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    Soc114 ch01 2022

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    Thanh Trúcc
    Here are my thoughts on your questions: 1. Society likely does constrain our thoughts and behaviors to some degree through socialization and social norms, but individuals still maintain significant personal agency and ability to think independently as well. 2. As a male, gender socialization influenced me to initially pursue more stereotypically masculine career paths. However, over time I've been able to think more openly about my interests and strengths regardless of gender norms. 3. When I was younger, I made negative assumptions about people experiencing homelessness based solely on superficial interactions, without considering broader social and economic factors that shape individuals' circumstances. 4. At this early stage, symbolic interactionism appeals to me most as it emphasizes how we

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    Soc114 ch01 2022

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    Thanh Trúcc
    28 views21 pages
    Here are my thoughts on your questions: 1. Society likely does constrain our thoughts and behaviors to some degree through socialization and social norms, but individuals still maintain significant personal agency and ability to think independently as well. 2. As a male, gender socialization influenced me to initially pursue more stereotypically masculine career paths. However, over time I've been able to think more openly about my interests and strengths regardless of gender norms. 3. When I was younger, I made negative assumptions about people experiencing homelessness based solely on superficial interactions, without considering broader social and economic factors that shape individuals' circumstances. 4. At this early stage, symbolic interactionism appeals to me most as it emphasizes how we

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    Here are my thoughts on your questions: 1. Society likely does constrain our thoughts and behaviors to some degree through socialization and social norms, but individuals still maintain significant personal agency and ability to think independently as well. 2. As a male, gender socialization influenced me to initially pursue more stereotypically masculine career paths. However, over time I've been able to think more openly about my interests and strengths regardless of gender norms. 3. When I was younger, I made negative assumptions about people experiencing homelessness based solely on superficial interactions, without considering broader social and economic factors that shape individuals' circumstances. 4. At this early stage, symbolic interactionism appeals to me most as it emphasizes how we

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    28 views21 pages

    Soc114 ch01 2022

    Uploaded by

    Thanh Trúcc
    Here are my thoughts on your questions: 1. Society likely does constrain our thoughts and behaviors to some degree through socialization and social norms, but individuals still maintain significant personal agency and ability to think independently as well. 2. As a male, gender socialization influenced me to initially pursue more stereotypically masculine career paths. However, over time I've been able to think more openly about my interests and strengths regardless of gender norms. 3. When I was younger, I made negative assumptions about people experiencing homelessness based solely on superficial interactions, without considering broader social and economic factors that shape individuals' circumstances. 4. At this early stage, symbolic interactionism appeals to me most as it emphasizes how we

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    Chapter 1

    Sociology and
    the Sociological Perspective

    Sociology: Understanding and Changing the Social World SOC144 -EIU Truong Thi Kim Chuyen
    Learning Objectives
    ► Define the sociological perspective.
    ► Explain what is meant by considering individuals as “social beings.”
    ► Explain what is meant by the sociological imagination.
    ► State the difference between the approach of blaming the system and that of
    blaming the victim.
    ► Summarize the most important beliefs and assumptions of functionalism and
    conflict theory.
    ► Summarize the most important beliefs and assumptions of symbolic interactionism
    and exchange theory.
    ► Describe the different types of units of analysis in sociology.
    ► Explain the difference between an independent variable and a dependent variable.
    The Sociological Perspective
    ▪ It is the view that our social backgrounds influence our
    attitudes, behavior, and life chances
    ▪ As individuals, we have the right to believe and act, yet our
    society, culture, and social institutions affect our choices
    ▪ Individual attitudes and behaviors are influenced to some
    degree by our social backgrounds and by the society to
    which we belong
    ▪ This makes us ‘social beings’
    The Sociological Perspective
    • Individual decisions which are influenced by our social
    background:
    ❖Marriage is influenced by:
    ▪ Gender
    ▪ Race
    ▪ Physical attributes
    ▪ Age
    ▪ Social class
    The Sociological Perspective
    ❖The right of voting is influenced by:
    ▪ Social background
    ▪ Society
    ❖Committing suicide is influenced by:
    ▪ Gender
    ▪ Religious beliefs
    ▪ Social support network
    Sociology as a Social Science

    ❖Sociology is fascinating — No matter how much


    sociologists are able to predict people’s behavior,
    attitudes, and life chances, there will always be many
    people who will not fit the predictions
    ❖Sociology is frustrating — People can never be totally
    explained by their social environment, sociologists can
    never understand the sources of their behavior,
    attitudes, and life chances sources completely
    Sociology as a Social Science
    ❖ Unlike the other sciences, sociology do not always follow
    our predictions
    ❖ Sociology helps us comprehend who we are and what we
    are by helping us understand the subtle influence of our
    social backgrounds on our life
    ❖ Sociology as a social science relies heavily on systematic
    research that follows the standard rules of the scientific
    method
    Sociology as a Social Science

    ❖ Our knowledge and understanding of social reality


    come from at least five sources:
    ▪ Personal experience
    ▪ Common sense
    ▪ Media
    ▪ Expert authorities
    ▪ Tradition
    Sociology as a Social Science

