soci socological approach

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THE SOCIOLOGICALTHE SOCIOLOGICAL

APPROACHAPPROACH

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LEARNING OBJECTIVESLEARNING OBJECTIVES to define sociology

to understand the uniqueness of thesubject matter of sociology

to explain how is society studied usingthe theory of Positivism

Practise Quiz 1

to identify the main sociologicalperspectives

- Interpretivism

- Consensus/ Structural functionalism

- Conflict/ Marxist

To apply the concept of sociology to theCaribbean ( society now)

SocietySociety

a large complex of human relationships,or a system of interaction. A societyconsists of a complex of social events

It is the longest, enduring and mostembracing social organisation,Mustapha, 2007

The concept of society begins withindividuals who interact with one another

and through interaction develops patterns

of behaviour.

If we could not predict one anothersbehaviour with a very high degree ofaccuracy, social relationships would beimpossible, and human life would besolitary, poor, nasty, brutish and shortThomas Hobbes, 1651


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Because we usually can anticipate how otherswill respond to our actions, it is possible forus to have families and friends, each one ofus would be forced to sleep alone in a secrethiding place if we couldnt accurately predictthat our relatives wont try to kill us

We are like social scientist: to observe, tointerpret,to predict

An OverviewAn Overview

Sociology offers us a distinction andenlightening perspective of humanbehaviour.

SGY is

the study of the development ofknowledge of ways people interact witheach other.

It discovers the general laws whichgovern interaction.

Sociology does not diminish the realitiesof personal experiences but gives agreater understanding of thoseindividual characteristics. Ex: familyrelationships

WHAT IS SOCIOLOGYWHAT IS SOCIOLOGY

a systematic study of human socialinteraction, social life, groups andsocieties, Giddens (2004)

a study of human behaviour in thesociety, Anderson and Taylor(2004)

the study of human behaviour as shapedby collective life, Hess et al (1998)

Sociology is the study of individuals ingroups in a systematic way, which grew

out of the search for understanding

associations with the industrial and

scientific revolutions of the 18th and 19th

centuries Lawson and Garrod, 1996

Sociology is not a practice but anattempt to understand human behaviour.Some students studied SGY to be ableto deal with people and to understandpeople as is the case of social work orto get an A or to be better citizens.


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It is more than this, it allows thestudent the opportunity to apply theirunderstanding to social phenomena andto the wider society.

Sociologists observe social phenomenaand see recurrent patterns ofbehaviour, they are able to predictbehaviour based on past evidence

Sociologists also look at

- the way a society evolves and changes

with time (social process)

- how it creates and maintain its culture

- and how groups and institutions influence

human behaviour (social structure)

Sociological ImaginationSociological Imagination

C. Wright Mills(1959), an American

Sociologist coined the term, SI

it requires us to think ourselves away from

the familiar routines of our daily lives in order

to look at them anew.

The ability to see the link between incidentsin the lives of individuals and large socialforces. Mills argued no matter how private orpersonal our actions we can understandourselves and our intimates much better ifwe place ourselves within the wider largerframework,

Ex couples decision to have a child

ACTIVITY 1ACTIVITY 1

Would the following students please stand

Those students whose parents are

divorce

Those students whose parents are still

married

Sociological imagination allows us to seethat many events that seem to concernonly the individual actually reflectlarger issues. Example: Suicide, Divorce,World Cup Barbados

Divorce- Single parenting/ female-headed households- day care- childsupport (law courts/ welfare)


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It allows sociologists to see beyond their

own personal troubles and to consider the

wider social issues.

Society can be seen objectively, free from

prejudices, cultural values and attitudes

(non-judgmental approach)

Social world surrounding the individual

Sociologists are not statisticians, theyapply the statistics to gain a greaterunderstanding of the social world.(Peter Berger, Invitation to SGY)

Humans are distinct from animals. Theyare socialised. Socialisation allowspersons to develop a culture and theability to learn the acceptable andunacceptable behaviour of the specificsociety. Ex: national symbols

Developmental theorist like PeterWorsley believed that babies are bornwith blank slates that have to bewritten on for the child to function insociety.

What do sociologists studyWhat do sociologists study

Sociologists study social problems andsociological problems. A sociologicalproblem is how the system works andhow is it held together.

Crime for example may be considered asa social problem but the law would bethe sociological problem. A problem inone society may not be the sameproblem in another society, ex:Kidnapping in Trinidad, Drug Use andAbuse in St. Vincent and Barbados,Murders in Jamaica


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And more importantly, sociologicalproblems in one social system may bethe norm and for another. To the policecrime is a problem but for the criminalsit is the norm.

Sociologists therefore must engaged in

triangulation.

How is society viewed?How is society viewed?

Social structure

the orderly way that people and groupsinteract with each other. It occurs withtwo or more people..

It is usually short term or long term asin the case of a mother/father andtheir children, teachers and students.When the interaction becomes morestablised a social relationship is formed

In a social structure therefore one canfind many social relationships. These areindividual to individual, individual togroup and individual to socialinstitutions,

Can one person be a social relationship?

