Instructions: Review the chapter on Social Theories

1. Discuss each perspective/paradigm. Define each theory in your own words and provide an original example of how you can apply each perspective in society. 

   Functionalist Perspective/Paradigm
   Conflict Perspective/Paradigm
   Interactionist Perspective/Paradigm
    as a Word 97-2003
   Recall from the syllabus that everyone must have a Turnitin score under 30% for credit on this assignment. 

   Don't use plagiarized sources. Get Your Custom Essay on

   Sociology hw

   Just from $13/Page

   Order Essay

1 | T h e S o c i o l o g i c a l I m a g i n a t i o n

THE SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION

Learning Outcomes
At the end of this chapter you will be able to do the following.

Define the sociological imagination.
Apply the sociological imagination to divorce and other topics.
Define social facts.
Define and identify personal troubles.
Define and identify social issues.

SEEING THE SOCIAL WORLD IN A NEW LIGHT: PERSONAL AND LARGER SOCIAL WORLDS

The average person lives too narrow a life to
get a clear understanding of today’s complex
social world. Our daily lives are spent among
friends and family, at work, play, watching
TV, and surfing the Internet. No way can one
person grasp the big picture from their
relatively isolated lives. There’s just not
enough time or capacity to be exposed to the
complexities of a society of 305 million
people. There are thousands of communities,
millions of interpersonal interactions,
billions of Internet information sources, and
countless trends that transpire without many

of us even knowing that they exist. What can we do to make sense of it all?

Psychology gave us the understanding of self-esteem; economics gave us the understanding
of supply and demand; political science gave us the understanding of polling; and physics
gave us Einstein’s theory of E=MC2. The sociological imagination by Mills provides a
framework for understanding our social world that far surpasses any common sense
notion we might derive from our limited social experiences. C. Wright Mills (1916-1962)
was a contemporary sociologist who brought tremendous insight into the daily lives of
society’s members. Mills stated: “Neither the life of an individual nor the history of a
society can be understood without understanding both.” 1 The sociological imagination is
making the connection between personal challenges and larger social issues. Mills identified
“troubles” (personal challenges) and “issues” (larger social challenges) , also known as
biography, and history, respectively. Mills’ conceptualization of the sociological
imagination allows individuals to see the relationships between events in their personal
lives, biography, and events in their society, history. In other words, this mindset provides
the ability for individuals to realize the relationship between personal experiences and the
larger society.

Remember that social facts are social processes rooted in society rather than in the
individual. Émile Durkheim studied the science of social facts in an effort to identify social

2 | T h e S o c i o l o g i c a l I m a g i n a t i o n

correlations and ultimately social laws designed to make sense of how modern societies
worked, given that they became increasingly diverse and complex. 2 The national cost of a
gallon of gas, the war in the Middle East, the depressed economy, the trend of having too
few females in the 18-24 year old singles market, and the ever-increasing demand for
plastic surgery are just a few of the social facts at play today. Social facts are typically
outside of the control of average people. They occur in the complexities of modern society
and impact us, but we rarely find a way to significantly impact them back. This is because,
as Mills taught, we live much of our lives on the personal level, while much of society
happens at the larger social level. Without a knowledge of the larger social and personal
levels of social experience, we live in what Mills called a false social consciousness which
is an ignorance of social facts and the larger social picture.

Personal troubles are private problems experienced within the character of the individual
and the range of their immediate relation to others. Mills identified the fact that we function
in our personal lives as actors and actresses who make choices about our friends, family,
groups, work, school, and other issues within our control. We have a degree of influence in
the outcome of matters within the personal level. A college student who parties 4 nights
out of 7, who rarely attends class, and who never does his homework has a personal
trouble that interferes with his odds of success in college. However, when 50% of all
college students in the United States never graduate, we label it as being a larger social
issue.

Larger social issues are those that lie beyond one’s personal control and the range of one’s
inner life. These pertain to society’s organizations and processes; further, these are rooted
in society rather than in the individual. Nationwide, students come to college as freshmen
ill-prepared to understand the rigors of college life. They haven’t often been challenged
enough in high school to make the necessary adjustments required to succeed as college
students. Nationwide, the average teenager text messages, surfs the Net, plays video or
online games, hangs out at the mall, watches TV and movies, spends hours each day with
friends, and works at least part-time. Where and when would he or she get experience
focusing attention on college studies and the rigorous self-discipline required to transition
into college credits, a quarter or a semester, study, papers, projects, field trips, group work,
or test taking?

In a survey conducted each year by the U.S. Census Bureau, findings suggest that in 2006
about 84 percent of the U.S. population graduated high school.

3
They also found that only

27 percent had a Bachelor’s degree.4 Given the numbers of freshmen students enrolling in
college, the percentage with a Bachelor’s degree should be closer to 50 percent.

The majority of first year college students drop out because nationwide we are deficient at
preparing students for these new challenges, and because students do not feel a sense of
belonging to the new institution. In fact, college dropouts are an example of both a larger
social issue and a personal trouble. Thousands of studies and millions of dollars have been
spent on how to increase a freshman student’s odds of success in college (graduating with a
4-year degree). There are millions of dollars of grant monies awarded each year to help
retain college students. Interestingly, almost all of the grants are targeted in such a way

3 | T h e S o c i o l o g i c a l I m a g i n a t i o n

that a specific college can create a specific program to help each individual student stay in
college and graduate.

The real power of the sociological imagination is found in how we learn to distinguish
between the personal and social levels in our own lives. Once we do, we can make personal
choices that serve us best, given the larger social forces that we face. In 1991, Ron
graduated with his Ph.D. and found himself in a very competitive job market for University
professor/researcher positions. With hundreds of job applications out there, he kept
finishing second or third and was losing out to 10-year veteran professors who applied for
entry-level jobs. Ron looked carefully at the job market, his deep interest in teaching, the
struggling economy, and his sense of urgency in obtaining a salary and benefits. He came to
the decision to switch his job search focus from university research to college teaching
positions. Again the competition was intense. On his 301st job application (that’s not an
exaggeration) he beat out 47 other candidates for his current position. In this case,
knowing and seeing the larger social troubles impacted his success or failure in finding a
position. Because he used his sociological imagination, Ron was empowered by an
understanding of the job market, so was able to best situate himself within it.

