Chapter 1

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sociology

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the systemic study of human society and social interaction.

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sociological perspective

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holds that the behavior of individuals is shaped, influenced and constrained by the larger social context in which it occurs. It sees the general(the larger social context) in the particular(the individual).

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social facts

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patterned ways of behaving, thinking, feeling. Emergent properties or aggregated outcomes that can be observed only at the societal level. They are generated at the individual level but observable at the societal level.

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Two main social facts that influenced the development of the field of sociology were

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industrialization and urbanization

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Industrialization

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the process in which societies are transformed from agriculture-based economy to manufacturing-based economy.

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urbanization

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the movement of a society's population from rural areas to cities.

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bourgeoisie

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the capitalist class. the class that owned the key economic resources in industrial societies. Marx termed it- "the means of production"

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proletariat

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the working class. composed of people who owned only their ability to labor, which they sold to the bourgeoisie in order to earn a living.

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society

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a large social grouping that occupies the same geographical area and is subject to a common political authority and dominant cultural expectations.

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Auguste Comte

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coined the term sociology. Believed that the application of the scientific method to the study of society would allow for the perfection of society.

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C. Wright Mills

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used the term social facts to describe the ability to apply sociological reasoning and see the links between the personal and the societal.

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Emile Durkheim

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study of suicide. showed how rapid social change and variance in the degree of integration among different groups,men and women, significantly influenced behavioral choices. Single, protestant men committed suicide at a higher rate.

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anomie

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a condition or situation in which society provides little moral or behavioral guidance to an individual.

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theory

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a set of logically interrelated statements that attempts to explain, describe and occasionally predict how two or more social phenomena are related.

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theoretical perspective

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a basic overall image or worldview to organize and understand society.

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Three major perspectives in sociology

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functionalist perspective, the conflict perspective, and the symbolic-interaction perspective

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functionalist perspective

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macro- level perspective. It views society as a relatively stable and orderly system composed of interdependent and interrelated parts.. Each part serves a function that contributes to the smooth and continued operation of a society. Attempts to explain social stability.

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social structure

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made up of the stable, organized patterns of social relationships and social institutions that exist within a particular group or society. Provides the context within which we interact with others.

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Robert Merton

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contemporary functionalist theorists who have further refined the functionalist perspective. He distinguished between the manifest and the latent functions that social institutions serve. Noted that some aspects of the social system might not be functional at all times.

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manifest function

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the intended, expected, or overtly recognized consequences of an activity or institution. ex. marriage joins two people

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latent function

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are consequences that are largely unintended and unrecognized. ex. family reunion at a wedding

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social dysfunction

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undesirable consequences of an institution or activity for the social system. ex. personal privacy hides child abuse

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conflict perspective

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macro-level perspective. It views society as a composition of groups with clashing interests who engage in a struggle over scarce resources(social and material). Conflict perspective is viewed as a positive because it can lead to the betterment of society. Attempts to explain social change.

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Karl Marx

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credited with first elaborating the conflict perspective. Saw society as composed as two main groups-the proletariat and the bourgeoisie.

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symbolic- interaction perspective

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micro-level perspective. It views society as the product of the everyday interactions of people and groups. face to face interactins between people and small groups. Important theorists associated with this perspective-George Herbert Mead, Charles Horton Cooley and Erving Goffman

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George Herbert Mead

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explored the social influences on the development of a sense of self

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Charles Horton Cooley

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concept of the "looking glass self" referred to the way a person's sense of self is based on the imagined reactions of others(or how we think others see us).

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Erving Goffman

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symbolic-interactionist who called his approach to understanding social life dramaturgical analysis, suggesting that members of a society are like actors playing out our roles on the social stage.

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macro level

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functionalist and conflict perspective. They examine social institutions and large scale social processes rather than small groups that shape society as a whole.

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micro level

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symbolic-interaction perspective. focus on the dynamics and meanings of face to face interactions between people and small groups.