Social institutions

an established pattern of behaviour that deals with major social interests.SGY seeks to examine the elements ofsociety: education, family, religion,political institutions and legal system bystudying the social relationships withinthem.

Human Social Interaction ChartHuman Social Interaction Chart

Recreation,

Sports

Economics

Politics Family

Religion

Legal System

Education

Man


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Social process

This refers to social change. It can be

revolutionary or evolutionary.Evolutionary change occurs when oneinstitution change results in the changeof another institution to allow harmonyand continuity of the system.

WHERE DID IT COME FROMWHERE DID IT COME FROM

Social sciences emerged as a family ofdisciplines yet each discipline has somespecific focus at the level of analysis:

- Psychology (human mind)- Anthropology (human cultures)

- Political Science (administration of society)

- Economics (production and distribution ofgoods and services)

- History (events of the past)

GROUPSGROUPS

Group/organization (micro-sociology,small groups and focus on patterns offace-face interaction) Group for thesociologist is any set of two or morepersons who maintain a stable patternof social relations over a period of time,this concept ignores gender, race, age

and those identifying characteristicswhich persons will classify as a group.

Group is said to be the fundamentalsubject matter of sociology,Stark(2007). The size of the group alsovaries, from small (couple) to large(Muslims). Some level of social relationsmust take place.

The significance of the group isimportant:

- primary (family, cricket teams) or

- secondary (school, business clubs)Interestingly, primary groups areformed from secondary groups.

Can sociology be appliedCan sociology be applied

SGY explains the social realities as theyrelate to social action, it restores ourconsciousness of the human element ininstitutions and it justifies the positionof various groups in society, ex. TheDisabled, The Elderly, Coloured Womenthrough social research.


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How is society studiedHow is society studied

it must be objective, the sociologists

must conceal his/ her personalpreferences

it must serve to understand society byadopting the appropriate methodology

all terminologies must be clearly definedand understood, ex: avoid jargonssociological language

Theoretical PerspectivesTheoretical Perspectives

POSITIVISM

Pos. makes two basic assumptions,scientific investigation is the onlysource of knowledge and all sciencesshare a unified method.

Pos. has many advocates: Comte, A;

Durkheim, E; Merton, R; Parsons, T

What is scienceWhat is science

They adopt mathematical measures totest sociological theories and theystressed the importance of objectivity.

Giddens (1986) states science is theuse of systematic methods of researchand investigation and the logical analysisof the arguments in order to develop an

understanding of a particular subjectmatter

The scientist/sgist remains neutral intheir position, not influenced in theirapproach to studying society.

ObjectivityObjectivity

Objectivity is achieved throughscientific methodologies whetherqualitatively or quantitatively. Postivismwas demonstrated by Auguste Comteand Emile Durkheim.


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WHO WERE THE EARLYWHO WERE THE EARLY

ADVOCATESADVOCATES

Auguste Comte

The founding father of SGY. He developed

sociology at a scientific time. To investigatesocial influences he used scientific methodology

to distinguish knowledge gained from common

sense which is subjective to knowledge gained

through objective means that were scientific.

Emile Durkheim

He described the methods to be used in the

study of sociology and what exactly in societyshould be studied. For him, they were the

social facts. A social reality constituting a

collective reality of society. Ex: fashion Social

facts are culture specific and time specific.

Karl Popper

Studies can either be deductive or inductive.

Ex: Alcohol use among UWI Students

One counter observation to the general law

proves it false. The scientist begins with a

theory and seeks evidence to support it,

questionnaires to UWI Students.

Induction means the scientist/sgist moves

from a specific to the general, by examining

case by case and build on each observation

to make a general law/ theory of society.

Sociologist spends time at the Guild on

Friday Nights observing the Beer Limes

METHODOLOGY OF SOCIALMETHODOLOGY OF SOCIAL

SCIENCESSCIENCES

How is the Scientific Method/researchapplied? Deductive/ Quantitatively

a problem statement

data gathering on the statement

data recording

data analysis

conclusions and recommendations basedon findings

Characteristics of ScienceCharacteristics of ScienceSociology share these:

1. Empirical (evidence from objective procedures)

2. Theoretical (research formulates theory,

Suicide (Durkheim)

3. Cumulative (builds on others, what is already

known)

4. Objectivity (unbiased, dispassionate)

5. Value-Free


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So what!So what! Sociology attempts to study the social

forces that impact on the lives of the

people in a society.that is also our lives.

In its attempts it has embrace a number ofdifferent theoretical perspectives and have

arrived at different models of human social

reality known as sociological perspectives:

Functionalism, Conflict and Interactionalist

Perspectives

NextNext--classclass

Sociological Perspectives

1. Interactionalist Perspective

2. Functionalist Perspective

3. Conflict Perspective

Come prepared to discuss these models

Learning objectivesLearning objectives

To explain an alternative view ofunderstanding human behaviour

To adopt a micro-level/approachperspective of society

To explore the concept of culture tosocial reality

Culture Culture of a society is the way of life of

its members ; collection of ideas andhabits which they learn, share andtransmit from generation to generation(Ralph Linton)

Design for living held by members of a

particular society. Culture is learned and it is shared

It defines ways of behaving formembers of a particular society.Example: Dress (Pink), Conversationsbetween adults and children, teacherenters the classroom,

It is the values, norms and customs In Australia, Haralambos reference of

Female infanticide and geronticide toreduce the population

We are producers and products of ourculture


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INTERPRETAVISMINTERPRETAVISM

In. sgists oppose the views of thepositivists. They advocate qualitativemethods of analysis over quantitativemethods.

