The document is an excerpt from an introductory sociology textbook. It introduces sociology as the systematic study of human social behavior and relationships. It discusses the key founders of sociology like Comte, Durkheim, Marx and Weber. It also outlines the major theoretical perspectives in sociology - functionalism, conflict theory, feminist theory and symbolic interactionism. The excerpt emphasizes that sociology aims to study social issues scientifically and avoid relying solely on common sense. It highlights how sociology can reveal unintended consequences and debunk misconceptions about social problems.

1. 1-1
Richard T. Schaefer
SOCIOLOGY
Eighth Edition
McGraw-Hill
McGraw-Hill
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

2. chapter
UNDERSTANDING
SOCIOLOGY
1
CHAPTER OUTLINE
•What is Sociology?
•What is Sociological Imagination?
•The Development of Sociology
•Major Theoretical Perspectives
•Developing a Sociological Imagination
McGraw-Hill
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

3. What is Sociology?
1-3
█ Sociology
– Systematic study of
social behavior in
human groups
– Focus on:
• How relationships influence people’s
attitudes and behavior
• How societies develop and change
McGraw-Hill
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

4. The Sociological Imagination
1-4
█ The Sociological Imagination
– Awareness of relationship between an
individual and the wider society
– Ability to view our own society as an
outsider would, rather than from
perspective of our limited experiences
and cultural biases
McGraw-Hill
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

5. The Sociological Imagination
1-5
█ The Sociological Imagination
– Consuming ice cream, snacks or candy
bars while walking.
– Unemployment
– Divorce
– Donating Food to charities
– Or consider an everyday interest
McGraw-Hill
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

6. Sociology and the
Social Sciences
1-6
█ Sociology and the
Social Sciences
– In contrast to other
social sciences,
sociology emphasizes
the influence that
groups can have on
people’s behavior and
attitudes and ways in
which people shape
society
McGraw-Hill
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

7. Sociology and the
Social Sciences
1-7
█ Sociology and the Social Sciences
– Science: body of knowledge obtained
by methods based on systematic
observation
– Natural Science: study of physical
features of nature and the ways they
interact and change
– Social Science: study of social features
of humans and the ways they interact
and change
McGraw-Hill
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

8. Sociology and the
Social Sciences
1-8
█ Sociology and the Social Sciences
– All social science disciplines have a
common focus on the social behavior of
people, yet each has a particular
orientation.
– Sociology emphasizes the influence of
the society on peoples attitude and
behavior and the ways in which people
shape society.
McGraw-Hill
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

9. 1-9
█
Table 1.1: Gun Ownership in the United States
█ Race
• Whites -------40%
• Nonwhites---10%
█ Age
•
•
•
•
18-29---------28%
30-49---------37%
50-64---------46%
65+------------36%
█ Sex
• Men ----------47%
• Women------27%
McGraw-Hill
Source: Death Penalty Information Center 2003
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

10. Sociology: The Science of the
Obvious
1-10
█ Sociology and Common Sense
– Knowledge that
relies on “common
sense” not always
reliable
– Sociologists must
test and analyze
each piece of
information they
use
McGraw-Hill
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

11. Sociology: The Science of the
Obvious
1-11
 Sociology has been accused of reaching obvious
conclusion is about the way people behave. But
sociological research has shown many seemingly correct
ideas about human behavior to be wrong.
 More women than men commit suicide.
 More young people than old people commit suicide. In
young age the stresses and uncertainties of life are
greatest.
 Blacks have higher suicide rate than that of white.
 More people commit suicide during holidays.
 People are more likely to commit suicide due to
extensive media coverage.
McGraw-Hill
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

12. Sociology: The Science of the
Obvious
1-12
█ Sociology and Common Sense
– The earth is flat (Once a common sense)
– Disasters do not generally produce panic
McGraw-Hill
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

13. Sociology: The Science of the
Obvious
1-13
█ woman walking alone at night is in greater danger of sexual
assault or rape by a stranger than a woman in a familiar
place with a man she knows
█ 50% of sexual assaults and 25% of rapes involved strangers.
Most rapists are known to the victim. The most likely rapists
include a casual acquaintance, boss / supervisor, friend,
workmate, family member or neighbour.
The most common places for rape or assault are, in order of
frequency:
– The victim’s home.
– A street or lane.
– The assailant’s home.
McGraw-Hill
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