MAKING SENSE OF DIVORCE USING THE SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION

Let’s apply the sociological imagination to an
issue that many people are concerned about—
divorce. Are there larger social and personal
factors that will impact your own risk of
divorce? Yes. In spite of the fact that
223,000,000 people are married in the U.S,
divorce continues to be a very common
occurrence.5 Divorce happens, and since
millions of people experienced their own
parents’ divorce, we are especially concerned

about the success of our own marriage.

What’s in the larger social picture? Estimates for the U.S. are that about 80% of males and
about 86% of females will be married before they reach age 446 yet so many of us feel
tremendous anxiety about marriage. Consider the marriage and divorce rates in Table 1
below. The first thing you notice is that both have been declining since 1990. The second
thing you notice is that the ratio of marriages to divorces is consistently two marriages to
one divorce (2:1). By the way, the divorce and marriage rates in Table 1 are called “Crude
Divorce” and “Crude Marriage” rates because they compare the divorces and marriages to
everyone in the population for a given year, even though children and others have virtually
no risk of either marrying or divorcing.

4 | T h e S o c i o l o g i c a l I m a g i n a t i o n

Table 1. Comparison of U.S. Marriages/1,000 Persons to Divorces/1,000 Persons 1990, 2000,
and 2005. 7

1990 Rates 2000 Rates 2005 Rates 3-year Average

US Marriages 9.8/1,000 8.3/1,000 7.5/1,000 8.5/1,000

US Divorces 4.7/1,000 4.1/1,000 3.6/1,000 4.1/1,000

US Ratio of Marriages to Divorces 2:1 2:1 2:1 2:1

Does Sociology provide personal and larger social insight into what we can do to have a
good marriage and avoid divorce? Absolutely! But before we discuss these, let’s set the
record straight: There has never been a 1 in 2 chance of getting divorced in the U.S.8
Divorce rates peaked in the 1980s and have steadily declined since then (See Figure 1).
Even though all married people are at risk of divorcing, most of them won’t divorce. Many
studies have consistently shown exactly how our personal choices and behaviors can
actually minimize our chances of divorce.

Figure 1. United States Historical Data-Divorce Trends 1920-2005.9

First, wait to marry until you reach your mid-20s, at the earliest. Teens who marry have
the highest risk of divorce.10 Avoid cohabitation if you plan to marry. While cohabitation is
on the rise in the U.S., it is still associated with higher risks of divorce once one is married.
Numerous studies have rigorously researched the impact of having cohabited on the odds
of marital success.11 Finish college before you marry. College graduates divorce less than
dropouts or high school graduates. Research finds that having gone to college and having
an income over $50,000 decreases the risk of divorce. Those with incomes under $25,000
have a 50% chance of divorce.12

5 | T h e S o c i o l o g i c a l I m a g i n a t i o n

Be aware of the three-strike issue: Strike 1, you are poor; Strike 2, you are a teenager when
you marry; and Strike 3, you are pregnant when you marry. This could prove to be a
terminal combination of risk factors as far as staying married is concerned. Know which
factors you can control that will likely impact your marital success odds. Other
scientifically identified divorce risk factors include high personal debt; falling out of love;
not proactively maintaining your marital relationship; marrying someone who has little in
common with you; infidelity; remaining mentally “on the marriage market…waiting for
someone better to come along;” having parents who are divorced; and neither preparing
for, nor managing the stresses that come with, raising children.13

Often couples on the fringe of divorce later emerge from those states of unhappiness and
hopelessness with renewed happiness and hope, by simply enduring the difficult years
together. With all of these factors listed above, you can decide how to best situate yourself
to deal with the factors. But, as Mills taught, you must consider both personal and larger
social issues simultaneously to fully benefit from the sociological imagination. It is true
that divorce is still very common in the U.S. Notice the peak was found in the 1980s, and
the trend shows a slightly decreased pattern since then.

What are some of the larger social factors that have historically contributed to these
patterns of divorce? You’ll notice a brief spike in divorce after World War II. The post-war
year, 1946 was a true anomaly as far as rates measuring the family are concerned. It was
the highest rate of marriages, highest rate of births (the Baby Boom began in 1946), and the
lowest median age at marriage in U.S. history. Divorce rates surged in 1946 as all the
soldiers returned home having been changed by the traumas, isolation from their families,
and challenges of the war. They were probably less compatible to the wife they left when
they went to war. Divorces tend to follow wars where one spouse is deployed into combat
(WWI, WWII, Vietnam, Korea, Kuwait, and Iraq).

Other factors influencing this divorce pattern have to do with the economy, marriage
market, and other factors. Divorces continue to be high during economic prosperity and
often decline during economic hardships. Divorces tend to be higher if there is an
abundance of single women in the society, and divorces tend to be more common in urban
rather than rural areas; the Western U.S. than in the Eastern; and among the poor, less
educated, remarried, less religiously devout, and children of divorce. Please note that
recession, war, secularism, and western U.S. cultures don’t cause divorce. Scientists have
never identified a cause for divorce, but they have clearly identified risk factors.

Could there be larger social factors pressuring your marriage right now? Yes, but you are
probably not enslaved to their forces. They still impact you, and you can follow Mill’s ideas
and manage as best you can within your power the consequences of these forces. What can
you do about it? Well, if you are single, you’d best situate yourself in terms of marital
success by waiting to marry until you are in your 20s; finishing and graduating from
college; and taking careful attention to find the right person (especially one with common
values to your own). Once married, you should work proactively to nurture your marriage
relationship on an ongoing basis, such as finding counseling to help mediate the influence
of your parents’ divorce on your current marital relationship. If you are married and things

6 | T h e S o c i o l o g i c a l I m a g i n a t i o n

appear to hit a wall, consider counselling, consulting with other couples, and reading self-
help books. Often the insurmountable barriers that couples face in marriage slowly
collapse with time and concerted effort.

Divorce is also not the end of the world. Since there are so many divorces, our sociological
imagination indicates that individual behaviors are not the only risk factors leading toward
divorce. Contemporary society allows for the formation of new forms of family and social
bonds. Perhaps some people are not compatible as life partners, but can sustain a
relationship for a certain number of years, dissolve their relationship, hopefully amicably,
then forge relationships with others.

