SOCIOLOGICAL

 A.
PERSPECTIVE AS A TOOL IN
UNDERSTANDING SOCIOLOGY

 B. AREAS ON SOCIOLOY
SOCIOLOGICAL
PERSPECTIVE
 “The perspective of sociology
involves seeing through the
outside appearances of people’s
actions and organisations”
(Berger, 1963).
 The term “sociology” was coined by
August Comte in the nineteenth
century from the Latin word
“socios” (companion with others)
and the Greek word “logos” (reason)
to describe the new science of social
life.
 The sociological perspective is one that observes
society through a lens without personal opinions. It
generalizes the causes and actions of individuals
into patterns and categories. The sociological
perspective is one that observes society through a
lens without personal opinions. It generalizes the
causes and actions of individuals into patterns and
categories. However, it not only observes these
patterns of society but also tries to explain such
patterns or behaviours.
 The sociological perspective invites us to look at
our familiar surroundings in a fresh way. It
encourages us to take a new look at the world
we have always taken for granted, to examine
our social environment with the same curiosity
that we might bring to an exotic foreign culture.

 The basic insight of sociology is that human

behavior is shaped by the groups to which people
belong and by the social interaction that takes
place within those groups.
 The study of sociology leads us into areas
of society that we might otherwise have
ignored or misunderstood. Since our world
view is shaped by our personal experience
and since people with different social
experiences have different definitions of
social reality, sociology helps us to
appreciate viewpoints other than our own
and to understand how these viewpoints
came into being.
 Sociology also helps us understand ourselves
better. Without the sociological perspective
(which has been called the "sociological
imagination"), people see the world through
their limited experience of a small orbit of
family, friends, co-workers. The sociological
imagination allows us to stand apart mentally
from our limited experience and see the link
between private concerns and social issues. It
permits us to trace the connection between the
patterns and events of our own and the
patterns and events of our society.
 One of the main objectives of the
sociological perspective is to find and
understand patterns behind recurring
features of social interaction, as well as to
examine the social impacts of these. With
this objective in mind, there have
developed many sociological perspectives
but there are three major perspectives that
have gained popularity.
 TYPES OF
SOCIOLOGICAL
PERSPECTIVES
 STRUCTURAL FUNCTIONALIST
PERSPECTIVE
In sociology and other social sciences,
structural functionalism serves as a thought
school in which each institution, relation,
position, and convention, that together make
up a society, has a purpose and each is
essential for the sustained functioning of other
members and society in general.
 SYMBOLIC
INTERACTIONISM

The symbolic interactionist

perspective, also called symbolic
interactionism, encourages researchers
to explore symbols and nuances, their
meanings, and their influence on the
interactive relationships of daily life.
 Symbolic interactionism as a
perspective helps people understand
each other’s viewpoints and also
helps with the smooth functioning of
society. It promotes commonality and
motivates the development of society.
 Conflict theory
 Conflict theory argues that when assets, power and
social reputations are divided unfairly across
sections of society, then disputes develop and
these conflicts form the source of social change.

 Power may be viewed in this sense as the control

of productive capacity and acquired riches, the
influence over political and social institutions,
and the social position of everyone else.
 The theory of conflict emerges from Karl
Marx’s writings, which concentrated on
the determinants and consequences of the
bourgeois-proletarian class conflict in a
capitalist society. This system reinforced
an uneven social order, producing a
unanimity of values, objectives and
standards by the intellectual compulsion
of the bourgeoisie.
Seven Areas of
Sociology
1. Social Organization
 Social organization refers to a pattern of
relationships between and among different
groups and individual people. Social
organization could be said to the fundamental
basis of modern society, as it allows for the
carrying out of very complex activities that
other members of society either participate in
or are affected by.
2. Sociological Social Psychology
 Sociological social psychology emphasizes the
relationship between individual people and the larger
social structures and processes in which they
participate. While the study of social organization
and structure is the defining core of sociology, all
social structure comes out of interactions between
individuals. So, to understand the significance,
nature, and effects of social structure, we need to
understand the the people whose behavior constitutes
that structure.
3. Social Change

 Sociologists are interested in studying

both “what is” and “what changes.” In
this sense, social change refers to any
alteration in how a society is organized.
Sociologists thus seek to explain the
causes and affects of these social
changes.
 Sociologists typically identify
a few key factors that
influence social change:
The physical environment. Changes in
the environment, such as climate
change, may require different forms of
social organization in order for humans
to survive. Very rapid changes in the
physical environment can cause severe
disruptions to social and cultural life.

Population changes. Migrations and

conquest bring new people into new
places, which in turn can lead to forms
of social change.
 Isolation and contact. Societies that are cut
off from the larger world may change very
quickly once they come into contact with
outside cultures and peoples.

 Technology. Advances in technology, such as

the car or airplane, can dramatically change
social organization as these new
technologies offer new ways for people to
interact.
4. Human Ecology

 This is the study of the nature and behavior

of a given population and its interaction
with the surrounding environment.
Specifically, it focuses on how social
structures adapt to the quality and quantity
of natural resources and to the existence of
other human groups
5. Population and Demographics

 This area of study is concerned

with the study of population
number, composition, change, and
quality and how these factors
influence the larger economic,
social, and political systems.
6. Applied Sociology

 This field is concerned with the

applicability of sociological principles
and insights to study and regulate
peoples’ social environment. It represents
an effort to build and develop theories
that can explain people’s actions and
behaviors.
7. Sociological Methods & Research

 This field is concerned with the

applicability of sociological principles
and insights to study and regulate peoples’
social environment. It represents an effort
to build and develop theories that can
explain people’s actions and behaviors.