14. Sociology: The Science of the
Obvious
1-14
█ The high divorce rate in our society indicates that marriage
as an institution is under threat in our society
█ Martin Joseph ("Sociology For Everyone") notes that:
90% of people who divorce remarry, which suggests that marriage
itself is not unpopular. Rather, people have different
expectations of what marriage involves.
In the past, divorce was not possible for the majority of the
population. People in unhappy marriages simply separated from
each other. Since they could not legally remarry, this distorted
the figures for marriage in the past.
McGraw-Hill
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

15. Sociology: The Science of the
Obvious
1-15
█ Armed robbery is more dangerous to the victim
than unarmed robbery
█ This ("Sociology") notes that an unarmed robber is
more likely to hurt the victim because the victim is
more likely to resist during the course of the robbery
McGraw-Hill
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

16. Sociology: The Science of the
Obvious
1-16
█ Making contraceptives available to
teenagers through school clinics will
encourage them to be more sexually active
because they will not have to worry about
unwanted pregnancy.
Moore and Caldwell, in a review of the relevant studies,
argue that, if anything, this practice reduced the
level of teenage sexual activity and significantly
reduced the level of teenage pregnancy.
They argue that where teenagers are better informed
about sex they are less inclined to either indulge in
sexual activity out of curiosity / ignorance or are
more willing to limit their sexual behavior.
McGraw-Hill
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

17. The Development of
Sociology
1-17
█ Early Thinkers
– Auguste Comte 1798–1857
• Worked during an unsettling time in France
• Coined term sociology to apply to science
of human behavior
• Hoped that systematic study of social
behavior would lead to enduring and
rational social order
• Presented ambitious challenge for the new
discipline
McGraw-Hill
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

18. Auguste Comte 1798–1857
1-18
 Major Contribution: Positive philosophy
and Laws of three stages.
 Positive Philosophy: Like natural sciences
sociology should use the same scientific
method to study society.
 Laws of three stages: Theological: Belief
in God
 -Metaphysical: belief in supernatural
 Positivism: Belief in science.
McGraw-Hill
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

19. The Development of
Sociology
1-19
█ Early Thinkers
– Harriet Martineau 1802–1876
• Translated works of Comte
• Studied social behavior in Britain and
United States
• Emphasized impact economy, law, trade,
health, and population could have on social
problems
• Believed that sociologists should act in a
way that will benefit society
McGraw-Hill
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

20. The Development of
Sociology
1-20
█ Early Thinkers
– Herbert Spencer 1820–1903
• Hoped to understand the society better,
was not compelled to improve it
• Applied concept of evolution to explain how
societies “evolve” over time
• Believed that sociologists need not be work
actively as a change agent
McGraw-Hill
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

21. The Development of
Sociology
1-21
█ Early Thinkers
– Émile Durkheim 1858–1917
• Insisted behavior must be understood
within larger social context
• Mentioned that industrialized societies may
suffer from anomie – loss of direction
McGraw-Hill
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

22. Émile Durkheim 1858–1917
1-22
 Major Contribution: Social Facts and Division of
Labor
 Social facts are the ways of acting , thinking or
feeling that are external to human being. State of
the economy, religion.
 Social facts exercise a coercive power over
individuals.
 Division of Labor in Society (1893):
 -Mechanical solidarity: Grounded on consensus
and similarity of belief
 - and organic solidarity: economic
interdependence
McGraw-Hill
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

23. The Development of
Sociology
1-23
█ Early Thinkers
– Max Weber 1864–1920
█ Major Contribution: Social Action and
Rationalization
 Social Action is the force behind change
 People are moving away from the
traditional beliefs to the rational,
Ideal Type: construct for
instrumental calculations.
evaluating specific cases
McGraw-Hill
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

24. The Development of
Sociology
1-24
█ Modern Developments
– Karl Marx 1818–1883
• Had interest in abstract philosophical
issues and everyday reality
• Emphasized importance of economy and of
conflict in society
• He saw factory as the center of conflict and
between exploiters and exploited
• Emphasized on group identification and
association as an indicator of status
McGraw-Hill
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

