...The Sociological Perspective John J. Macionis explains the sociological perspective as a special point of view that takes a look at how particular groups of people in society are influenced in making choices, feel and even the way they think. These are general patterns that occur in our daily lives and all around the world but differing from one social group to another. Macionis teaches us that our way of living is influenced by the particular group in society which we belong to. Unconsciously all our choices come from what society expects from us, either being our level of education, the partner we decide to marry, the amount of kids we decide to raise or even where we decide to live. The groups we belong in are based on economic status, gender, race, religion, age group etc. for example students attending college are fairly young because that is the specific age group that society expects to attend college. Moreover the level of education students achieve is determined by the economic status they hold because as education goes higher costs also goes higher, hence the institutions chosen by high income versus low income students differ. The amount of kids we decide to raise may be influenced by the education available on contraceptives which is very limited in poor countries. Whom we decide to marry and where we live is also influenced by economic status as we can see here in Belize that major political leaders live in the cities. The sociological perspective allows us...
Words: 633 - Pages: 3
...Sociological Perspective Paper: Conflict Perspective Team "B' SOC/101- Introduction to Sociology October 13, 2014 Angela Rudibaugh Sociological Perspective Paper: Conflict Perspective Recently I viewed a video named Three Cups of Tea. The video highlighted the works of Nobel Peace Prize nominee Greg Morrison’s work through bringing educational institution to girls across the world. The video has brought up points pertaining to conflict perspective theory of sociology covering two classes looking out for their own interest. The struggle between the two groups clearly shows a dominant and a submissive side. In the video men are portrayed as the dominant group, while women are the submissive group. This is made valid by Morrison’s comments throughout the video. The video Three cups of Tea is of a short interview of a man named Greg Morrison and his young daughter that discusses his humanitarian work. Morrison has built 78 schools for young girls in third world countries such as Afghanistan and Pakistan. Three cups of Tea is a book that is dedicated to helping spread his message; books not bombs. Morrison aims to educate young girls with the hope that they will grow up to make education a priority for their own children (NBC News Archives, 2010). The conflict perspective theory of sociology was developed by Karl Marx. In this theory “social injustice and uneven destitution of wealth give rise to criminological conditions.” (Conflict Perspective, 2011, para. 1). This...
Words: 720 - Pages: 3
...Sociology Assignment 1 Maninder Kular October 20, 2015 Sociological Theorists Emile Durkheim was a pioneer in sociology; his major focus was on social structure. He insisted, “Behavior must be understood within a larger social context, not just in individualistic terms” (Schaefer, 10). According to him the most important thing in life is a sense of belonging. The opposite of which is anomie- a feeling of isolation and loneliness. He would argue these are the worst things in life. Social attachments to others are important to avoid anomie. For example, religion reinforces a group’s solidarity because it is a form of group behavior (Schaefer, 10). Durkheim believed the industrial revolution caused anomie due to a change of pace in life. People became busy, and as a result there were less meaningful interactions. He believed modern capitalism caused anomie, and people who are unable to cope may resort to taking their own lives (Schaefer, 10). Therefore, he advocated the creation of social groups between the family and the state to provide a sense of belonging for members of a society (Schaefer, 10). Durkheim is linked to the structural functionalist perspective. Its main focus is on how people and institutions serve as a function. As long as every person and institution does this, there will be order and stability within society. This leads back to his idea that behavior cannot be understood in individualistic terms, but within a larger social context. He believed that...
Words: 1499 - Pages: 6
...Sociological Perspectives In this assignment I will explore the sociological perspectives. In sociology there are 7 perspectives. Sociology is “The study of human social behaviour, especially the study of the origins, organization, institutions, and development of human society.” (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 2011). The seven perspectives of sociology are functionalism, Marxism, feminism, interactionism, postmodernism, new right and collectivism. Definitions “Functionalism interprets each part of society in terms of how it contributes to the stability of the whole society. Society is more than the sum of its parts; rather, each part of society is functional for the stability of the whole society” (Crossman, 2015). “Marxism is a political, social, and economic philosophy derived from the work of the 19th-century historians Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. It views human history as a struggle between social classes and asserts that capitalism is inherently exploitative.” (Chegg.com, 2015) “Feminism is a complex set of political ideologies used by the women’s movement to advance the cause of women’s equality and to end the sexist theory and practice of social oppression. (Crossman, 2015) “The interactionist perspective is one of the major theoretical perspectives within sociology. It focuses on the concrete details of what goes on among individuals in everyday life. Interactionists study how we use and interpret symbols not only to communicate...