1
Mills, C. W. 1959. The Sociological Imagination page ii; Oxford U. Press.

2
See Emile Durkheim, The Rules of the Sociological Method, Edited by Steven Lukes; translated by W.D. Halls.

New York: Free Press, 1982, pp. 50-59.
3
http:// www.factfinder.uscensus.gov; see table R1501 at http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/GRTTable?_bm=y&-

geo_id=01000US&-_box_head_nbr=R1501&-ds_name=ACS_2006_EST_G00_&-format=US-30.
4
http:// www.factfinder.uscensus.gov ; see table R1502 at http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/GRTTable?_bm=y&-

geo_id=01000US&-_box_head_nbr=R1502&-ds_name=ACS_2006_EST_G00_&-redoLog=false&-format=US-

30&-mt_name=ACS_2006_EST_G00_R1501_US30.
5
See http://www.Census.gov.

6

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0763219.html
7
Statistical Abstracts online: Table 121. Marriages and Divorces—Number and Rate by State: 1990 to 2005 Taken

from the Internet on 5 June, 2008 from

http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/cats/births_deaths_marriages_divorces.html
8
See http://www.Rutgers.edu the National Marriage Project, 2004 The State of Our Unions or Kalman Heller The

Myth of the High Rate of Divorce taken from Internet 5 June, 2008 from

http://www.isnare.com/?aid=217950&ca=Marriage.
9
U.S. Bureau of the Census Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970, Bicentennial Edition,

Part 2; Washington, D.C., 1975 Series B 216-220 Divorce 1920-1970 and Statistical Abstracts of the United States

2001 Page 87 Table 117 and 2002 Page 88 Table 111.
10

See Center for Disease Control First Marriage Dissolution, Divorce, and Remarriage: United States taken from

Internet 5 July, 2008 from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/ad/ad323
11

See Lisa Mincieli and Kristin Moore, The Relationship Context of Births Outside of Marriage: The Rise of

Cohabitation, Child Trends Research Brief 2007-13 (May 2007); or Matthew D. Bramlett and William D. Mosher,

Cohabitation, Marriage, Divorce and Remarriage in the United States, National Center for Health Statistics, Vital

and Health Statistics, 23 (22), 2002; or Larry Bumpass and Hsien-Hen Lu, Trends in Cohabitation and Implications

for Children’s Family Contexts in the U. S., Population Studies 54 (2000): 29-41; or Jay Teachman, Premarital Sex,

Premarital Cohabitation, and the Risk of Subsequent Marital Disruption among Women, Journal of Marriage and the

Family 65 (2003): 444-455.
12

See http://www.divorce360.com/
13

See Glenn, N. 1991 Recent trends in Marital Success in the U.S. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 261-270.

1 | S o c i o l o g i c a l

B e g i n n i n g s

SOCIOLOGICAL BEGINNINGS

Learning Outcomes
At the end of this chapter you will be able to do the following.

Identify founders of Sociology and their contributions.
Compare and contrast pre- and post-Industrial Revolution society in America.
Define anomie.
Compare Durkheim’s types of suicide.
List notable people who majored in Sociology.
Define positivism.
Recall the important contributions of each of the theorists

THIS NEW SCIENCE OF SOCIETIES: SOCIOLOGY

Sociology is a relatively new discipline in comparison to chemistry, math, biology,
philosophy and other disciplines that trace back thousands of years. Sociology began as an
intellectual/philosophical effort by a French man named Auguste Comte who coined the
term “Sociology.” Sociology is the science of society and of human behavior when
influenced by society.

Why did thinkers of the day find a need for the new science of sociology? Societies had
changed in unprecedented ways and had formed a new collective of social complexities
that the world had never witnessed before. Western Europe was transformed by the
Industrial Revolution, a technological development of knowledge and manufacturing that
began in the late 1600s and continued until the early 1900s. The Industrial Revolution
transformed society at every level. Look at Table 1 to see pre and post-Industrial
Revolution social patterns and how different they were.

Table 1. Pre-Industrial and Post-Industrial Revolution Social Patterns

Pre-Industrial Revolution Post-Industrial Revolution

Farm/cottage Factories

Family work Breadwinners /homemakers

Small towns Large cities

Large families Small families

Homogamous towns Heterogamous cities

Lower standards of living Higher standards of living

People died younger People died older

Prior to the Industrial Revolution, families lived on smaller farms, and every able member
of the family did work to support and sustain the family economy. Towns were small and
very similar (homogamous) and families were large (more children=more workers).
There was a lower standard of living, and because of poor sanitation people died earlier.

2 | S o c i o l o g i c a l B e g i n n i n g s

After the Industrial Revolution, farm work was replaced
by factory work. Men left their homes and became
breadwinners earning money to buy many of the goods
that used to be made by hand at home (or bartered for by
trading one’s own homemade goods with another’s).
Women became the supervisors of home work. Much was
still done by families to develop their own home goods
while many women and children also went to the factories
to work. Cities became larger and more diverse
(heterogamous). Families became smaller (less farm
work required fewer children). Eventually, standards of
living increased and death rates declined.

It is important to note the value of women’s work before
and after the Industrial Revolution. Hard work was the
norm and still is today for most women. Homemaking
included much unpaid work. For example, your great

grandmother may have worked hard her entire life in a factory or perhaps on a farm, and
also at home raising her children and even grand-children. We’ll talk more about women
and work in a later chapter.

These pre and post-industrial changes impacted all of Western civilization because the
Industrial Revolution hit all of these countries about the same way: Western Europe,
United States, Canada, and later Japan and Australia. The Industrial Revolution brought
some rather severe social conditions including deplorable city living conditions: crowding,
crime, extensive poverty, inadequate water and sewage, early death, frequent accidents,
and high illness rates. These new social problems required a new science that was unique
from any scientific disciplines of the day. Comte wanted a strong scientific basis for
sociology, but because of various distractions he never quite established it. The discipline
of Sociology was thus established by Comte’s successors who sought to understand how
these large-scale changes in society affected social interaction.

Social Integration is the degree to which people are connected to their social groups. Emile
Durkheim suggested that religion was a powerful source of social solidarity, or unity in
society, because it reinforced collective bonds and shared moral values. However, since the
power of the collective over the individual could also take secular forms (e.g., the
workplace, family, political groups, or schools), he recognized that traditional religious
beliefs were not the only source of social stability.

Let’s check your own personal degree of social integration. On a piece of paper write down
how many close family members you have. Then add in how many close friends and co-
workers you have. Finally, add in all others whose name you know and who know yours.
This number is one measure of your social integration. However, you might evaluate these
relationships. In other words, list your top six closest relationships in order. Make a short
list of the six closest relationships you have. Now, rank one for the closest, two for next
closest and so on up to the sixth. Durkheim realized from his suicide studies that the closer

3 | S o c i o l o g i c a l B e g i n n i n g s

we are to others, the more socially integrated we are, and the less likely we are to commit
suicide. The second concept to understand is called anomie.

