What is Sociology?

Sociology is the study of human interaction and the relationships which are the result. It looks at

collective behavior, people in groups, cultures, populations and

overall societies.

Comparing Sociology to the other sciences:

The Natural Sciences

• Biology (Zoology, Botany)• Geology (Earth Science)• Chemistry• Physics

The Social Sciences

• Anthropology (Linguistics, Ethnology, Physical & Cultural, Archeology)

• Economics• History• Philosophy• Political Science• Psychology• Sociology

Pioneers of Sociology

Auguste Comte

Max Weber

Emile Durkheim

Herbert Spencer

Karl Marx

Harriet Martineau

Jane Addams

WEB DuBois

C. Wright Mills

Topics of study:• Culture (comparative cultures)• Socialization• Deviance and social control• Social class (stratification) wealth and poverty• Gender and ethnicity/race and age (‘isms)• Social Institutions (the economy, religion, the

government, education, marriage and the family, the military, medicine and health)

• Demographics (populations)• Social movements• Social change• Social problems

Features particular to Sociology:

• Unlike history its primarily concern is with events in the present.

• Unlike political science and economics it does not focus on a single social institution.

• Unlike anthropology its primary focus is on contemporary societies.

• Unlike psychology its focus is on group behavior and variables external to the individual.

Types of Sociology

• As sociologists study human behavior they focus on people’s patterned relationships, sociologists study the recurring aspects of human behavior.

• This leads them to focus on two principle aspects of life in society:

• 1. Group membership (including institutions)

• 2. Face to face interaction

• In the first type of sociology, structural, the focus is placed upon the group. Structural sociologists are interested in how membership in a group such as religion, education, government, gender, occupation, ethnicity, or age influence people’s behaviors and attitudes.

• In the second type of sociology, interactional, greater emphasis and focus is placed on the individuals, their communication and relationships with others.

Methods of study:

• Quantitative methodology lends itself to a statistical orientation. This approach uses numbers and statistics and percentages to represent people’s patterns of behavior.

• Qualitative sociology places a greater meaning on the behaviors themselves. They focus on how people construct their worlds, how they develop their ideas and attitudes and especially how they communicate with each other. These sociologist attempt to determine how people’s meanings (called symbols, mental constructs, ideas, and stereotypes) affect their ideas of self and others.

Comparing Basic and Applied Sociology

• Basic or “Pure” Sociology: research whose purpose it is to make discoveries about life in human groups, not to make changes in those groups

• Applied Sociology: uses sociology to solve problems, from the micro level of family relationships to the macro level of crime and pollution

Levels of Analysis

• Micro level: small, focused, intimate look at sociological phenomena. Face to face, as through the interactionist perspective

• Macro level: larger, structural, institutional, national or even global perspective

Theoretical Perspectives

Symbolic Interactionism: society is viewed as composed of symbols that people use to establish meaning, develop their views of the world and communicate with each other

Functional Analysis: framework in which society is viewed as composed of various parts, each with a function that, when fulfilled, contributes to society’s equilibrium.

Conflict Theory: framework in which society is viewed as composed of groups that are competing for limited resources

Chapter One Review

• Featured Learning Objectives: 1,2,8,11,13,18

• Vocabulary Terms• Key People Featured• Chart 1.3• Table1.1• In Sum Features• Chapter Summary and Review