1. Sociology
Unit 1: Foundations and Research

2. First Day of Class
• Attendance
• Fire Drill Procedures
• Medical Team/Crisis Response Team
• Bathroom Sign-out
• Syllabus
• Assign Books
• Questions

3. Unit 1 Overview
Unit EQ:
How does sociology view and think about society?
You will need to be able to “Do” the following:
• Explain origins of sociology
• Explain the difference between the three major theoretical
perspectives in sociology.
• Analyze sociological research through a seven step research
process and an ethical perspective.

4. You will need to be able to “Understand” the
following:
• Sociology is a social science that looks at human society.
• Social upheaval in Europe during the 1700-1800’s led to
the development of the academic discipline of sociology.
• Sociology employs three major theoretical perspectives—
functionalism, conflict theory, and interactionism.
• Sociologists use several approaches to conducting
research, all sociologists follow a seven step research
process, ,and sociologists are bound by ethical guidelines.

5. Unit 1 Outline
Concept 1: Examining Social Life
Lesson
1
2 3
Concept 2: The Development of Sociology
Concept 3: Modern Perspectives
Concept 4: Conducting Sociological Research
Lesson
1 2

6. Examining Social Life
EQ: What is sociology?
How does sociology differ from the other
social sciences?
Vocabulary
•
•
•
•
•
Social sciences
Sociology
Social interaction
Social perspective
Social imagination

7. Lesson 1: Sociology and The Social Sciences
Brainstorm the following questions:
1) What are social sciences?
2) What is sociology?
After directed, discuss and explore using textbook (pg 5)

8. The Social
Sciences

9. Sociology and Other Social Sciences
Compare and Contrast Sociology and the Other Social Sciences
using textbook pages 5 & 6.
Similarities
Anthropology
Psychology
Economics
Political Science
History
Differences

10. Assignment: Lunch Observation

11. Lesson 2: Sociological Perspective
Activator: Share Lunch Observations

12. Sociological Perspective
• Sociology can help you gain a
new perspective on yourself and the world
around you.
• This new view involves looking at social life
in a scientific, systematic way rather than
depending on common-sense explanations
usually found in the media.
• You can look beyond commonly held
beliefs to the hidden meanings behind
human actions.

13. Sociological Perspective Cont.
It can also be said that “sociological
perspective can help you find an
acceptable balance between your
personal desires and the demands of
your social environment.”
• Identify one area in your life where you
experience this tension.
• Write it down and raise your hand when
finished.

14. Case Study: Tattoos
Read with a Purpose
Highlight the following from the article:
• Old norms
• Reasons given for subgroups to get them (assigned)
• Limitations

15. Sociological Imagination
C. Wright Mills described the sociological
imagination as…
“the capacity to range from the most impersonal
and remote [topics] to the most intimate features
of the human self—and to see the relations
between the two.”
1) What does this mean?
2) Why would Mills think that all good sociologists
need to possess this?

16. The Development of Sociology
EQ: How did sociology develop?
Activator: Discuss Key Factors/Events that led
to sociology
Vocabulary
•
•
•
•
•
Auguste Comte
Harriet Martineau
Herbert Spencer
Social Darwinism
Karl Marx
• Emile Durkheim
• Max Weber
• W.E. B. Du Bois

17. The Development of Sociology
• Using the section The Development of Sociology on p. 9,
create a web outlining the major factors that led to sociology
becoming a distinct a field.
Factors
of Development

18. Effects of the Industrial Revolution
1. Farms/cottage industry gives way to large scale
production
2. Factories replaced the home
3. Growth of factories resulted in the growth of cities
4. Rapid growth of urban population produced many
social problems
• Housing shortages
• Crime
• Pollution
• Difficulty adapting to impersonal urban life
5. Political movements (Revolutions)

19. Key Contributors to Sociology
Individuals
Auguste Comte
Harriet Martineau
Herbert Spencer
Karl Marx
Emile Durkheim
Max Weber
W.E.B DuBois
Key Contributions

20. Early European Scholars
• Founder of sociology
• Coined the term sociology
• Scientific method to study social
life
• Studied social order/change
• Established the focus of
sociological study- marriage/family,
race, education, and religion
• Translated Comte’s work
• Scholars should advocate for
change

21. Early European Scholars
•
•
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Adopted biological model
Society is a set of interdependent parts
Influenced by Darwin
Social change is a natural occurrence
Social ills shouldn’t be corrected
Survival of the fittest-Social Darwinism
• Society is influenced by economy
• Conflict between haves and havenots. (bourgeoisie v. proletariat)
• Led to the development of 1 major
sociological perspective—Conflict
Theory.