Anomie is a state of relative normlessness that comes from the disintegration of our routines
and regulations. Anomie is common when we go through sudden changes in our lives or
when we live in larger cities. Sudden changes bring stress and frustration. To illustrate this,
Ron often tells his students to remember how they felt the day after high school graduation.
They walk for graduation then wake up the next morning with very few demands on their
time and energies. This sudden shift in demands from very intense to almost absent, leads
many to feel extremely frustrated and lost. Add to that they are now adults and no longer
students (children) and we get a prime formula for anomie (role shift + vague
understanding about what is expected of them + sudden change = anomie).

One of Ron Hammond’s college students told him that at the end of last semester she had
four finals, one paper, two presentations, and one lab project all due in the last five days of
the semester. She finished it all, packed, and moved back home. The first morning she woke
up at home she got out her planner and realized that all she had to do that day—all the
demands placed upon her—were to eat and shower. She was not a full-time student for
now and was between significant roles. “It took a week to get my life back into a routine for
the break,” she explained.

As a larger social fact, anomie is a by-product of large complex societies, especially in large
cities. It’s easier to get lost in the crowd, not be noticed, and to rarely receive praise or
criticism for personal actions. Durkheim and others were aware that society impacted the
life of the individual even if the individual had very little impact on society. By the way,
Durkheim measured suicide rates as we still do today. Suicide is the purposeful ending of
one’s own life for any reason. Suicide rate is the number of suicides per 100,000 people in a
population.

Durkheim’s first two types of suicide had to do with the degree of social integration of the
individual into their groups. Altruistic Suicide is suicide which occurs when people are over
involved and over committed to a group or society as a whole. This occurs when the needs of
society as a whole override the needs of the individual. Soldiers often commit this type of
suicide in order to protect their comrades.

Egoistic Suicide is suicide which occurs when people are under-involved or under-committed
to groups. This is the loner-type suicide when an individual is disconnected (or never
connected) to others. Certain social pressures isolate us more than others and suicide
becomes more likely for the isolated. Certain social forces within society create this
isolated state within us (TV viewing, video games, online time, and other solo activities that
preoccupy us with our own interest and isolate us from our groups and relationships.)1
Interestingly, the Suicide Prevention Resource Center gives a few suicide prevention
strategies that relate to social integration. “Strong connections to family and community
support; cultural and religious beliefs that discourage suicide; support self-preservations;
and various other types of social support are recommended.”2

4 | S o c i o l o g i c a l B e g i n n i n g s

The next two types of suicide described by Durkheim have to do with the levels of social
control and social regulation. Anomic Suicide is suicide which occurs when people are
under-regulated by familiar norms that serve as anchors to their social reality. You’d expect
this type of suicide in very large cities or when dramatic social changes have transpired
(e.g., 9-11 terrorist attacks or recent economic recessions).

Fatalistic Suicide is suicide which occurs when people are over-regulated or over-
constrained. This might happen in oppressive societies where people prefer to die rather
than continue under the hopeless state of oppression (e.g., prisoners of war, inmates, and
refugees). The US Centers for Disease Control lists suicide as the 10th most common form of
death with about 34,500+ suicides reported last year in the US. That is a rate of 11.5
suicides per 100,000 living people. 3

In Durkheim’s day, he found highest suicide rates for Protestants, males, singles, and
wealthy persons. He found lowest rates for Jews, Catholics, females, married people, and
poor persons. Many of these are still common predictors of suicide today. The World Health
Organization reported that worldwide the suicide rates show clear patterns being higher
for males at all ages and especially higher for the elderly.4 This report also noted that the
highest suicide rates in the world were reported in Lithuania 51.6; Russian Federation
43.1; and Belarus 41.5/100,000 population. Isn’t it interesting that the three highest
countries are geographically close together? Durkheim also found geographic patterns
within his researched countries. The countries with the three lowest suicide rates were
Azerbaijan 1.1; Kuwait 2.0; and Philippines 2.1/100,000 population.5

Look at Figure 1 to see a recent pattern of suicide rates in the United States. Since 1950,
male rates (red line) have gone down overall, but did experience a slight increase in the
early 1990s. The blue line is the combination of males and females into the total and it
parallels the other lines about mid-range. The green line represents females. Females
typically commit less suicide than males in most countries worldwide. We use many
figures and charts in this book so here are a few tricks to reading them. Look at the legend
on the side or bottom of the charts. It tells you which lines represent which categories. Also,
look at the title to make sure you understand what is being represented.

Now let’s consider the US rates by age. Look at Figure 2. Isn’t it ironic that the older
persons (persons with the most wisdom and experience) would have the highest suicide
rates? The 75 to 84 and 85+ age categories have the highest suicide rates while the 15 to 24
years olds have the lowest. Durkheim would argue that these rates are social facts. At the
core of the problem lays social level processes that either facilitate or inhibit personal
choices by exerting social pressures.

5 | S o c i o l o g i c a l B e g i n n i n g s

Figure 1. Suicide Rates per 100,000 United States, Various Categories 1950 to 2005.6

Figure 2. Suicide Rates per 100,000 United States, Age Categories 1990 to 2005.7

6 | S o c i o l o g i c a l B e g i n n i n g s

THE DISCIPLINE OF SOCIOLOGY, TODAY

Sociology’s roots are in Germany, France, and the United Kingdom, from where founding
fathers Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim, Max Weber, and Georg Simmel hail. Sociology waxed
and waned in popularity outside of the U.S. over its short history. Today, sociology has
become a United States-centered scientific discipline with most sociologists living in the
U.S.. There is significant sociological work being done in various countries of the world, but
most of the 14,000 members of the American Sociological Association (the world’s largest
professional sociology organization) live in the U.S.

During the 1920s and 1930s, the Chicago School was a center for sociological research that
focused on urban and ecological sociological issues. Within the Chicago School were two
other important U.S. sociologists, Charles Horton Cooley (1864-1929) and George Herbert
Mead (1863-1931). Their work together gave tremendous support to Symbolic
Interactionism Theory. The construction of how we form the “I” and the “me,” the self-
concept, and the looking glass self were crucial and are still widely used in today’s scientific
inquiry.

