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Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective
Chapter Summary
Sociology offers a perspective, a view of the world. The sociological perspective opens a window into unfamiliar worlds and offers a fresh look at familiar worlds. Sociologists study the broader social contexts that underlie human behavior. These include the social groups that influence human behavior and the larger society that organizes it.
The sociological perspective is an approach to understanding human behavior by placing it within its broader social context. C. Wright Mills referred to the sociological perspective as the intersection of biography (the individual) and history (social factors that influence the individual).
Sociology is one of several disciplines referred to as a “social science.” As the term implies, social sciences address the social world. The natural sciences, on the other hand, are the intellectual and academic disciplines designed to explain and predict the events in the natural environment. The other social sciences include anthropology, economics, political science, and psychology.
As a scientific discipline, sociology seeks to explain why something happens, attempts to make generalizations that can be applied to a broader group or situation, and predicts what will happen based on the knowledge received. Sociology specifically seeks to explain the causes of human behavior and to recognize the patterns of human behavior. It also seeks to predict the future behavior of people. Although sociologists usually do not make decisions on how society should be changed or people treated, sociologists provide valuable research data that can be used by authorities who do make such decisions.
Sociology grew out of the social, political, economic, and technological revolutions of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The Industrial Revolution, in particular, eroded old traditions and necessitated new ways of perceiving and examining the social world. With the success of the natural sciences serving as a model for the social sciences, sociology emerged in Western Europe as a distinct discipline in the mid-1800s.
Auguste Comte, Herbert Spencer, Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim, and Max Weber were early thinkers in the development of sociology. The idea of applying the scientific method to the social world, known as positivism, was first proposed by Auguste Comte. Based on this innovation and Comte’s effort to apply the scientific method to social life, he is credited as being the founder of sociology. Herbert Spencer, one of the most dominant and influential English sociologists, is often called the “second founder of sociology.” Spencer’s concept of Social Darwinism suggested that societies evolve from primitive to civilized and that the “fittest” societies evolve and survive, while unfit societies become extinct.
Max Weber advocated Verstehen, the German term for “grasp by insight,” to understanding why people act as they do. In contrast, Emile Durkheim believed that sociologists should focus primarily on uncovering social facts—the objective social conditions that influence people’s behaviors. Verstehen and social facts are not mutually exclusive types of social research. Contemporary sociologists often employ both approaches to examine and understand the social contexts that underlie human behavior.
The early history of sociology in North America was characterized by a debate over whether sociology should analyze or reform society. Early sociology programs were initiated at the University of Kansas in 1890, the University of Chicago in 1892, and Atlanta University in 1897. Albion Small, George Herbert Mead, Robert E. Park, and Ernest Burgess were among the first academicians to dedicate their professional careers to the
development of sociological theory. W.E.B. DuBois, the first African American to earn a doctorate from Harvard University, was a social critic and dedicated his life to analyzing and writing about social injustice.
During the 1940s, the emphasis in American sociology shifted from social reform to social theory. “Grand theorists,” such as Talcott Parsons, developed detailed, abstract models of how the complex parts of society harmoniously functioned together. Although this helped to legitimize sociology as a “science,” it did little to critique, reform, and/or help to change the social injustices in society. C. Wright Mills’ influential analysis of “the power elite”—a small group of business, political, and military leaders whose monopoly on power threatens freedom—helped to shift sociology back toward social reform in the 1960s and 1970s.
Many sociologists continue to disagree over the proper uses of social research. Some sociologists practice basic (or pure) sociology, while others practice applied sociology. Whether one practices basic or applied sociology, a primary goal of social research is to separate fact from fiction, while examining the links between what people do and the social settings that help shape their behavior. The current state of sociology encompasses social analysis and social reform, with a growing emphasis on applied sociology—a sort of middle ground that, rather than focusing on large and/or radical social change, uses sociological analysis to help solve problems in a specific setting.
Central to the study of any science is the development of theory. A theory is a general statement about how parts of the world fit together, relate to one another, and affect each other. Sociologists use three major theories—symbolic interactionism, functional analysis, and conflict theory—to observe and interpret social contexts, relationships, and realities in distinct ways. Symbolic interactionism analyzes how people use symbols to develop and share their view of the world. Focusing on the micro level, it studies the different ways that individuals and small groups create, disseminate, and/or interpret “reality” through their everyday, face-to-face interactions. Functional analysis examines how the various parts of society work together to fulfill their respective functions and, consequently, create a harmonious society.
