (c 1834)



Émile Durkheim(French) (1858-1917)

• Founded sociology as an academic discipline

• Famous for his study on suicides (1897) • Use of statistics in sociology • Key concepts: social facts, social structure

social solidarity, collective conscience, mechanical andorganic solidarity, anomie

• Structural/functionalist theorist



Karl Marx(German) (1818-1883)

• Founder of political / economic theory of socialism (communism) • Considered the founder of the conflict perspective • Wrote the Communist Manifesto and co wrote Das Kapital (with

Friedrich Engels)• Key concepts: proletariat, bourgeoisie, capitalists, social class,

dialectics (thesis, antithesis, synthesis)



Max Weber(German) (1864-1920)

• Believed that sociologist could never capture the realityof society but should focus on ideal types that best capturethe essential features of aspects of social reality

• Key concepts: bureaucracy, verstehen , rationalization of the

modern world, people are becoming prisoners of newtechnology, loss of individuality



Herbert Spencer(English) (1820-1903)

• Structural/Functionalist • Coined the term “survival of the fittest” in reference to human social arrangements (Social Darwinism)

• Advocated against social reform efforts to poor people because it disrupts the natural selection process of evolution



Jane Addams(American) (1880-1935)

• Won the first Nobel Peace Prize (1931) given to anAmerican sociologist

• Founded Hull House for the poor in Chicago • Influenced the “Chicago School” of applied sociology

(social problems)• Pioneered the study of social problems



W. E. B. DuBois(American) (1868-1963)

• First Afro -American PhD graduate of Harvard University• Concerned with the social position of African -Americans in US

society.• Wrote The Philadelphia Negro (1899) on race relations• Used statistics to examine racial discrimination against blacks



Talcott Parsons(American) (1902-1979)

• Reintroduced the theories of European sociologists while teaching at Harvard University

• Structural/Functionalist • Abstract “ivory tower” theoretician

• Emphasis on empirical research --not social reform



C. Wright Mills(American) (1916-1962)

• Taught at Columbia University • Marxist, structural/functionalist theorist • Key concepts: power elite, radical social change, social

injustices, applied sociology, the “sociological imagination”



Robert K. Merton(American) (1910-2002)

• Taught at Columbia University • Sought to bridge the European “grand” theories and a

more focused research style• Structural/Functionalist • Key concepts: manifest & latent functions, “Strain Theory”

of deviance, dysfunctions



George Herbert Mead(American) (1863-1961)

• Symbolic/Interactionist theorist • Believed that the self was a social product acquired by

observing and assimilating the identities of others• Key concepts: “I” & “me”, significant other, generalized other,

role taking, preparatory stage, play stage, game stage



Charles Horton Cooley(American) (1864-1929)

• Symbolic interactionist theorist • We develop a sense of who we are in society based upon

interaction with others and how we feel others perceive us

• The “Looking Glass Self”



Erving Goffman(American) (1922-1982)

• Symbolic interactionist theorist • Believed we play roles and present a “face” for public view • Key concepts: dramaturgical approach, frontstage & backstage

selves, presentation of self



Sigmund Freud(German)(1856-1939)

• Psychoanalyst • Key concepts: unconscious, id, ego, superego, psycho -sexual

stages, psychoanalysis, ego defense mechanisms, free association.

dream interpretation, seduction theory, libido, libidinal energy



Erik Erikson(German/American)(1902-1994)

• Psychologist • Eight Stages of Man (Psycho -social stages)• Focused on ego conflict through the life span and

how they are resolved



Lawrence Kohlberg(American)(1927-1988)

• Psychologist • Expanded Piaget’s theory of moral development in children • Key concepts: Stages of Moral Development, the “Heinz scenario”





Albert Bandura(American) (1925- )

• Social (cognitive) psychologist, performed classic study ofimitation and aggressive behaviors in children.

• Key concepts: social learning theory, imitation, models, vicarious reinforcement, expectancies self efficacy, reciprocal

determinism



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Sociology Ch 1