Some notable people who majored or made a career in Sociology include The Reverend
Martin Luther King Jr., Alexis de Tocqueville, Ronald Reagan, Robin Williams, Dan Aykroyd,
and First Lady Michelle Obama. Most people who take Sociology take only one course
(that’s estimated to be 600,000 US students per year). Over 20,000 students graduate each
year with a Sociology Bachelor’s degree. Many of them find work in government, social
service, business, and other service-related sectors of the economy. About 2,000 graduates
earn their Master’s degree in Sociology each year. About 550 students graduate each year
with their Doctorate in Sociology.

Sociology is a good undergraduate degree that leads easily into a variety of graduate
degrees, such as counselling and law, and also offers good career opportunities. Money
Magazine often rates good jobs in the United States. Sociologist had an average annual pay
of $68,724 with an estimated high range of about $138,000.8 This report also ranked
college professors as the second best job in America. Over half of full-time doctoral-level
sociologists are faculty at colleges and universities.9

Now that you have some background information as to where sociology came from it is
important to know some of the early thinkers that shaped the discipline as we know it
today. Each on of their contributions can be found either directly or indirectly in the
theories we’ll learn about in another chapter.

Adam Smith, 1723-1790
Smith was born in Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland. He wasn’t known as a sociologist, but instead
he was a philosopher and early economist. In 1776, he published his famous book The
Wealth of Nations which laid the groundwork for modern economic thought and the
concept of individual freedom.10

7 | S o c i o l o g i c a l B e g i n n i n g s

He was a professor of logic at Glasgow University in 1751 and became the Chair for the
Moral Philosophy Department in 1752. He lectured on topics such as “ethics, rhetoric,
jurisprudence, and political economy.” He published a book, Theory of Moral Sentiments in
1759, about ethical conduct and how that conduct solidifies societal connections. It
emphasized “human motives and activities under a beneficent Providence.”11

“Smith moved to London in 1776, where he published An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes
of the Wealth of Nations, which examined in detail the consequences of economic freedom.
It covered such concepts as the role of self-interest, the division of labor, the function of
markets, and the international implications of a laissez-faire economy. “Wealth of Nations”
established economics as an autonomous subject and launched the economic doctrine of
free enterprise.”12

Smith paved the way for modern understanding of the free market system. He is credited
with the term the invisible hand, which demonstrates “how self-interest guides the most
efficient use of resources in a nation’s economy, with public welfare coming as a by-
product.”13 He claimed that “rational self-interest in a free-market economy leads to
economic well-being.”14 “Smith believed that competition—the belief that everyone should
have a fair chance to compete to make, sell, and buy goods and services—was the key to
economic success. . . . Smith argued that such free competition would lead to the best goods
made at the lowest prices. This would bring economic growth and higher wages.
Smith argued that if competition was going to work, governments should not interfere
with business.” This notion of laissez-faire was intended to prevent government from
forming monopolies, and to maintain few laws that regulate business.15

Of his two major contributions to the field of Sociology, the first was that he attributed
much of human behavior to the influence of society. His second contribution is that he laid
the foundation for one of the three major theoretical perspectives in Sociology known as
Symbolic Interactionism. His focus on the interconnection between individual
personality and the interaction with society in determining individual behavior is key in
the roots of this perspective. He died from an illness in Edinburgh, Scotland on July 17,
1790.16

Auguste Comte, 1798-1857
Comte had a significant part in the formation of Sociology. As the founder of Positivism, he
is also credited for coining the term Sociology, and is also recognized as the father of
Sociology.17 Comte was born a Catholic, but somewhere around the age of fourteen, he
stopped believing in God. At the same time, he left the ideals of his royalist family behind
and became a republican. Comte attended the École Polytechnique (think MIT-
Massachusetts Institute of Technology) which was a leading scientific institution in France
at the time. He was kicked out of this school for leading a student protest.18

When Comte claimed to have invented the new science of Sociology, he said that it was
going to be the science that held all other sciences together. As in the course of Positive
Philosophy, he said that a science must depend on the previous science to be understood.19
Positivism asserts that the only authentic knowledge is that which is based on sense

http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/96jun/smith.html

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_were_Adam_Smith’s_contributions

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_were_Adam_Smith’s_contributions

8 | S o c i o l o g i c a l B e g i n n i n g s

experience and positive verification (empirically observable events or occurrences).20

Comte divided the progress of mankind into three stages: 1) the Theological Stage which
relies on explanation by personified deities (e.g., what man cannot explain is explained by
supernatural agencies), 2) the Metaphysical Stage which refers to explanation by
impersonal abstract explanation. Often those who developed metaphysical systems
believed they were engaging in scientific activity, but they were not, and 3) the Positive
Stage which refers to “scientific explanation based on observation, experiment, and
comparison. Positive explanations rely upon a distinct method, the scientific method, for its
justification.”21 Through social science, Comte believed all human social ills could be
remedied.22

Harriet Martineau, 1802-1876
Martineau was born in 1802, the sixth of eight children in an upper-middle class, English
family. She was mostly educated at home, and had some exposure to subjects that were
traditionally taught only to males. During her time, studying at a university was not
available for women. After the death of her father and the end of her marriage, she was
forced to support herself, and did so successfully as an author by writing essays, novels,
biographies, news columns, and pieces on sociology.23

In 1834, Martineau began a two-year study of the United States. She wrote two books on
her research, Society in America and Retrospect of Western Travel. In 1838, she published
How to Observe Morals and Manners, the first methodology book in Sociology. It laid out the
manner in which social research was to be undertaken. She emphasized the use of
theoretical framework as a guide to observation, having a specific set of research questions
before gathering data, objectivity, and representative sampling techniques.24

Martineau travelled to the Middle East and published Eastern Life Past and Present (1848)
based on that trip. Another writing that Martineau is most well-known for was her
translation in 1851 of Auguste Comte’s Cours de Philosophic Positive into English. With her
translation, the idea of Positivism was accessible to American and other English-speaking
sociologists.25 Martineau wrote much on the anti-slavery movement. She found a
connection between slavery in America and working-class oppression in England.
Therefore, she strongly urged governmental action to end chattel slavery, wage slavery,
and class oppression.26

While Martineau wrote more than 1,500 columns and pioneered methodological studies
that are now known as Sociology, because of the male-dominated academic system at this
time, most of her writings on Sociology were not acknowledged.27

Karl Marx, 1818-1883
Though Karl Marx did not consider himself to be a sociologist, his work provides much of
the philosophical foundation of the discipline of Sociology. He “was trained as a
philosopher and became a political economist, journalist, social critic, and political
agitator.”28 “Although he was one of the greatest social thinkers during the 1800s, most of
his ideas and intellect were not recognized until after his death. Marx was born to a middle

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positivism

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_method

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_science

9 | S o c i o l o g i c a l B e g i n n i n g s

class German family” and became a communist when he moved to Paris in 1843. This was
when he outlined communism, but his work was not published until the 1930s. “While
Marx was in Paris he met the man who would become his lifelong friend and partner,
Friedrich Engels.” It was with Engels that he wrote his famous Manifesto of the Communist
Party (or, The Communist Manifesto) in 1848. Engels helped Marx survive by being one of
his major sources of income during the 1850s”29 until his death.