22. Later European Scholars

23. American Scholars: Jane Addams
18 Nationalities living in the area
$9.44 Average weekly wage for garment workers
12 Hours per day worked by garment workers
$1.25 Average daily wage for laborers
17-32 Weeks per year laborers were unemployed
$8.47 Average monthly rent
Answer the question
on pg. 13 in the
textbook.

24. American Scholars
• First African American to earn a
doctorate at Harvard
• First empirical community studies
in the U.S.
• Helped found the NAACP

25. Summarizing Activity
• 3 Factors that led to the development of sociology
• 2 Contributors
• 1 Question

26. Modern Perspectives
EQ: How do the three theoretical perspectives
differ in terms of their levels of analysis?
Vocabulary
•
•
•
•
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Functional perspective
Conflict perspective
Interactionist perspective
Macrosociology
Microsociology

27. Functionalist Perspective
• AKA Structural Functionalism
• Views society as a set of interrelated parts that work
together to produce a stable social system
• Society is held together through consensus
• Views the elements of society in terms of their function
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•
•
•
Function = positive consequences for society’s stability
Dysfunction = negative consequences for society’s stability
Manifest function = intended consequence of an element
Latent function = unintended consequence of an element

28. Conflict Perspective
• Focus is on the forces that promote competition and change
• Competition over scarce resources is the basis of social
conflict
• Power/Wealth are in limited supply
• Power dynamics between those in control and those who are
not.
• Once a group obtains power, it uses its power to create a
system to keep them in power
• men/women, different age groups, or racial groupings
• Conflict leads to social change
• Topics of interest: family, racial relationships, workplace

30. Interactionist Perspective
• AKA Symbolic Interactionism
• Focus is on how individuals interact with one another in
society
• How do individuals respond to one another?
• Interested in the meanings that individuals attach to their own
actions and to the actions of others.
• Interested in the role that symbols play
• Symbol: anything that represents something else. Ex. Words,
gestures, events
• Ex. American flag, bald eagle, Fourth of July, Uncle Sam
• Topics: child development, relationships with small groups and
mate selection

31. Symbolic Interactionism
1. Symbolic interaction theory analyzes society by addressing the
subjective meanings that people impose on objects, events, and
behaviors.
2. Subjective meanings are given priority because it is believe that
people behave based on what they believe and not just on what is
objectively true.
3. Thus, society is thought to be socially constructed through human
interpretation.
4. People interpret one another’s behavior and it is these
interpretations that form the social bond.
EX. Studies find that teenagers are well informed about the
risks of tobacco, but they also think that smoking is cool, that
they themselves will be safe from harm, and that smoking
projects a positive image to their peers. So, the symbolic
meaning of smoking overrides that actual facts regarding
smoking and risk.

33. Assignment
• Locate a media article on a
social issue
• Discuss the social issue in
terms of Sociological
Perspectives.
• Articulate how each
perspective would view
the issue from your article.
• Compose a small
paragraph for each of the
three perspectives.

34. Conducting Sociological
Research
EQ: How is sociological research conducted?
Vocabulary
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Scientific method
Hypothesis
Variable
Correlation

35. Activator:
1. What role do scientific methods
play in sociology?
2. Steps of the Scientific Method

36. Durkheim and the Scientific Method
Step
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Durkheim Example

37. Scientific Method

38. Assignment
Read: Causation and Correlation
pg. 22-23
1. What is the difference?
2. How are they related to
variables?

40. Correlation

41. Summarizing Activity
Steps of the Scientific Method
and Questions Remaining

42. Conducting Sociological
Research
EQ: How is sociological research conducted?
Vocabulary
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Scientific method
Hypothesis
Variable
Correlation
Survey
Sample
Historical method
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Content analysis
Participant observation
Case study
Experiment
Statistical analysis
Ethics

43. Activator:
1. Other than experimentation, what
other research methods are there?
2. Steps of the Scientific Method

44. Methods of Sociological Research
In pairs, complete the chart below. Use p.24-27 in the textbook.
Method
Definition
Advantages
Survey
Collect data on attitudes
and opinions. (Interviews
or Questionnaires)
Large amount of
information
gathered quickly
Analysis of
Existing
Documents
Historical: Examining
documents from the past.
Content: counting the
amount of times a idea, word
or symbol appears.
Observe behavior in actual
social setting either from a
distance or while involved.
Sample needs to be
random. Bias of
response is a potential
problem.
Historical: Allows for
comparison between
time periods and
trend study. Content:
Inexpensive.
Observation
Disadvantage
Behavior not changed
by researcher
presence.
Experiment Using controlled
conditions to gather data
Variable can be
controlled.
Setting may not
accurately reflect
real life.

45. Enrichment Assignment
In Pairs, Complete “Conducting
Interviews on p. 24

46. Ethical Standards
• Confidentiality
• Deception
• Informed Consent