After reading Chapter 1, you should be able to:

Define sociology.
Identify the social relations that surround you, permeate you, and influence your behavior.
Describe how sociological research seeks to improve people’s lives and test ideas using scientific methods.
Summarize the four main schools of sociological theory.
Distinguish the four main methods of collecting sociological data.
Explain how sociology can help us deal with the many challenges that society faces today.

Sociology is the systematic study of human behavior in social context. Sociology provides evidence that often contradicts simplistic explanations for social problems. It illustrates the ways in which social organization can both limit and expand opportunities.

There are four currents in sociological thought that help explain shifts in fashion that are driven by the popularity and marketing of different people, music, movies and other forms of popular culture.Functionalism focuses on how human behavior is governed by relatively stable social structures. From this perspective fashion enables people of different social rank to distinguish themselves from one another. Conflict theory shows how changing fashions increases the wealth of those who own and operate the clothing industries, and distracts members of lower classes from more pressing social issues. From the perspective of symbolic interactionism clothing is understood as a set of symbols that carry meaning. Ideas pertaining to one’s identity may be communicated via clothing and other aspects of popular culture.

Feminism may, from one perspective, be critical of fashion as a means of patriarchal control of women. Other feminists argue that even sexually explicit fashions and popular cultural elements may be a means of expressing women’s power. Feminist theory explores the ambiguous gender messages communicated via fashion.

A social structure is a relatively stable pattern of social relations. The sociological imagination is the ability to see the connection between personal troubles and social structures at four different levels:microstructures (patterns of intimate social relation), mesostructures (impersonal relationships within organizations), macrostructures (patterns of social relations that lie outside and above your circle of intimates and acquaintances, and global structures (patterns of social relations that lie outside and above the national level).

The sociological imagination emerged with three modern revolutions. The Scientific Revolution dates to the 16^th century when Copernicus introduced a new scientific approach to making a case for a particular perspective. The Democratic Revolution beginning in the mid-18^th century contributed the idea that people, not God, are responsible for organizing social life, and can therefore solve social problems. New social problems emerged with the Industrial Revolution in the late 18^th century, and these attracted the attention of social thinkers who were the founders of sociology.

Three major theoretical traditions in sociology are functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism. Feminist theory has arisen in recent decades to compensate for deficiencies in the three traditional theories. Functionalism (Durkheim, Parsons and Merton) focuses on how human behavior is governed by relatively stable social structures. Conflict theory (Marx, Weber, and Dubois) shows how major patterns of inequality in society produce social stability in some circumstances and social change in others. Symbolic interactionism (Weber, Mead, Goffman, social constructionism) focuses on interpersonal communication in microlevel social settings.

Durkheim’s sociological study of suicide demonstrates that there is a social realm that influences all human behavior. Durkheim showed that apparently even nonsocial and antisocial actions are influenced by social structures. Suicide rates, he discovered, are related to varying degrees of social solidarity within different populations of people. Less social solidarity is related to higher rates of suicide. Durkheim’s work provided the basis for recognition of the key features of functionalism: social structure, social stability, shared values, and equilibrium.

Talcott Parsons, a leading American proponent of functionalism in the early 20^th century, emphasized social integration and equilibrium achieved through effective family functioning. Robert Merton argued that in actuality, social structures have a differential impact on different groups, and that the impact is sometimes negative or dysfunctional. Both functions and dysfunctions may be manifest (intended and easily observed) or latent (unintended or less obvious).

Karl Marx was a German social thinker concerned with the problems brought on by the Industrial Revolution. His concept of class conflict provides the foundation for conflict theory. In his view, the owners of industry would work to make production efficient and inexpensive, creating an ever-larger group of exploited workers. Marx believed that workers would achieve class consciousness and create social changes including an end to private property.

Max Weber’s work attempted to correct flaws in Marx’s ideas. Weber noted that in addition to class conflict, politics and religion were also forces for change in society. Others followed Weber, noting that new technologies, better working conditions, and government-supported benefits would also reduce class conflict. Still, Marx provided the foundation for the key features of conflict theory: macro-level structures, inequality, conflict, lessening privilege.

Another conflict theorist, William E. B. Du Bois was an African American who wrote the first book in the U.S. based on sociological research, The Philadelphia Negro. He demonstrated that poverty and racial conflict were the results of white prejudice. He was also critical of wealthier African Americans for not doing more to assist those in the lower classes.