Words: 905 - Pages: 4
...The sociological perspective is a look for general patterns by sociologists in behavior of particular people. There are three divisions of social perspectives; the structural-functional approach, the social-conflict approach, and the symbolic-interaction approach. The structural-functional approach contributes to how society’s functioning as a whole whose parts work together to promote solidarity and stability. This is a relatively stable pattern of behavior. Structural-functionalists believe that society is held together by social consensus, or cohesion, in which members of the society agree upon, and work together to achieve, what is best for society as a whole. Emile Durkheim suggested that the consensus takes only one of the two forms; mechanical solidarity (a form of social cohesion that arises when people in a society maintain similar values and beliefs and engage in similar types of work) and organic solidarity (a form of social cohesion that arises when the people in a society are interdependent, but hold to varying values and beliefs and engage in varying types of work). Robert Merton expands our understanding of the concept by indicating social structures have many functions such as manifest functions (recognized, obvious, and intended consequences of any social pattern) and latent functions (unrecognized, not obvious, and unintended consequences of any social pattern). The manifest function of attending a church, for instance, is to worship as part of a religious...
Words: 430 - Pages: 2
...Kayla Mercado Question #1 Adk;lfja;ldjkfa;ldskjf;alkdsjf;alsdkjf lkdfja j j j j k kl lv;sldk ;adslk fa’plka a;sdlkf a0 fdlau; alaj; alkldjfa;lskd uaks idfa;slkdfj ia skdfasld kayl a Mercado calall all lthat stuff you an I need to talk like what are you talking about like what ere you alksdu slkfuadf a aoifuw er; a a a a a a a a a a a a;dlkfja;sdlifpoweutsiod0i98utgfvbkm/l, fahsd;lkfja;sd fpadsofj 0sdufpoietupriuotproituwperiotuwpreoituwrpiojjmfl;akjdf ;asdlkfjad;slfkajd a;lksdjfia ;dlkjsi a; f;lakdjf a aoasdgaisdfja;dslkjfa;sdiofaj a;lsdkfjaidsfja; fdlkaudfad;flaksdjfaisdfja;dslkfaj df;ladf iadjfladkfkd fauf;la f;a fa; a;f a;a;a alkdfjasd fiad f a;kldjfa iskdjfa;dlf a; fa; ;adkfj akaylas what are you talking about I don’t know why they been lying but but yolu are not that expiringggg alkdsjfa; sdflkja sdfha m aosdifua89sdjfa’sd fai aosidfuaisdjfa; fal Fakldsjfa;sdiofja; froew;irjt;aoidjga fsd fdjfajdf adofa;sdofiad;ofsio iasdifjud fds f d d d doisijsj s s osisi s siis s shhslsls skks sjjs;s;s ;ss;;s s;s ;;sopidikd diidididid fjjfs sdlfk fa;df;asdkf aidf aksdfa;d fa;d fa; fa;dk fa sd falsdkf;ad fa fd ;a f; ff; a;df a fa;df;a;a a dkdkd d d dkkd d d d d kdkdk skskskkskskskk s a a a a idfididiidid diidid didid ididiididi d ididid diidid jajajajja lkdfaj s;d;lkmfao lmfao lmfaioooo alkdfia akdfjai a;dlkfjai a;ldkfjap a;l;a;a; a;;alalla akkaka ajjaj sisi fjak kljkda f;ldkfja;dskfj;adklfja;kljfka df adfa;ldf a d;fkad fajsdfkjdkfj kj; lmfaooooooooo lkajdfkdjf iadifjadj...
Words: 318 - Pages: 2
...Social exchange theory The social exchange theory was introduced in 1958 by the sociologist George Homans. Other theorists continued to write about this theory – Peter M Blau and Richard M Emerson. The social exchange theory proposes that social behaviour is the result of an exchange process. The purpose of this exchange is to maximise benefits and minimise costs. According to this theory, people weigh the potential benefits and risks of social relationships. When the risks outweigh the rewards, people will terminate or abandon that relationship. The social exchange theory suggests that we essentially take the benefits and minus the costs in order to determine how much a relationship is worth positive relationships are those in which the benefits outweigh the costs, while negative relationships occur when the costs are greater than the benefits. Costs involve things that are seen as negatives to the individual such as having to put money, time and effort into a relationship. The benefits are things that the individual gets out of the relationship such as fun, friendship, companionship and social support. When you are at a young age, you don’t really care about relationships and friendships. You can have loads of friends and not really care about keeping them because you can find some more very quickly. However, as you get older you tend to have fewer friends and only have a few friends that you actually class as your friends. This shows that as you get older you value...
