Chapter 1 soc
- 1. Chapter 1: The Sociological Point of View Sociology- social science that studies human society and social behavior Social sciences-disciplines that study human social behavior or institutions and functions of human society in a scientific matter Social interaction- how people relate to one another and influence each other’s behavior Social phenomena- observable facts or event that involve human society 1. The sociological perspective i. Sociological perspective- ability to look beyond commonly held beliefs to the hidden meanings behind human actions ii. Sociological imagination-the capacity to range from the most impersonal and remote ideal to the most intimate features of the human self 2. Sociology’s place in the social sciences i. Anthropology-comparative study of past and present cultures ii. Psychology-deals with the behavior and thinking organisms iii. Social psychology-how the social environment affects an individual’s behavior and personality iv. Economics-the study of the choices people make in an effort to satisfy their wants and needs v. Political science-examination of the organization and operation of governments is the focus vi. History- study of past events 3. The early years a. Auguste Comte i. Founder of sociology as a distinct subject b. Herbert Spencer i. Social Darwinism c. Karl Marx i. Believed that the structure of a society is influenced by how its economy is organized
- 2. d. Emile Durkheim i. Function- consequence that an element of society produces for the maintenance of its own social system e. Max Weber i. Verstehen-involves the attempt to understand the meanings individuals attach to their actions ii. Ideal type-description comprised of the essential characteristics of a feature of society 4. Current perspectives i. Theory-explanation of the relationships among particular phenomena ii. Theoretical perspectives- provide a foundation for their inquires b. Functionalist perspective i. Functionalist personality-based on the ideas of Comte, Spencer, Durkheim. ii. Dysfunctional-negative consequence an element has for the stability of the social system iii. Manifest function-intended and recognized consequences of some element of society iv. Latent function-unintended and unrecognized consequence of an element of society c. Conflict perspective i. Conflict perspective- focuses on the forces in society that promote competition and change d. Interactionist perspective i. Interactionist perspective- focuses on how individuals interact with one another in society ii. Symbol- anything that represents something else iii. Symbolic interaction-interactions focus on how people use symbols when interacting