Karl Marx believed that through much of history, resources have been unfairly distributed.
Therefore, revolutionary social change was required so that all members of society could
have their needs met. In order to achieve revolutionary social change, the powerless would
have to bring about class conflict, which would bring about revolution. For Marx, the
economy was the most powerful sector in society. Those who held power in the economy,
held power in society, overall. He briefly explained history’s inevitability toward class
conflict and revolution in The Communist Manifesto. The two classes, the capitalists and the
working class, would engage in this conflict. The capitalists are also known as the
bourgeoisie. They own and control the means of production, that is land, factories, raw
materials, etc.. The working class, which is also known as the proletariat, are the workers
exploited by the bourgeoisie, who own nothing but their ability to labor. Hence, they sell
their labor for a wage to buy the goods necessary for survival in a capitalist economic
system.

“Marx is now known as one of the founders of Communism, modern Socialism, and
Sociology. Since his death Marxism has led to socialist thought.30 He foresaw the
proletariat gaining class consciousness, starting class conflict, defeating the bourgeoisie,
instituting a temporary socialist state to pave the way to a communist system. In this new
system, the government will eventually “whither away”, and classes will be abolished, since
the proletariat consists of the vast majority of the population. Furthermore, resource
distribution will be based on the principle of “each according to his ability, to each according
to his needs!”

31

.
Marx’s most obvious contribution to sociology is Conflict Theory which is focused on the
competition between groups for scarce resources. According to this theory, conflict is
inevitable and serves as the force for social change. It is a natural feature of society that
leads to social change. Marx is not responsible for naming his perspective.32 He lived
during the Industrial Revolution in Europe. This was a time of rapid economic, social, and
political change. Great amounts of people were moving from agricultural areas to large
cities to find employment in manufacturing. The move to a wage-based economy held
promise of prosperity and abundance. This concentration of people into denser living
conditions in urban areas caused crime, disease, and poverty.

The main source of conflict in Marx’s day of the industrial age was between the workers
(Proletariats) who only had their labor to sell to make a living, and the owners of the
factories (Bourgeoisie) who needed the labor of the workers to earn a profit. The model
used in factories where each worker performed a narrow range of specific tasks created a
sense of alienation from the work. No worker saw the manufacture of a product from
beginning to end; thus was unable to take pride in creating this product. Factories were

10 | S o c i o l o g i c a l B e g i n n i n g s

also dangerous places to work with workers frequently becoming injured. The Proletariats
would benefit from change towards more equality while the Bourgeoisie resisted such
change. This change would require them to relinquish most, if not all, of their profits.33

In defining Marxism, a distinction has to be made between the writings and ideas of Karl
Marx, the ideology of Marxism as a sociological perspective, and the politics of communism
and socialism.”34 “Marx believed in a humanist conception of communism which was based
on the contrast between the alienated nature of labor under a capitalist model and a
utopian communist society in which human beings freely engaged in cooperative
production.35

Communism as Marx had imagined it, has not actually existed on a national scale. However,
some argue that this social system has just not yet come to be. It is also important to note
that Conflict Theory has had an immeasurable impact on the discipline of Sociology. Many
sociological theorists critique his theories, then build their own theories based on their
critiques.

Herbert Spencer, 1820-1903
Spencer was born in Derby, England during the period of British industrialism. He was the
oldest of nine children, but the only one to live past his infancy. He was the product of an
undisciplined, largely informal education. His father, George, was a school teacher, but an
unconventional man, and Spencer’s family were Methodist ‘Dissenters,’ with Quaker
sympathies. From an early age, Herbert was strongly influenced by the individualism and
the anti-establishment and anti-clerical views of his father, and the Benthamite radical
views of his uncle Thomas. Indeed, Spencer’s early years showed a good deal of resistance
to authority and independence.36 Instead of obtaining a college education, he sought a
‘practical’ career with the London and Birmingham Railway as an engineer, though he
continued to produce work on philosophical topics.37

“One of the main reasons that Herbert Spencer was important to sociology (sic) was
because of his views and ideas about evolution. Charles Darwin is always given credit for
the idea of survival of the fittest, but most likely it was Spencer who coined this phrase.”
This phrase was almost always used to scientifically explain individual life conditions, but
in Spencer’s work it took on some political meaning as well.38

Once the railway was completed in 1841, Spencer wrote for The Nonconformist, a
dissenting newspaper. In this, he expressed his very laissez-faire views arguing “that the
role of government should be restricted solely to policing, while all other matters, including
education, social welfare, and economic activities, should be left to the private sector.”39
Such ideas are fundamental in Libertarian political philosophy.

Spencer had many very extreme political views. Though his ideas stem from Darwin’s
theory of evolution, Spencer took it one step further than Darwin by saying that it involved
much more than just biology.”40 “According to Spencer, government regulations interfere
with the laws of human evolution.”41 They interfere with the natural law of survival of the
fittest. During the course of Spencer’s life, women and non-White peoples were believed to

11 | S o c i o l o g i c a l B e g i n n i n g s

be inherently inferior to White men, and were considered White men’s property. Spencer’s
theory supports these notions, which have since been scientifically disproven. The legal
systems in various nations denied many people the status necessary to pursue an
education, careers, and independence. In the end, it was such harsh views on politics that
held his ideas back from being accepted right away. Writings such as Principles of Sociology
and others were set aside for years.