Focusing on the macro level, it also looks at how parts of society occasionally dysfunction, negatively affecting other parts of society and, consequently, contributing to a more unstable society. Conflict theory views the social world in terms of competing groups struggling over scarce resources. Also focusing on the macro level, conflict theory examines how groups of people with power maintain and/or impose their power, and how groups of people without power work to acquire power. In an effort to pursue a social reform agenda, the American Sociological Association is now promoting “public sociology” with the goal of influencing politicians, public officials, and policy makers.
As the world becomes more globally connected, American sociology is likely to expand its current horizons: incorporating new perspectives and worldviews that include—and encompass—global issues and concerns.
Chapter Outline
I. The Sociological Perspective A. This perspective is important because it provides a different way of looking at familiar worlds. It allows us to gain a new vision of social life. B. This perspective stresses the broader social context of behavior by looking at individuals’ social location—employment, income, education, gender, age, and race—and by considering external influences—people’s experiences—which are internalized and become part of a person’s thinking and motivations. We are able to see the links between what people do and the social settings that shape their behavior. C. This perspective enables us to analyze and understand both the forces that contribute to the emergence and growth of the global village and our unique experiences in our own smaller corners of this village.
- He was interested in understanding the social factors that influence individual behavior; he studied suicide rates among different groups and concluded that social integration—the degree to which people are tied to their social group—was a key social factor in suicide.
- Durkheim’s third concern was that social research be practical; sociologists should not only diagnose the causes of social problems but should also develop solutions for them. F. Max Weber was one of the most influential of all sociologists, raising issues that remain controversial even today. Disagreeing with Karl Marx, Weber defined religion as a central force in social change (i.e., Protestantism encourages greater economic development and was the central factor in the rise of capitalism in some countries).
- The Protestant belief system encouraged its members to embrace change.
- Protestants sought “signs” that they were in God’s will; financial success became a major sign. The more money they made, the more secure they were about their religious standing.
- Weber called this behavior the Protestant ethic ; he called their readiness to invest capital in order to make more money the spirit of capitalism.
IV. Values in Sociological Research A. Weber advocated that sociological research should be value free (personal values or biases should not influence social research) and objective (totally neutral).
- Sociologists agree that objectivity is a proper goal, but acknowledge that no one can escape values entirely.
- Replication is when a study is repeated to see if the same results are found. It is one means to avoid the distortions that values can cause. B. Although sociologists may agree that research should be objective, the proper purposes and uses of sociology are argued among sociologists, with some taking the position that the proper role of sociology is to advance understanding of social life, while others believe that it is the responsibility of sociologists to explore harmful social arrangements of society. C. On the one side are those who say that understanding social behavior is sociology’s proper goal and that the knowledge gained through research belongs to the scientific community and can be used by anyone for any purpose. On the other side are those who say the goal of sociological research should be to investigate harmful social conditions and that sociologists should lead the way in reforming society.
V. Verstehen and Social Facts
A. Weber argued that sociologists should use Verstehen (“to grasp by insight”) in order to see beyond the social facts to the subjective meanings that people attach to their own behavior. B. Durkheim believed that social facts, patterns of behavior that characterize a social group, reflect underlying conditions of society and should be used to interpret other social facts. C. Social facts and Verstehen fit together because they reinforce each other; sociologists use Verstehen in order to interpret social facts.
VI. Sexism in Early Sociology A. In the early years of sociology, the field was dominated by men because rigidly defined social roles prevented most women from pursuing an education.
- Women were supposed to devote themselves to the four K’s: Kirche, Küchen, Kinder, und Kleider (church, cooking, children, and clothes).
- At the same time, a few women from wealthy families managed to get an education; a few even studied sociology, although the sexism in the universities stopped them from earning advanced degrees, becoming professors, or having their research recognized. B. Harriet Martineau studied social life in both Great Britain and the United States, publishing Society in America decades before Durkheim and Weber were even born. While her original research has been largely ignored by the discipline, she is known for her translations of Comte’s ideas into English.