Words: 255 - Pages: 2
...A Summary of the Scientific Method Jan Chen C. Xiao Introduction to Sociology Professor Smith February 5, 2014 The Scientific Method is an important component of Sociology and most, if not all, branches of Science. In ancient times, people relied profoundly on the use of myths, superstitions, etcetera to explain the happenings around them. It was then that they eventually began to question the cogency of their knowledge on various matters such as why the sky is blue or why people display certain characteristics more than others. To satiate their curiosities of the world, they developed Science, which over time split into several branches. Thus, the scientific revolution began from which the Scientific Method originated. Over the past century, scientists have explained a vast majority of our natural and social world through the use of the Scientific Method. Fundamentally, the method consists of eight steps that are accepted worldwide as the basic model for conducting scientific research: choosing a topic, defining a problem, reviewing literature, formulate a hypothesis, choosing the method of research, gather evidence, conclusion, and sharing the results. At first glance, most of these steps are pretty self-explanatory, but it becomes more delicate when it arrives comes to forming the hypothesis, research method, and collecting data. It is crucial for researchers to be value free when it comes to conducting their research. One’s own beliefs should not impair their ability...
Words: 869 - Pages: 4
...Applying the Sociological Perspectives Angelica Andrade SOC/100 May 30, 2016 University of Phoenix Applying the Sociological Perspectives I am going to write my paper on social networking sites. The reason I have chosen social media sites is because around 78 percent of Americans is a member of social network site. (Percentage Of U.s. Population With A Social Network Profile From 2008 To 2016, 2016). In our modern era Social networking sites have had a very profound impact on our lives, it has influenced and changed the way in which we communicate, interact, and start new relationships. There are many advantages of social networking sites, but there are also dangers of social networking. (Functionalism) The functionalist perspective is based largely on Emile Durkheim and Talcott Parsons, both of them contributed in different ways. The Functional Theory explains the every aspect of our society is interdependent and is necessary for our society to function as one or a whole. This perspective has a positive look on society. It views society as stable and emphasizes the way that all parts of society work together. In social networking sites, each person follows and connects with others in order to further their development as individuals and contribute to society. We can connect and share with others users from all over the world; spanning generations and cultures. It allow users to share information rapidly, keeping them up-to-date with the world around them in seconds...
Words: 709 - Pages: 3
...SOC 100 July 27, 2015 Bettie Ware Applying the Sociological Perspective An employer is an individual or organization who employs one or more person (employee) for wages or salary, while an employee works for an individual or organization (employer) for wage or salary. The wage that is earn is used to cover expenses by the employee, in the form of bills, to cover health, housing, food, utilities, all seen as a necessity. Functionalism studies society on the macro level, where it views society as a whole entity, where each individual as an aspect of society works together for survival and the continuity of society. To obtain goods and services that are essential for their well-being, money is needed, to get this money they have to seek employment. So this become a cycle, you work to receive the income to access food, education, clothing, shelter and other necessities. These same necessities are offer by the organization and individuals who are employers. On the other hand, employers need employees to manufacture the goods and services that they offer to the public. Therefore both employers and employees function together as a cohesive unit to accomplish a common goal in the continuity of society. It is considered the norm that once a certain level of education has been completed that individuals seek employment to continue the cycle. Both the employer who does the hiring of the employee who does the work depend on each other to complete their unique responsibility...
Words: 800 - Pages: 4
...Applying the Sociological Perspectives Applying the Sociological Perspectives Fraternities and Sororities have been around in existence for centuries. It is made up of groups of people with similar dreams and common goals. Due to the culture and traditions of these time honored institutions, fraternities and sororities easily apply to the issues of functionalism, conflict, and symbolic interactionism. Functionalism is the basis of any fraternity or sorority. Each institution holds members of a society complete with higher ranking officials. Every official, including its members, has individual responsibilities that together make up a functioning society. Tradition is what makes this a social institution. The beliefs and culture that make up that particular group is passed on to each freshman class when the new school year begins. Over time, those traditions become core value beliefs. This leads to manifest function. The bonds built between fraternity brothers and sisters are relationships that last a life time. These relationships are founded on that core belief. Relationships that will advance careers, open doors, and help guide one’s way through life. Fraternities and sororities also can serve as a latent function by participating in events that subsequently lead to the chance meeting of a future spouse. Dysfunction also applies to this issue as well. They say every society has its fair share of dysfunction. Events or instances that cause disorder or disruption in...
