Introductory Concepts

in Sociology
Compiled by
Anacoreta P. Arciaga
Faculty Member-Social Sciences Department
BEGINNINGS OF SOCIOLOGY
• 'Sociology' which had once been
treated as social philosophy, or
the philosophy of the history,
emerged as an independent
social science in 19th century
 Sociology
• the scientific study of human society
and social behavior.
• the study of society. It is a social
science which uses various methods
of empirical investigation and critical
analysis to develop a body of
knowledge about human social
activity
Sociology is the systematic study of
human action in social context.

It is based on the idea that our relations

with other people create opportunities for
us to think and act but also set limits on
our thoughts and action.
 SOCIOLOGY
 Sociology is the study of the powerful
social forces that influence social
relations and personal lives.

 Sociology emerged at the time of the

Industrial Revolution, an era of massive
social transformations accompanied by
new social problems.
 What is Sociology?
• Sociology is an attempt to understand
how membership in one's social group
affects individual behavior.

• Sociology relies upon paradigms-to

investigate society: Theory, Data,
Analysis.
 SOCIOLOGY
• For many sociologists the goal is to conduct
research which may be applied directly to
social policy and welfare, while others focus
primarily on refining the theoretical
understanding of social processes.
• Subject matter ranges from the micro level of
individual agency and interaction to
the macro level of systems and the social
structure.
 Why we need to study
sociology?
• To obtain factual information about our society and
social life

• To understand our society more objectively

• To learn the application of scientific information to

daily life and problems
 Why we need to study
sociology?
• To broaden our experiences and perspectives
• To acquire the sociological examination
*The sociological imagination is stimulated by a willingness to
view the social world from the perspective of others. It
involves moving away from thinking in terms of the individual
and his/her problems, focusing rather on the social
circumstances that produce social problems. Ex. one can
shift from the examination of a single family to national
budgets, from a poor person to the national welfare policies,
from an unemployed person to the social shift from
manufacturing to a service/knowledge economy
etc.(Pete,2012)
 The Sociological Imagination

• C. Wright Mills coined the term

“sociological imagination” to
refer to “...the vivid awareness
of the relationship between
private experience and the
wider society.”

C. Wright Mills
 The sociological perspective
(by Peter Berger and Luckman Berger)
• Seeing the general in the particular
• Seeing the strange in the familiar
• Depersonalizing the personal
 Social Construction of Reality
According to Peter Berger and Luckman Berger, believed that
society is constructed through three stages:
• Externalization- we create cultural products (values, beliefs,
material products) through social interaction. These products
become external to those who have produced them.

• Objectivation- is when products created in the first stage appear to

take on a reality of their own, becoming independent of those who
created them.

• Internalization- we learn the supposedly "objective facts" about the

cultural products that have been created. This occurs primarily
through socialization, the process of social interaction in which one
learns the ways of society.
 Sociology and Common Sense
• Common sense assumptions are usually based on very
limited observation.
• Moreover, the premises on which common sense
assumptions are seldom examined.
• Sociology seeks to:
• use a broad range of carefully selected observations; and
• theoretically understand and explain those observations.
• While sociological research might confirm common
sense observation, its broader base and theoretical
rational provide a stronger basis for conclusions.
 Sociology and Science
• Science is “...a body The Scientific Method

of systematically Analyze Data

arranged knowledge
that shows the Gather Data
operation of general
laws.” Choose research design

• As a science,
Formulate hypotheses
sociology employs
the scientific method
Review of literature
 The Development of Sociology
• Sociology emerged as a separate
discipline in the nineteenth century
• This was a time of great social
upheaval due largely to the French and
Industrial Revolutions
• Several early sociologists shaped the
direction of the discipline
 STAGES OF SOCIOLOGY IN THE
PHILIPPINES
1. Sociology was viewed as social Philosophy by
Fr. Valentin Marin in UST
2. Sociology as a problem or welfare oriented
discipline by Serafin Macaraeg
3. Sociology takes the scientific orientation started
in the 1950's by Benecio Catapusan when he
collected data on rural Philippines for the use of
the government
 AREAS OF STUDIES OF SOCIOLOGY

1.Social Organization – this includes the

investigation of social groups, social institutions,
social stratification and mobility, ethnic relations
and bureaucracy.

2.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.
 AREAS OF STUDIES OF SOCIOLOGY
3.Social Change, social organization and disorganization.
This area involves the study of change in culture and social
relations and on-going social problems. Social disorganization
theory: linking (directly) low crime rates to neighborhood
ecological characteristics, youths from disadvantaged
neighborhoods were participants in a subculture in which
delinquency was approved behavior and that criminality was
acquired in social and cultural settings through a process of
interaction.
4.Human Ecology is an academic discipline that deals with the
relationship between humans and their natural, social and
created environments. Demography: the branch of sociology
that studies the characteristics of human populations is
directly link to the study of human ecology.
 AREAS OF STUDIES OF SOCIOLOGY

5. Population Studies. This field is concerned with population

count, composition, change and quality as they influence the
economic, political and social systems, and vice versa.
6. Sociological theory and Research. This field is concerned
with the discovery, development and replication of research
tools that will test the applicability and usefulness of the
principles of group life as basis for the regulation of social
environment.
7. Applied Sociology. The findings of pure sociological
research may be applied to such various fields as marriage,
and family counseling, child development, juvenile
delinquency etc.
Sociology and the Social
Sciences
 Sources
• Sociology and Anthropology. Jessie D. Javier et. al.
• Sociology (Experiencing A Change Society. Ritzer,
Kammeyer and Yetman.1979
• Society and Culture( Introduction to Sociology and
Anthropology) Panopio and Rolda.2000
• Various Sociology Books
• Online Resources
1. http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/2012
2. http://www.preservearticles.com/2011
Research 1.ppt