VII. Sociology in North America A. The first departments of sociology in the United States were at the University of Kansas (1892), Atlanta University (1897), and the University of Chicago (1899); the first in Canada was at McGill University (1922).
- Albion Small, founder of the department of sociology at the University of Chicago, also established the American Journal of Sociology.
- The department of sociology at the University of Chicago dominated North American sociology; other early sociologists from the University of Chicago were Robert E. Park, Ernest Burgess, and George Herbert Mead. B. The situation of women in North America was similar to that of European women, and their contributions to sociology met a similar fate. Denied a role in the universities, many turned to social activism, working with the poor and regarded as social workers. C. Jane Addams is an example of a sociologist who was able to combine the role of sociologist with that of social reformer.
- In 1889, she founded Hull House, a settlement house for the poor, and worked to bridge the gap between the powerful and powerless.
- Sociologists from nearby University of Chicago visited Hull House frequently.
- She is the only sociologist to have won the Nobel Peace Prize; she was awarded this in 1931. D. African American professionals also faced problems.
- W. E. B. Du Bois was the first African American to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard. He conducted extensive research on race relations in the United States, publishing one book a year on this subject between 1896 and 1914.
- Despite his accomplishments, he encountered prejudice and discrimination in his professional and personal life. When he attended professional sociologists’ meetings, he was not permitted to eat or stay in the same hotels as the white sociologists.
- Frustrated at the lack of improvements in race relations, he turned to social action, helping to found the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) along with Jane Addams, Florence Kelley, and others from Hull House.
- Until recently, his contributions to sociology were overlooked. E. Many early North American sociologists combined the role of sociologist with that of social reformer. For example, University of Chicago sociologists Park and Burgess, studied many urban problems and offered suggestions on how to alleviate them. By the 1940s, as sociologists became more concerned with establishing sociology as an academic discipline, the emphasis shifted from social reform to social theory.
- Talcott Parsons developed abstract models of society to show how the parts of society harmoniously work together.
- Countering this development was C. Wright Mills, who urged sociologists to get back to social reform. He saw the emergency of the power elite as an imminent threat to freedom. F. The debate over what should be the proper goals of sociological analysis—analyzing society vs. reforming society—continues today.
- Applied sociology exists between these two extremes. One of the first attempts at applied sociology was the founding of the NAACP.
- Today, applied sociologists work in a variety of settings, from business and hi-tech organizations to government and not-for-profit agencies.
- Applied sociology is the application of sociological knowledge in some specific setting, rather than an attempt to rebuild society. Both sociologists who focus on social reform and those who emphasize basic sociology reject applied sociology.
- Despite being able to identify three phases, each of which has been characterized by a different position on reform vs. analysis, there has never been complete consensus on which approach is better. B. Globalization is a second major trend destined to leave its mark on sociology.
- Globalization is the breaking down of national boundaries because of advances in communications, trade, and travel.
- Globalization is likely to broaden the scope of sociological analysis as sociologists look beyond the boundaries of the United States in considering global issues. C. Globalization is one of the most significant events in world history. This book stresses the impact of globalization on our lives today.
Key Terms After studying the chapter, review the definition for each of the following terms.