    ❖ Debunking motif: A theme of sociology in which the aim is


    to go beyond superficial understandings of social reality
    ❖ Social structure: Social patterns through which a society is
    organized and can be horizontal or vertical.
    ❖ Sociological imagination: The ability to appreciate the
    structural basis for individual problems
    Sociology as a Social Science

    ❖ Blaming the victim: The belief that people


    experiencing difficulties are to blame for their
    problems
    ❖ Blaming the system: The belief that problems stem
    from various social conditions
    ❖ A sociological perspective suggests that focusing on the
    various social conditions is needed to help us deal
    successfully with the social problems facing us today
    Sociology as a Social Science
    ❖ The use of sociological knowledge to achieve social reform was a key
    theme of sociology as it developed in the United States after emerging
    at the University of Chicago in the 1890s
    ❖ The early Chicago sociologists aimed to use their research to achieve
    social reform and in particular to reduce poverty and its related
    effects
    ❖ By the 1940s and 1950s many American sociologists had developed a
    more scientific, professional orientation that disregarded social reform
    ❖ In 2004, the president of the American Sociological Association,
    Michael Burawoy, called for public sociology — Use of sociological
    insights and findings to address social issues and achieve social change
    Theoretical Perspectives in Sociology

    ❖ Macro sociology: Part of sociology that deals with


    issues involving large-scale social change and social
    institutions
    ❖ Micro sociology: Part of sociology that deals with
    social interaction in small settings
    Theoretical Perspectives in Sociology

    ❖ Beliefs and assumptions of functionalism


    ▪ A macro theory
    ▪ Adequate socialization and social integration are
    necessary to achieve social stability
    ▪ Social stability is necessary to have a strong society
    ▪ Society’s social institutions perform important
    functions to help ensure social stability
    ▪ Slow social change is desirable
    ▪ Rapid social change threatens social order
    Theoretical Perspectives in Sociology

    ❖ Beliefs and assumptions of conflict theory


    ▪ A macro theory
    ▪ Society is characterized by pervasive inequality based on
    social class, gender, and other factors
    ▪ Far-reaching social change is needed to reduce or
    eliminate social inequality and to create an egalitarian
    society
    Theoretical Perspectives in Sociology

    ❖ Beliefs and assumptions of symbolic interactionism


    ▪ A micro theory
    ▪ People construct their roles as they interact
    ▪ As this interaction occurs, individuals negotiate their
    definitions of the situations in which they find themselves
    and socially construct the reality of these situations
    ▪ They rely heavily on symbols such as words and gestures to
    reach a shared understanding of their interaction
    Theoretical Perspectives in Sociology

    ❖ Beliefs and assumptions of exchange theory


    ▪ A micro theory
    ▪ People act to maximize their advantages in a given
    situation and to reduce their disadvantages
    ▪ Social order is possible because people realize it will be in
    their best interests to cooperate and to make
    compromises when necessary
    Table 1.1 – “Theory Snapshot”
    Summary
    1. Although Americans enjoy much freedom of thought and action, society
    constrains their views and behaviors.
    2. The sociological perspective emphasizes that our social backgrounds influence
    our attitudes, behaviors, and life chances. The chances of committing even an
    individual act such as suicide depend to some degree on the group backgrounds
    from which we come.
    3. Because sociology deals in generalizations and not laws, people don’t always
    behave and think in the patterns sociologists predict. For every sociological
    generalization, there are many exceptions.
    4. Personal experience, common sense, and the media are all valuable sources of
    knowledge about various aspects of society, but they often present a limited or
    distorted view of these aspects.
    Summary
    5. A theme of sociology is the debunking motif. This means that sociological
    knowledge aims to look beyond on-the-surface understandings of social
    reality.
    6. According to C. Wright Mills, the sociological imagination involves the
    ability to realize that personal troubles are rooted in problems in the larger
    social structure. The sociological imagination thus supports a blaming-the-
    system view over a blaming-the-victim view.
    Summary

    7. Theoretical perspectives in sociology generally divide into macro and micro views.
    Functionalism emphasizes the functions that social institutions serve to ensure the
    ongoing stability of society, while conflict theory focuses on the conflict among different
    racial, ethnic, social class, and other groups and emphasizes how social institutions help
    ensure inequality. Two micro perspectives, symbolic interactionism and utilitarianism,
    focus on interaction among individuals. Symbolic interactionism focuses on how
    individuals interpret the meanings of the situations in which they find themselves, while
    utilitarianism emphasizes that people are guided in their actions by a desire to maximize
    their benefits and to minimize their disadvantages.
    Discuss

    1. Do you think that society constrains our thoughts and behaviors as


    the text argues? Why or why not?
    2. Describe how one aspect of your own social background has
    affected an important attitude you hold, a behavior in which you
    have engaged, or your ability to do well in life (life chances).
    3. Provide an example in which one of your own personal experiences
    probably led you to inaccurately understand social reality.
    4. At this point in your study of sociology, which one of the four
    sociological traditions sounds most appealing to you? Why?

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