Spencer’s work was influential in the United States. His influence extended into the upper
echelons of American society. It has been claimed that, in 1896, “three justices of the
Supreme Court were avowed ‘Spencerians.’ His reputation was at its peak in the 1870s and
early 1880s, and he was nominated for the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1902. Spencer,
however, declined most of the honors he was given.”42

Spencer’s health significantly deteriorated in the last two decades of his life, and he died in
relative seclusion, following a long illness, on December 8, 1903.43 He left behind many
bigoted ideas to the world of Sociology, including one that states that because we are part
of a society and culture we are therefore part of nature.44

Émile Durkheim, 1858-1917
David Emile Durkheim is a French sociologist. He, along with Marx and Weber, is one of the
founders of social science. He worked to have Sociology recognized as an academic
discipline separate from biology and psychology.45 Durkheim believed that people’s actions
have a social basis, and they cannot be explained on a purely individualistic level. Durkheim
advocated for the scientific study of social facts. Social facts are defined as aspects of social
life external to the individual that exert some kind of force or pressure, influencing individual
behavior.

Durkheim recognized the interrelatedness of work tasks. The division of labor is the
differentiation of tasks necessary for the functioning of society. One characteristic of modern
society is the specialization of occupations. Today, a doctor’s job is very different from the
job of a farmer. While you could expect a doctor in the 1800s to have a basic understanding
of farming, and for a farmer to know a few home remedies for common ailments, today a
doctor may not know harvesting techniques, and a farmer would not be called on to treat
patients. What is believed to be the first division of labor46 that is still present in
contemporary society is gendered work. This is the association of tasks with one’s gender.
It encompasses the belief that women’s work is within the home because of their
reproductive capability, while men’s work is outside of the home. Women’s reproductive
capability was associated with nurturing and caring for others. Therefore, it was believed
that women should tend to family needs. In contemporary society, most women who work
outside of the home work in caring and nurturing professions.47

Durkheim’s had several contributions to Sociology. We name a few crucial ones here. First,
he strove to develop Sociology as its own discipline. To this effect, he was the only one of
the three founding fathers to hold the position of chair in this discipline.48 Second, he
introduced one of the main sociological perspectives, Functionalism. According to this
perspective, all of the various sectors of society fulfill their role in order for the whole

12 | S o c i o l o g i c a l B e g i n n i n g s

society to function, like a healthy living organism. Third, is the idea of social integration or
social cohesion. Generally speaking, social cohesion is the connectedness of the individual to
society. It can also be described as the degree to which people feel like they are a
meaningful part of human groups.

Durkheim’s most important written contribution to the field of Sociology is his book
Suicide, written in 1897. For this study, Durkheim collected data on the marital status,
religious affiliation, and gender of suicide victims, among other variables. In trying to test
his theory that there was a relationship between social integration and rates of suicide, he
found that an inverse relationship exists—that is, the more connected individuals feel to
social groups, the less likely they are to take their own lives. He, like his fellow founding
fathers, was concerned with the vast changes industrialization and modernization were
bringing to society. Hence, among the four types of suicide that he identified, the one he
wrote most about was anomic suicide. He coined the term anomie, a state of relative
normlessness that may result from a society undergoing rapid and extreme social change,
since this type of suicide was fairly new and not well understood.

His research results showed that the rate of suicide for females is lower than that of males
(although recent studies suggest that females actually attempt suicide at greater rates than
males. However, their method of suicide, such as pills rather than firearms, makes them
more likely to fail49). Traditionally, in their childrearing roles, females are more connected
to the social institution of the family. Similarly, the suicide rate of married persons is lower
than that of the unmarried group because the institution of marriage makes people feel
more socially integrated. Lastly, the suicide rates of Catholics and Jews are lower than
those of Protestants. This can be attributed to the fact that the Catholic and Jewish religions
are more group-oriented in their religious services. Durkheim’s underlying theory of social
integration is still true today in analyzing rates of suicide worldwide. He connected these
findings back to the notion of social facts to show that even the most individual of all acts,
suicide, is affected by social circumstances.

Jane Addams, 1860-1935
Addams is the best known and most influential of the early female social reformers in the
United States. She was born in Cedarville, Illinois, and was the eighth of nine children. “Her
father was a prosperous miller and local political leader who served for sixteen years as a
state senator and fought as an officer in the Civil War.”50 Addams studied medicine for a
time after earning her Bachelor’s degree from Rockford College for Women, but had to stop
due to ill health.

She traveled quite extensively and on one of her trips to London she visited Toynbee Hall, a
settlement house. This gave Addams the idea of building a similar facility in Chicago. In
1889 Addams and her traveling friend, Ellen Starr, leased a large home built by Charles
Hull. The purpose of Hull House was to provide a place for people who needed help—
immigrants, the sick, the poor, and the aged—to find some relief. Addams focused on the
problems caused by the imbalance of power among the social classes.

13 | S o c i o l o g i c a l B e g i n n i n g s

“By its second year of existence, Hull House was host to two thousand people every week.
There were kindergarten classes in the morning, club meetings for older children in the
afternoon, and for adults in the evening more clubs or courses in what became virtually a
night school. The first facility added to Hull House was an art gallery, the second a public
kitchen; then came a coffee house, a gymnasium, a swimming pool, a cooperative boarding
club for girls, a book bindery, an art studio, a music school, a drama group, a circulating
library, an employment bureau, and a labor museum.”51

She invited sociologists from the University of Chicago to Hull House to witness firsthand
the effects of the exploitation of the lower class. In addition to her work with the
underclass, Addams was active in the women’s suffrage and peace movements. She was
also a member of the American Sociological Society52—now known as the American
Sociological Association.

Addams and other pioneering female sociologists commonly combined intellectual inquiry,
social service work, and political activism—all with the goal of assisting the
underprivileged and creating a more egalitarian society. For example, working with the
Black journalist and educator Ida B. Wells, Addams successfully prevented the
implementation of a racial segregation policy in the Chicago public schools. Addams’ efforts
to establish a juvenile court system and a women’s trade union also reflect the practical
focus of her work.

As a result of her tireless work for social reform, Addams was awarded the Nobel Peace
Prize in 1931—the only sociologist to receive this honor. The irony is that Addams herself
suffered a sort of class discrimination. She was not considered a sociologist during her
lifetime in part because she did not teach at a university; rather, she was considered a
social worker (a less prestigious career) because she was a woman and because she
worked directly with the poor.

Addams had a heart attack in 1926 from which she never fully recovered. She was
admitted into the hospital on the day she was awarded the Nobel Prize, December 10,
1931. She died in 1935.53

George Herbert Mead, 1863-1931
Mead was born in South Hadley, Massachusetts to a minister and his wife. He started
college at age 16, and after he graduated he worked as an elementary school teacher. He
was later fired after only a few months because he sent uninterested or disruptive students
home. He earned his MA in philosophy at Harvard University. During his pursuit of a Ph.D.,
he was offered a job as professor of Philosophy and Psychology at the University of
Michigan. He never resumed his Ph.D..

