Science and Sociology

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SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY

Theory
Is a statement of how and why specific facts
are related.
A general statement about how some parts of
the world fit together and how they work.
This is to explain social behavior in the real
world.

 Theoretical Approach
A basic image of society that guides
thinking in research.

Three Major Theoretical Approaches

Structural Functional Approach
Social Conflict Approach
Symbolic-Interaction Approach

Structural Functional Approach

A framework for building theory that sees
society as a complex system whose parts work
together to promote solidarity and stability.
Social structure: any relatively stable pattern
of social behavior.
Social functions: the consequences of any
social pattern for the operation of society as a
whole.

 Society is a whole unit; it is made up of

interrelated parts that work together.
Auguste Comte and Herbert Spencer: viewed
society as a kind of living organism.
Auguste Comte who pointed out the need to
keep society unified at a time when many
traditions were breaking down.

 Herbert Spencer compared society to the human

body. Just as the structural parts of the human
body the skeleton, muscles, and various
internal organs function interdependently to
help the entire organism survive, social structures
work together to preserve society.
The structural functional approach, then leads,
sociologists to identify various structures of
society and investigate their functions.

 Emile Durkheim: to understand society, we

need to look at both structure (how the parts
of a society fit together to make the whole)
and function (what each part does, how it
contributes to society).

 Robert Merton: dismissed the organic

analogy, but he did maintain the essence of
functionalism the image of society as a whole
composed of parts that work together.
Merton used the term functions to refer to
the beneficial consequences of peoples
actions: functions help keep a group (society,
social system) in equilibrium.

Manifest and Latent Functions

Manifest Function
An action is intended to help some
part of a system.
The
recognized
and
intended
consequences of any social pattern.

 Latent Function
The unrecognized and unintended
consequences of any social pattern.
Unintended consequences that help a
system adjust.

 Social Dysfunction: any social pattern

that may disrupt the operation of society.
The main idea of the Structural Functional
Approach is its vision of society as stable and
orderly.

Social Conflict Approach

Conflict theories stress that society is
composed of groups that engage in fierce
competition for scarce resources.
A framework for building theory that sees
society as an arena of inequality that
generates conflict and change.

 Unlike the structural-functional emphasis on

solidarity and stability, this approach
highlights inequality and change.
Sociologist investigates how factors such as
social class, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual
orientation, and age are linked to a societys
unequal distribution of money, power,
education, and social prestige.

 Conflict analysis rejects the idea that social

structure promotes the operation of society as
a whole, focusing instead on how social
patterns benefit some people while harming
others.
Sociologist using the social conflict approach
look at ongoing conflict between dominant
and disadvantaged categories of people.
Ex class conflict on educational system

 Sociologists use the social conflict approach

not just to understand society but also to
bring about societal change that would reduce
inequality.

Feminism and the Gender-Conflict

Approach
Gender conflict a point of view that focuses
on inequality and conflict between women
and men. The gender-conflict approach is
closely linked to feminism, support of social
inequality for women and men.

 The importance of the gender-conflict

approach lies in making us aware of the many
ways in which our way of life places men in
positions of power over women: in home, in
workplace and mass media.
Another contribution of the gender-conflict
approach is making us aware of the
importance of women to the development of
society.

 Karl Marx: founder of conflict theory.

The key to human history is class struggle.
In every society, some small group controls
the means of production and exploits those
who are not in control. In industrialized
societies the struggle is between the
bourgeoisie, the small group of capitalists
who own the means to produce wealth, and
the proletariat, the mass of workers who
are exploited by the bourgeoisie.

SYMBOLIC INTERACTION APPROACH

Structural functional and social conflict
approaches share a Macro level Orientation
a broad focus on social structures that shape
society as a whole. Micro level Orientation a
close up focus on social interaction in specific
situations.

 SYMBOLIC INTERACTION APPROACH

A framework for building theory that sees society
as the product of the everyday interactions of
individuals.
Study how people use symbols to develop their
views of the world and communicate with one
another.
The symbols that define for us what relationships
are.

 The symbol that tells you how you are related

to others and how you should act toward
them.
Weber: emphasized the need to understand a
setting from the point of view of the people in
it.
Mead: who explored how our personalities
develop as a result of social experience.

 Goffman: whose dramaturgical analysis

describes how we resemble actors on stage as
we play our various roles.

Contemporary sociologist: social interaction is

guided by what each person stands to gain or
lose form the interaction.

 Symbols not only allow relationships to exist,

but they also allow society to exist. Without
symbols, we could not coordinate our actions
with those of other people.
The symbolic interactionists analyze how our
behaviors depend on the ways we define
ourselves and others.

 We constantly adjust our views of who we are

based on how we interpret the reactions of
others.
Sociology helps us understand the difference
well-grounded generalizations and unfair
stereotypes.
Stereotype is a simplified description applied
to every person in some category.

Sociology

Stereotype

1. Sociologists do not carelessly apply

any generalization to everyone in a
category.

1. Rather than describing averages,

each statement describes ever person
in some category in exactly the same
way.

2. Sociologists make sure that a

generalization squares with the
available facts.

2. Even though many stereotypes

often contain an element of truth,
each statement ignores facts and
distorts reality;

3. Sociologists offer generalizations

fair-mindedly, with an interest in
getting at the truth

3. Each statement seems to be

motivated by bias, sounding more like
a put-down than a fair minded
observation