MACRO AND MICRO LEVEL OF ANALYSIS:

Macro Level sociology looks at large-scale social processes, such as social stability and
change. At the micro-level of analysis, the focus is on the social dynamics of face-to-face
interaction: How are specific individuals in specific locations able to interact in a
coherent and consistent manner? For example, how is a conversation possible? How do
you know when it is your turn to speak or when someone has been speaking too long?
On the other hand, macro-level phenomena like class structures, institutional
organizations, legal systems, gender stereotypes, population growth, and urban ways of
life provide the shared context for everyday life but do not explain its specific nuances
and micro-variations very well. Macro-level structures constrain the daily interactions of
the intimate circles in which we move, but they are also filtered through localized
perceptions and “lived” in a myriad of inventive and unpredictable ways.

Micro level sociology is an approach to the study of society that focuses on patterns of
social interaction at the individual level. At the macro-level of analysis, the focus is on the
properties of large-scale, society-wide social interactions: the dynamics of institutions,
classes, or whole societies. The macro, therefore, extends beyond the immediate milieu
or direct experience of individuals. These large-scale social structures might be nothing
more than the aggregations of specific interactions between individuals at any particular
moment as Simmel argues.
Micro- and macro-level studies each have their own benefits and drawbacks.
Macrosociology allows observation of large-scale patterns and trends, but runs the risk of
seeing these trends as abstract entities that exist outside of the individuals who enact
them on the ground. Microsociology allows for this on-the-ground analysis, but can fail
to consider the larger forces that influence individual behavior.