Sociology is the scientific study of society and human social behavior. There are three major sociological perspectives: structural functionalism, which views society as a system with interrelated parts; conflict theory, which focuses on power struggles over scarce resources; and symbolic interactionism, which examines how society shapes individuals and their interactions. Major areas of sociology include social organization, social psychology, social change, human ecology, population studies, sociological theory/research, and applied sociology. Classical sociologists who developed influential theories include Comte, Marx, Spencer, Durkheim, and Weber. Culture encompasses the knowledge, social norms, values, beliefs, and other capabilities acquired by members of a society. Key elements that shape culture
2. Three major sociological perspective/theory
•Structural functional theory
•Conflict theory
•Symbolic interactionist theory
3. • Structural functional theory
• A social system has several interrelated interdependent parts,
each with a certain function.
• Conflict theory
• Struggle to acquire scarce resources may lead structures to conflict
• Symbolic interactionist theory
• Believe that society is reflected in every socialized individual and
that its external forms and structures are likewise reflected
through the social interactions occurring among individuals at the
symbolic level.
4. Areas of Sociology
• Social organization – the investigation of social groups, social
institutions, social stratification and mobility, ethnic relations, and
bureaucracy.
• Social psychology – this field is concerned with the study of human
nature as the outcome of group life, personality formation, and collective
behavior. It studies how group behavior affects the individual and vice-
versa.
• Social change – this area involves the study of change in culture and
social relations and ongoing social problems.
5. •Human ecology – studies the behavior of a given population
and its relationship to the group’s social institution
-- also include the preservation of natural resources
• Population studies – concerned with population count,
composition, change, and quality as they influence the economic,
political, and social systems, and vice versa.
• Sociological Theory and research – concerned with the discovery,
development, and replication of research tools that will test the
usefulness of the principles of group life.
6. • Applied sociology – findings of pure sociological research may be
applied to such various fields as marriage and family planning,
child development, criminology, social work, education, etc.
7. Classical Sociologist
1. AUGUSTE COMTE
- A native of France/ French
- Positivism or the use of empirical investigation to understand social
phenomena.
- The progressive development of science
- Theological or fictitious
- Metaphysical or abstract
- Scientific or positive
8. 2. KARL MARX
- German philosopher
- Theory on social class and class consciousness
- Two classes in society
- Bourgeoisie
- the ruling class
- Proletariat
- the working class
- Known as an anti capitalist
9. 3. HERBERT SPENCER
- English philosopher
- Human societies evolved according to the principles of natural
laws
- Theory on social evolution
- Idea of “survival of the fittest”
10. 4. EMILE DURKHEIM
- French sociologist
- Division of Labor in society
- Anomie
- Suicide
- Anomic
- Egoistic
- Altruistic
- Fatalistic
- Elementary forms of religious life
- Sacred and Profane
11. 5. MAX WEBER
- German Sociologist
- Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism
- Iron cage of Bureaucracy
- Verstehen – a German word which means “sympathetic
understanding”
13. According to an Anthropologist, Edward Tylor, culture is a
complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, law,
customs, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by
people as members of society.
14. Elements of Culture
• KNOWLEDGE – the total range of what has been learned and
perceived as true.
• SOCIAL NORMS – an idea in the minds of the members of a group
put into statement specifying what members of the group should
do, ought to do, or are expected to do.
• LAW – are formalized norms, enacted by people who are vested
with governmental power.
15. • VALUES – the basis of our judgment, of what we consider
good, desirable, and correct as well as what is considered
bad, undesirable, ugly, and wrong.
• BELIEFS – embody people’s perception of reality and include
the primitive ideas of the universe as well as the scientist’s
empirical view of the world.
16. • ETHNOCENTRISM – tendency for people who belong to the same
cultural group to define reality from their own point of view.
• XENOCENTRISM – when some persons reject their group or some
part of its culture. The idea that what is foreign is best and that
one’s lifestyle, products or ideas are inferior to that of others
(Eshleman and Cashion 1983:95).
• CULTURAL RELATIVISM – states that cultures differ, so that a
cultural trait, act, or idea has no meaning or function by itself but
has meaning only within its cultural setting.