It focuses on small scale interactionrather than society as a whole.

They do not support the claim ofobjectivity, for them it is impossible.They reject the use of scientificapproaches to the study of humanbehaviour.

For them the use of words, symbols,meanings and an understanding andinterpretation of social action is theapproach to be used. Understanding themeanings and motives behind the actionof people must be the first step.

They argue that it is only when ascientist/sgist immersed in the societyand being subjective in their approachto social action can one truly understandsociety.

They: Max Weber, George HerbertMead, Erving Goffman

Human action has little meaning, it getsits meaning when its interpreted amongpeople who share the same meaning.Example: role of Women in Islamicculture, Sister (Hospital)

Culture and cultural roles oftendetermine how we define our socialreality.

All persons sharing the same culture willnot have the same definitions. (Pink)


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Common sense is very important to theinterpretivists. Other schools ofsociology advocate this approach,namely:

social action theory

symbolic interaction

ethnomethodology

phenomenology

Structural Functionalism

Society is ordered around harmony and

agreement. Society is looked at as anorganism with interrelated parts thatoperate together to make the organismfunction. Each part of the society mustbe examined in relation to its otherparts.

Humans behave in expected ways basedon roles, expectations, norms and values.Value consensus according to Durkheimexist in society, it keeps societytogether. Functional prerequisites arealso important to the survival of asociety.

For example: food, shelter, socializationand reproduction. Without these asociety would cease to exist.Functionalists also recognized theimportance of conflict in a society.

Conflict however is a temporary,disequilibrium. The process of change insociety is slow. As changes occur in oneinstitution, the others change tomaintain equilibrium.

CONFLICT Karl Marx is the founder of conflict

perspective. They are other theories onconflict, however in Marxs perspective,society is made up of two opposinggroups..


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One group owns the means of productionsuch as land, labour, capital (theproperty class) and the group offersonly their labour and skill.They sell theirlabour to the property class. Thebourgeoisie and the proletariat. Arelationship of exploitation andoppression

Marxist theory examines conflictbetween opposing economic classes. Forhim society is a history of classstruggles via a process of revolution.

Marx therefore is an economicdeterminist; every thing has aneconomic origin. He calls this theinfrastructure and the otherinstitutions he called thesuperstructure.

SummarySummary Sociology is therefore about developing a

critical understanding of society and the

patterns of social relations developed over

time. We as a people can better

understand our social world and

relationships. Recognising each theory

was its merit.

Critical Social ScienceCritical Social Science

It a new approach to studying society

Founded on conflict theory/feminist theory

The injustices and disparities of a society

that needs to be change

It criticises both interpretivism and

positivism

Empowerment Action research

Many of us allow ourselves to becontrolled, mislead and mistreated, we

do not realise our true potential as

change agents.

ReferencesReferences Giddens, A; Sociology

Haralambos and Holborn; Sociology

Themes and Perspectives

Stark, R; Sociology

Barrow, C and Reddock, R ; Caribbean

Sociology

Mustapha, N; Sociology for Caribbean

Students


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Quiz Time Next ClassQuiz Time Next Class

Exam QuestionExam Question

What are the strengths and weaknesses of theWhat are the strengths and weaknesses of the

interpretative perspective in Sociology?interpretative perspective in Sociology?

Illustrate how the interpretative perspectiveIllustrate how the interpretative perspectivecan be applied to the study of a named socialcan be applied to the study of a named social

institution in society.institution in society.

The ResponseThe Response

A comprehensive understanding ofA comprehensive understanding ofinterpretative sociologyinterpretative sociology

Origins and historical development of theOrigins and historical development of theperspective and an overview of itsperspective and an overview of itsassumptions, basic concepts and the mainassumptions, basic concepts and the maintheorist (s) associated with the perspective.theorist (s) associated with the perspective.

Knowledge of the other perspectives:Knowledge of the other perspectives:

functionalism and Conflictfunctionalism and Conflict

Short Answer QuestionShort Answer Question

Define and explain each of the following

concepts using illustrations as applicable:

Social structure

Groups

Culture

Sociological imagination

Examples of exam questionsExamples of exam questions

The question of whether or not sociologyis seen as a science depends as much onthe definition of science as on the natureof sociology. Critically discuss.

Discuss the extent to which SGY providesan adequate scientific methodology tostudy human social behaviour?

Do all sociologists consider sociology tobe truly objective?

The ResponseThe Response

This short answer question tests yourknowledge on some of the key conceptsused in sociological study of society.

Definitions not needed

Describe and explain the concept withillustrations as far as possible

Where specific individuals have beenassociated with a concept they should benamed

soci socological approach

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