Words: 793 - Pages: 4
...Applying the Sociological Perspectives The issue I have chosen is the use of social networking websites and how the three sociological perspectives apply to them. The use of social networking website has become a social norm in the way our society communicates with each one another. I believe that there are benefits with using social networking websites in your private and public life. On the other hand, I do believe that with social networking websites, the boundary between our private and public life merge and become difficult to separate. Functionalism According to Griffiths & et. al (2015), functionalism is a structure with interrelated parts designed to meet the biological and social needs of the individuals in that society. Functionalism relates to the use of social media in the way of an individual uses social networking and technology in contributing to the functioning of their society. The use of social networking has become a social norm in our society. Functionalism and the use of social media help an individual pass on their social facts to the next generation. "Social facts are the laws, morals, values, religious beliefs, customs, fashions, rituals, and all of the cultural rules that govern social life (Durkheim 1895)"(Griffiths, et, al, 2015, Pg.15). The use of social networking and media websites influence us in our societies perception of what is good or bad, beautiful or ugly, how to speak, what to wear, and how to react to certain situations and events...
Words: 694 - Pages: 3
...Emile Durkheim’s (1858-1917) sociological perspective is based upon a structural function, or his view of society as a whole. Believing that society is larger than the individuals living within a system; he strongly emphasizes that patterns of human behavior, not the actions themselves have more to do with societal factors than actual individual choices. Durkheim looks at these overall social factors and their power they have to guide our thoughts and actions. (Macionis, 2010). Conceptualizing suicide to be a social fact, Durkheim explains 4 separate types of suicide; with egoistic and anomic being the most emphasized in his work. ‘In addition to egoistic and anomic types of suicide, Durkheim refers to altruistic and fatalistic suicide. The latter is touched upon only briefly in his work, but the former is of great importance for an understanding of Durkheim's general approach.’(Bolender Initiatives, LLC [B I, LLC], 2008). The University of Chicago helps define the following terms of Durkheim’s theory (http://cuip.uchicago.edu/~ldernbach/msw/xsdurkhm.pdf). • Egoistic suicide is committed by people who are not strongly supported by membership in a cohesive social group. As outsiders, they depend more on themselves than on group goals and rules of conduct to sustain them in their lives. In times of stress, they feel isolated and helpless. • Anomic suicide is committed by people when society is in crisis or rapid change. In such times, customary norms may weaken or break...
Words: 770 - Pages: 4
...* Your School or College Social constructivist perspective for understanding schizophrenia, mental health and illness Mentor: Student: *name *name Spring, 2013 Contents: 1 INTRODUCTION 3 2 Social constructivist perspective of schizophrenia 4 3 CONCLUSION 7 REFERENCES 8 INTRODUCTION In this paper we analyze the concept according to which mental illness is as much a socially constructed disease as it is a physiological one and especially the example of schizophrenia, one of the oldest, most documented, and least understood of all the behaviors that fall under society’s category of mental illness. One of the most influential theoretical positions evident in the sociology of health and illness over the past 30 years has been social constructivism. A central assumption within this broad approach is that reality is not self-evident, stable and waiting to be discovered, but instead it is a product of human activity. In this broad sense all versions of social constructivism can be identified as a reaction against positivism and naive realism. There are multiple intellectual roots of a social constructionist approach to illness. Some of the basic building blocks are evident in the writings of early sociological thinkers (Durkheim, Mannheim, Thomas), but one of the most important intellectual foundations of the social construction of illness is social problems theory...
Words: 2130 - Pages: 9
...A Sociological Perspective on Drugs and Drug Use Erich Goode, Professor of Sociology at SUNY Stony Brook From: Drugs in American Society, Chapter 1 ©1972 Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. ISBN 0-394-31323-2 SOCIAL CONTEXT AND HUMAN MEANING What can a sociologist tell us about drug use that we do not already know? If there is anything particularly distinctive about the sociologist's view, it is his emphasis on social context. It might appear that this concept seeped into the public consciousness long ago, that it is a banality. But if this were so, the stupendous blunders committed every day by drug researchers and commentators would not occur. If the concept were really understood, a large part of the drug problem would also be understood. The social context of drug use powerfully influences—indeed, it might almost be said determines—at least four central aspects of the drug reality, aspects that traditionally have been presumed to grow directly out of the chemical and pharmacological properties of drugs themselves, independent of human intervention. These four aspects are drug definitions, drug effects, drug-related behavior, and the drug experience. The sociological perspective stands in direct opposition to what might be called the chemicalistic fallacy—the view that drug A causes behavior X, that what we see as behavior and effects associated with a given drug are solely (or even mainly) a function of the biochemical properties of that drug, of the drug plus the human animal...
Words: 6154 - Pages: 25