applied sociology: the use of sociology to solve problems—from the micro level of family relationships to the macro level of crime and pollution (21) bourgeoisie: Karl Marx’s term for capitalists, those who own the means to produce wealth (11) class conflict: Marx’s term for the struggle between the proletariat (workers) and the bourgeoisie (capitalist) (11) common sense: those things that “everyone knows” are true (8) conflict theory: a theoretical framework in which society is viewed as composed of groups competing for scarce resources (29) functional analysis: a theoretical framework in which society is viewed as composed of various parts, each with a function that, when fulfilled, contributes to society’s equilibrium; also known as functionalism and structural functionalism (26) generalization: a statement that goes beyond the individual case and is applied to a broader group or situation (7) globalization: the extensive interconnections among nations due to the expansion of capitalism (33) globalization of capitalism: capitalism (investing to make profits within a rational system) becoming the globe’s dominant economic system (33) macro-level analysis: an examination of large-scale patterns of society (30) micro-level analysis: an examination of small-scale patterns of society (30) natural sciences: the intellectual and academic disciplines designed to comprehend, explain, and predict events in our natural environment (5) nonverbal interaction: communication without words through gestures, space, silence, and so on (30) objectivity: total neutrality (14) patterns: recurring characteristics or events (7) positivism: the application of the scientific approach to the social world (10) proletariat: Marx’s term for the exploited class, the mass of workers who do not own the means of production (11) pure or basic sociology: sociological research whose only purpose is to make discoveries about life in human groups, not to make changes in those groups (21) replication: repeating a study in order to check its findings (14) science: the application of systematic methods to obtain knowledge and the knowledge obtained by those methods (5) scientific method: the use of objective, systematic observations to test theories (10) social facts: Durkheim’s term for a group’s patterns of behavior (15) social integration: the degree to which people feel a part of social groups (12) social interaction: what people do when they are in one another’s presence (30) social location: the group memberships that people have because of their location in history and society (4) social sciences: the intellectual and academic disciplines designed to understand the social world objectively by means of controlled and repeated observations (6)
society: a term used by sociologists to refer to a group of people who share a culture and a territory (4) sociological perspective: understanding human behavior by placing it within its broader social context (4) sociology: the scientific study of society and human behavior (10) subjective meanings: the meanings that people give to their own behavior (15) symbolic interactionism: a theoretical perspective in which society is viewed as composed of symbols that people use to establish meaning, develop their views of the world, and communicate with one another (23) theory: a general statement about how some parts of the world fit together and how they work; an explanation of how two or more facts are related to one another (23) value free: the view that a sociologist’s personal values should not influence social research (14) values: ideas about what is good or worthwhile in life; attitudes about the way the world ought to be (14)
Verstehen: a German word used by Weber that is perhaps best understood as “to have insight into
someone’s situation” (15) Key People Review the major theoretical contributions or findings of these people.
Jane Addams: Addams was the founder of Hull House—a settlement house in the immigrant community of Chicago. She invited sociologists from the nearby University of Chicago to visit. In 1931 she was a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. (18) Ernest Burgess and Harvey Locke: Research by these early sociologists documented a fundamental shift that was occurring in the symbolic meaning of U.S. marriages. They found that marriage was increasingly dependent on mutual affection, understanding, and compatibility. (18) Auguste Comte: Comte is often credited with being the founder of sociology, because he was the first to suggest that the scientific method be applied to the study of the social world. (10, 26) Charles Horton Cooley: One of the founders of symbolic interactionism, a major theoretical perspective in sociology. (23) Lewis Coser: Coser pointed out that conflict is likely to develop among people in close relationships because they are connected by a network of responsibilities, power and rewards. (29) W. E. B. Du Bois: Du Bois was the first African American to earn a doctorate at Harvard University. For most of his career, he taught sociology at Atlanta University. He was concerned about social injustice, wrote about race relations, and was one of the founders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). (18-20) Emile Durkheim: Durkheim was responsible for getting sociology recognized as a separate discipline. He was interested in studying how individual behavior is shaped by social forces and in finding remedies for social ills. He stressed that sociologists should use social facts—patterns of behavior that reflect some underlying condition of society. (12-13, 15, 26) Harriet Martineau: An Englishwoman who studied British and U.S. social life, Martineau published Society in America decades before either Durkheim or Weber were born. She is known primarily for translating Auguste Comte’s ideas into English. (17) Karl Marx: Marx believed that social development grew out of conflict between social classes; under capitalism, this conflict was between the bourgeoisie—those who own the means to produce wealth—and the proletariat—the mass of workers. His work is associated with the conflict perspective. (11, 29) George Herbert Mead: Mead was one of the founders of symbolic interactionism, a major theoretical perspective in sociology. (18, 23-24) Robert Merton: Merton contributed the terms manifest and latent functions and dysfunctions to the functionalist perspective. (26) C. Wright Mills: Mills suggested that external influences (a person’s experiences) become part of his or her thinking and motivations and explain social behavior. As the emphasis in sociology shifted from social reform to social theory, Mills urged sociologists to get back to their roots. He saw the emergence of the power elite composed of top leaders of business, politics and the military as an imminent threat to freedom. (4, 20-21)
