Asuncion, D.
I. Sociological Perspective
Sociology
- Sociology is the systematic study of
society.
- Sociology is a science guided by the
basic understanding that “the social
matters: our lives are affected, not
only by our individual characteristics,
but by our place in the social world.”
- Sociology studies human social
behavior. Sociologists look for
patterns in social relationships. By
using this sociological imagination
we can understand the world around
us.
Sociological imagination
- is the ability to look beyond the
individual as the cause for
success/failure and see how one’s
society influences the outcome.
Social Science
- is a branch of learning that deals
with human society. The social
sciences are disciplines which study
human social behavior or institutions
and the functions of human society
in a scientific manner.
Disciplines of Social Sciences:
1. Sociology - is the social science
that studies human society and
social behavior. Sociologists, for the
most part, are interested in social
interaction. Sociologists tend to
focus on the group rather than on
the individual.
2. Anthropology - is similar to
sociology in the subject matter,
anthropology is the comparative
study of past and present simple -or
less advanced- societies.
3. Political Science - focuses on the
examination of the principles,
organization, and operation of
government. Areas of mutual
interest include voting patterns, the
concentration of political power, and
the formation of politically based
groups.
The Sociological Perspective
- The sociological perspective helps
you see that all people are social
beings. It tells you that your behavior
is influenced by social factors and
that you have learned your behavior
from others.
ORIGINS OF SOCIOLOGY
SCIENCE
- A means to understand the world
based on science.
SOCIAL CHANGE
- Industrialization, urbanization, and
political revolution, promote a new
awareness of society.
MARGINAL VOICES
- Important contributions were made
by those who were pushed to the
margins of society.
 Asuncion, D.

EUROPEAN SCHOLARS separate groups within society rather

● Auguste Comte
- Many people consider French
philosopher Auguste Comte the
founder of sociology as a distinct
subject. He was one of the first
scholars to apply the methods of the
physical sciences to the study of
social life.
- He also coined the term sociology to
describe the study of society.
● Harriet Martineau
- A year or so before Auguste Comte
coined the term sociology, Martineau
published Society in America.
- The topics on which Martineau
reported in her book including
marriage, the family, race relations,
education, and religion established
the focus of sociological study.
- Her detached style of reporting also
set the standard for objectivity in
sociological research.
● Herbert Spencer
than in society as a whole.
- The emphasis on groups led Weber
to focus more on the effect of society
on the individual.
American Scholars
● Jane Addams
- Addams focused on the problems
caused by the imbalance of power
among the social classes.
- She undertook a series of surveys of
poor people and the conditions of
which they lived
- Her groundbreaking work provided
the first serious discussion of the
effects of two major social forces-
industrialization and urbanization.
● W.E.B. Dubois
- Dubois influenced the early
development of sociology in the
United States.
- He believed that sociologists should
be involved in social reform as well
as academic study.

- Spencer viewed society as a

biological organism, such as it can
evolve, thrive, or die.
- For him, some societies are “more
fit” than others because they adapt
better to changes in the
environment.

● Max Weber

- Weber is trained in law and

economics.
- He wrote about a variety of topics
and was particularly interested in

II. Culture
Culture
- Culture refers to the knowledge,
language, values, customs, and
physical objects that are passed
from generation to generation
among members of a group.
Types of Culture
1. Material Culture - consists of tangible
things.
2. Non-material Culture - consists of
intangible things.
Components of Culture
● Technology - society’s culture
consists of not only physical objects
but also rules for using those
objects.
● Symbols - through symbols we
create our culture and communicate
it. A symbol is anything that
represents something else.
● Language - one of the most obvious
aspects of any culture. Language is
the organization of written or spoken
symbols.
● Values - are shared beliefs about
what is good or bad, right or wrong,
desirable or undesirable.
● Norms - are shared rules of conduct
that tell people how to act in specific
situations.
Types of Norms:
A. Folkways - is the patterns of repetitive
behavior which becomes habitual and
conventional part of living.
Asuncion, D.
B. Mores - is the set of ethical standards
and moral obligations as dictates of reason
that distinguishes human acts as right or
wrong or good from bad.
Perspectives In/ Approaches to the study
of Culture and Society:
1. Society as a group of people
sharing a common culture.
- a group is defined as the
interdependence and
complementation of the shared
traditions, beliefs, norms and values.
- a group is the process of interaction
and communication of the other
members of the society.
2. Culture as a “that complex whole
which encompasses beliefs,
practices, values, attitudes, laws,
norms, artifacts, symbols,
knowledge, and everything that a
person learns and shares as a
member of a society”. (E.B. Tylor
1920)
Aspects of Culture
a. Dynamic, flexible and adaptive
- culture is constantly
changing.
b. Shared and Contested
- culture is practiced by a
group of people, and/or
transmitted to other groups.
c. Learned through socialization
and enculturation
- this is done by learning the language
and other form of educational
information of the society.
 Asuncion, D.

d. Patterned social interactions Cultural Relativism

- culture is patterned by
specific dimension of social
life such as the economic
and political activities.
e. Integrated and at times
unstable
- culture is different from each
other.
f. Transmitted through
socialization/enculturation
- culture may be passed from
one generation to the next
generation.
G. Requires language and other
forms of communication
- communication process uses
symbols to identify the given
actions, attitudes and
behaviors of the people.
- is the belief that cultures should be
judged by their own standards rather
than by applying the standards of
another culture.
CULTURAL CHANGE
Reasons for Change:
● Discovery - the process of finding
something that already exists.
● Invention – the creation of
something new.
● Diffusion – the borrowing aspects
of culture from other cultures.

Cultural Variations

SUBCULTURE
- is a part of the dominant culture but
differs from it in some important
respects.

COUNTERCULTURE
- is a subculture deliberately and
consciously opposed to certain
central beliefs or attitudes of the
dominant culture.

Ethnocentrism
- once people learn their culture, they
tend to become strongly committed
to it. Judging another culture solely
by the values and standards of one’s
own culture.
Asuncion, D.