25. Karl Marx 1818–1883
1-25
 Major Contribution: Class Struggle,
Surplus Value and alienation theory
 Surplus Value theory:
 Actual Cost of Product = Cost of Raw
Materials+ labor wages
 Price of the product = cost of raw
materials+ Wages+ Profit
 Price of the product- actual cost of product
= Surplus Value
 More exploitation, more surplus value,
more investment.
McGraw-Hill
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

26. Karl Marx 1818–1883
1-26
Workers in the Capitalist society are
alienated from their productive activity
From their product
From their fellow workers
From human potential
McGraw-Hill
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

27. The Development of
Sociology
1-27
█ Prominent Contributors to Sociological Thought
Auguste Comte
1857
1798
Harriet Martineau
1802
Herbert Spencer
Karl Marx
1876
1820
1903
1818
1883
Émile Durkeim
Jane Addams
1858
1860
George Herbert Mead
1864
1935
1863
Max Weber
Charles Horton Cooley
W.E.B. Du Bois
1931
1920
1864
1929
1868
Talcott Parsons
1963
1902
Robert Merton
1979
1910
C. Wright Mills
2003
1916
Erving Goffman
McGraw-Hill
The “timelines” shown
here give an idea of
relative chronology.
1917
1962
1922
1982
Source: Figure 1-2 (p.15) in Richard T. Schaefer and Robert P. Lamm,
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies,thInc.New rights reserved.
Sociology: An Introduction. 5 ed. All York: McGraw-Hill.

28. Major Theoretical
Perspectives
1-28
█ Functionalist Perspective
– Emphasizes that parts of a society are
structured to maintain its stability.
– Talcott Parsons viewed society as vast
network of connected parts, each of
which helps to maintain the system as a
whole.
– Each part must contribute or it will not
be passed on from one generation to
the next.
Continued...
McGraw-Hill
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

29. Major Theoretical
Perspectives
1-29
█ Functionalist Perspective
Manifest Functions:
open, stated,
conscious functions of
institutions; these
involve intended,
recognized,
consequences of an
aspect of society
Latent Functions:
unconscious or
unintended functions
that may reflect hidden
purposes of an
institution
Continued...
McGraw-Hill
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

30. Major Theoretical
Perspectives
1-30
█ Functionalist Perspective
– Dysfunction: element or process of
society that may actually disrupt a social
system or reduce its stability
McGraw-Hill
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

31. Major Theoretical
Perspectives
1-31
█ Conflict Perspective
– Assumes social behavior is best
understood in terms of conflict or
tension between competing groups
• Conflict not necessarily violent.
• Can take the form of labor negotiation,
party politics, competition between religious
groups for new members or disputes over
federal budget
Continued...
McGraw-Hill
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

32. Major Theoretical
Perspectives
1-32
█ Conflict Perspective
– The Marxist View: Conflict not merely a
class phenomenon, but part of everyday
life in all societies
– Emphasis on social change and
redistribution of resources makes
conflict theorists more “radical” and
“activist” than functionalists
Continued...
McGraw-Hill
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

33. Major Theoretical
Perspectives
1-33
█ Feminist Perspective
– Views inequity in gender as central to all
behavior and organization
– Sometimes allied with conflict theory,
the feminist perspective also focuses on
micro-level relationships of everyday
life, just as interactionists do
McGraw-Hill
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

34. Major Theoretical
Perspectives
1-34
█ Interactionist Perspective
– Generalizes about everyday forms of
social interaction to explain society as a
whole.
– Sociological framework for viewing
human beings as living in a world of
meaningful objects.
McGraw-Hill
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

35. 1-35
Anger
McGraw-Hill
Fear
Disgust
Joy
Sadness
Surprise
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

36. 1-36
McGraw-Hill
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

37. Major Theoretical
Perspectives
1-37
Continued…
McGraw-Hill
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

38. Major Theoretical
Perspectives
1-38
Continued…
McGraw-Hill
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

39. Major Theoretical
Perspectives
1-39
█ The Sociological Approach
– Sociologists use all four perspectives
– We gain broadest understanding of
society by drawing on all major
perspectives, noting where they overlap
or where they diverge
– Each perspective offers unique insights
into the same issue
McGraw-Hill
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

40. Why Study Sociology?
1-40
 Awareness of the cultural differences
 Assessing the effects of the policies
 Self-enlightenment/understanding yourself
 Making everyday decisions
 Career preparation
McGraw-Hill
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.