Weber believed that religious beliefs, not just economic conditions, promoted the growth of early capitalism. Weber emphasized the need to understand the motivations people have for their behavior. George Herbert Mead shared Weber’s belief in the importance of understanding what motivates behavior. Mead’s focus was the development of one’s sense of self through social interaction. According to Mead, one’s sense of self is not acquired at birth, but through the course of interaction with others. Mead’s work provides the foundation for the key ideas in symbolic interactionism: micro-level communication, subjective meanings, people as active agents, and tolerance.

The exceptional women who contributed during the early history of sociology introduced a focus on gender that was largely ignored by the early male sociologists. Harriet Martineau authored the first guide to sociological research methods and is often considered the first women sociologist. Martineau wrote critical studies of slavery, labor, and gender inequality.

Jane Addams was an American sociologist who, like other women, was denied a faculty appointment. She turned to social work and social activism, spending her life devoted to social reform. Addams co-founded a sanctuary for the poor living in slums in Chicago. Called Hull House, it served as a field site for students in sociology at the Chicago University.

Feminist thought had little impact on sociology until the mid-1960s and the rise of the modern Women’s Movement. Feminist theory has had a significant impact within sociology and is considered a fourth major perspective. Although modern feminism has many forms, they share these key ideas: patriarchy, power and social convention, micro- and macro-level focus, and gender inequality.

In order to assess how well theory fits the “real world”, sociologists conduct research. The research cycle seeks to overcome unscientific thinking through the use of six steps: 1) Formulate a research question; 2) Review existing literature; 3) Selecting a research method; 4) Collecting the data; 5) Analyzing the data; 6) Publicize the results.

Ethical considerations are important in the research process. Ethical concerns include, respecting the rights of research subjects, subjects have the right to decide if their attitudes and behaviors are to be revealed to the public, researchers cannot use the data in a way that allows them to be traced to a particular subject, subjects are to be told how the information they supply will be used, and the subject having the right to informed consent. Research results must also be given ethical consideration. The Internet has increased the widespread availability of sociological research, and students often commit “cut and paste” plagiarism when writing term papers. The Code of Ethics for the American Sociological Association is clear that the source and author of any materials used must be cited regardless of whether or not the paper is published.

Sociologists have used controlled experiments to investigate the connection between television violence and violence in real life. Randomization is used to create matched groups of subjects, one of which will be exposed to the experimental condition which in this case is likely to be exposure to some form of media violence. Such experiments have found a short term increase in violence after exposure, but the results are much less certain over the long term, especially for older children. Results for the same experiment that are consistent over time indicate high reliability. Because they involve artificially created situations, experiments may have lower validity, the degree to which they measure what they are designed to measure.

Surveys, the most commonly used sociological method, indicate a weaker relationship between exposure to media violence and engaging in violent behavior than do experiments. Surveys are administered to a sample of people from the population under study. Questionnaires may include open-ended or closed-ended questions. Field research involves the systematic observation of people in the course of any type of activity. Detached observation is a means to ensure the accuracy of observations. When sociologists take part in an activity under study, while engaging in systematic observation, this is termedparticipant observation. Sociologists may also use data from existing documents and official statistics such as information from the Census, police crime reports, and vital statistics such as births, deaths, marriages and divorces. There are advantages to using existing data, such as a reduction in time and expense involved in the research, no reactivity due to the absence of subjects, and the potential for historical analysis.

Two sociological issues stand out due to their scope and significance: the postindustrial revolution and globalization. The technology-driven shift from manufacturing to service industries of the postindustrial revolution has had consequences for virtually all human activities. The main unresolved tensions of the postindustrial era are between equality and inequality of opportunity. While postindustrialism brings greater opportunity, it is also associated with increasing disparities of wealth and income. Racism and sexism continue to be problems. Globalization refers to the linkages being created between different independent economies, nations, and cultures. People throughout the world are increasingly more interdependent. Postindustrialism and globalization bring increased choice in all areas of human life. But they are also associated with environmental degradation, and dehumanization within social relationships.

Careers in sociology are applied sciences with practical, everyday uses, especially in the realms of teaching, research, and public policy, the creation of laws and regulations by organizations and governments. Sociology contributes to a deeper understanding of society and social issues, and can lead to more creative approaches to public policy for addressing social problems.