SOCIOLOGICAL THEORYrev.ppt

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    Science and Sociology

    The succeeding slides cannot be cited or used as

    reference

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    Theory

    Is a statement of how and why specific facts

    are related.

    A general statement about how some parts ofthe world fit together and how they work.

    This is to explain social behavior in the real

    world.

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    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

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    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.

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    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 Comtewho pointed out the need to

    keep society unified at a time when manytraditions were breaking down.

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    Herbert Spencercompared society to the human

    body. Just as the structural parts of the humanbody 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 ofsociety and investigate their functions.

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    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).

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    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.

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    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.

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    Latent Function

    The unrecognized and unintended

    consequences of any social pattern.

    Unintended consequences that help a

    system adjust.

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    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.

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    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.

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    Unlike the structural-functional emphasis on

    solidarity and stability, this approachhighlights inequality and change.

    Sociologist investigates how factors such associal class, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual

    orientation, and age are linked to a societys

    unequal distribution of money, power,education, and social prestige.

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    Conflict analysis rejects the idea that social

    structure promotes the operation of society asa whole, focusing instead on how social

    patterns benefit some people while harming

    others.

    Sociologist using the social conflict approach

    look at ongoing conflict between dominantand disadvantaged categories of people.

    Ex class conflict on educational system

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    Sociologists use the social conflict approach

    not just to understand society but also to

    bring about societal change that would reduce

    inequality.

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    Feminism and the Gender-Conflict

    Approach

    Gender conflict a point of view that focuses

    on inequality and conflict between womenand men. The gender-conflict approach is

    closely linked to feminism, support of social

    inequality for women and men.

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    The importance of the gender-conflict

    approach lies in making us aware of the manyways in which our way of life places men inpositions of power over women: in home, inworkplace and mass media.

    Another contribution of the gender-conflictapproach is making us aware of the

    importance of women to the development ofsociety.

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    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.

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    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 Orientationa

    close up focus on social interaction in specific

    situations.

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    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 theirviews of the world and communicate with one

    another.

    The symbols that define for us what relationships

    are.

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    The symbol that tells you how you are related

    to others and how you should act towardthem.

    Weber:emphasized the need to understand a

    setting from the point of view of the people init.

    Mead: who explored how our personalities

    develop as a result of social experience.

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    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.

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    Symbols not only allow relationships to exist,

    but they also allow society to exist. Withoutsymbols, we could not coordinate our actions

    with those of other people.

    The symbolic interactionists analyze how ourbehaviors depend on the ways we define

    ourselves and others.

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    We constantly adjust our views of who we are

    based on how we interpret the reactions ofothers.

    Sociology helps us understand the difference

    well-grounded generalizations and unfairstereotypes.

    Stereotype is a simplified description applied

    to every person in some category.

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    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 ingetting at the truth

    3. Each statement seems to be

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

    observation