Eventually Mead moved to the University of Chicago during which time he made
substantial contributions to the fields of Social Psychology and Philosophy. His major
contribution to the field of Social Psychology was “his attempt to show how the human self
arises in the process of social interaction, especially by way of linguistic communication
(symbolic interaction).”54

14 | S o c i o l o g i c a l B e g i n n i n g s

Mead’s theory of the emergence of the mind and socialized self out of the social process of
significant communication has become the foundation of the symbolic interactionist school
of Sociology and Social Psychology. In addition to his well-known and widely appreciated
social philosophy, Mead’s thought includes significant contributions to the philosophy of
nature, the philosophy of science, philosophical anthropology, the philosophy of history,
and process philosophy.55

In one of his famous books, Mind, Self, and Society (1934), Mead discusses “how the
individual mind and self arises out of the social process. Instead of approaching human
experience in terms of individual psychology, Mead analyzed experience from the
‘standpoint of communication as essential to the social order’.”56 The mind comes from the
social process of communication and one cannot understand the mind outside that process.
The process of communication has two phases. The conversation of gestures is the first
phase and language, or the conversation of significant gestures, is the second phase. In
each phase two or more individuals interact with each other. The conversation of gestures
is best illustrated by Mead’s dog-fight example.57

Dogs approaching each other in hostile attitude carry on such a language of
gestures. They walk around each other, growling and snapping, and waiting
for the opportunity to attack . . . .58 The act of each dog becomes the stimulus
to the other dog for his response. There is then a relationship between these
two; and as the act is responded to by the other dog, it, in turn, undergoes
change. The very fact that the dog is ready to attack another becomes a
stimulus to the other dog to change his own position or his own attitude. He
has no sooner done this than the change of attitude in the second dog in turn
causes the first dog to change his attitude. We have here a conversation of
gestures. They are not, however, gestures in the sense that they are significant.
We do not assume that the dog says to himself, “If the animal comes from this
direction he is going to spring at my throat and I will turn in such a way.”
What does take place is an actual change in his own position due to the
direction of the approach of the other dog (emphasis added).59,60

In this example, as with human interaction, the communication takes place without
conscious thought that a response by one person generates a response by the other person.
From this comes language, which is conscious communication. Language is communicating
by significant symbols, a gesture, vocal or otherwise, that is interpreted identically by all.61
Not long after his wife died, Mead died in Chicago on April 26, 1931.62

Max Weber, 1864-1920
Maximilian “Max” Weber (pronounced VAY-ber) is a German sociologist who expanded the
application of economics and religion to the study of social groups. He also wrote
extensively about bureaucracy. Weber’s research was written in response to Marx’s
theories. While Marx believed that economics was the central driving force behind society,
Weber believed it to be religion. His major work, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of
Capitalism (1920), relates the Protestant religion to the rise of capitalism. He describes the
Protestant Ethic as self-denial and a belief in the calling and morality of work. The Spirit of
Capitalism is an attitude which seeks profit rationally and systematically.

15 | S o c i o l o g i c a l B e g i n n i n g s

Weber showed that certain types of Protestantism favored the rational pursuit of economic
gain. He analyzed two main branches of Protestantism-Lutheranism and Calvinism.
Lutherans, or followers of Martin Luther, believed that God only provides what is necessary
to sustain life. They advocated for restricted consumption and against climbing the social
ladder. These conditions were not conducive for capitalism. Weber specifically traced the
Protestant work ethic back to Calvinism, a branch of the Protestant religion developed by
John Calvin. Calvinists believed in predestination-the idea that God has preordained who
can enter heaven. Calvinists viewed wealth as a sign of God’s approval and used religious
justification for the accumulation of wealth. This intense pursuit of accumulation had been
given positive spiritual and moral meaning. Weber believed that the values taught by
Calvinism paved the way for modern capitalism.

In addition to his theories of religion, Weber developed the basis of management theories
still used today. Weber saw bureaucracy as the application of the division of work to
administrative duties. His ideal type of bureaucracy was hierarchical in nature and had the
ability to be very efficient. It was, however, very rigid and required an establishment of
rules governing both the employees and the business of the bureaucratic organization.

According to Weber, a bureaucratic organization is governed by the following seven
principles:63, 64

1. official business is conducted by qualified officials performing specific duties
according to a strict division of labor

2. official business is conducted with strict accordance to rules

3. every official’s responsibilities and authority are part of a vertical hierarchy of
authority, with respective rights of supervision and appeal

4. official business is conducted in the most efficient manner

5. official business is conducted in a deliberately impersonal manner

6. offices cannot be appropriated by their incumbents (inherited, sold, etc.); promotion
is based on achievement

7. official business is conducted on the basis of written documents

Among Weber’s other contributions to Sociology and to the social sciences, in general, are
his definition of power, ideal types of legitimate domination, and a research methodology
that provides further insight into the subject of study. Weber’s definition of power, “the
chance of a man or a number of men to realize their own will in a social action even against
the resistance of others who are participating in the action,”65 is still used by social
scientists, today. Weber’s research methodology included understanding the research
subject’s perspective. His predecessors did not take individual perspectives into account,
but mostly considered how large social structures influenced individual behaviors.

Weber believed in value-free sociology. He believed that studying social phenomenon
objectively, or in a value-free manner, is superior to subjective research that is vulnerable
to an individual researcher’s interpretation. Most sociologists today contend that it is not

16 | S o c i o l o g i c a l B e g i n n i n g s

completely possible to keep sociological research value-free; however, it is a goal that most
strive toward.

Charles Horton Cooley 1864-1929
Cooley was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He participated in the formation of the American
Sociological Society and later became president of the society in 1918. Cooley shared the
desire of Durkheim, Weber, and Marx to learn more about society. However, he felt that a
more effective methodology would be to use the sociological perspective to look first at
smaller units—intimate, face-to-face groups such as families, gangs, and friendship
networks. He saw these groups as the seedbeds of society in the sense that they shape
people’s ideals, beliefs, values, and social natures.

Cooley’s work increased our understanding of groups of relatively small size. He sought to
emphasize the interconnectedness of the dualism of society and the individual, and felt the
two could only be understood in relation to each other. Despite his refusal to label himself
as a sociologist (he merged history, social psychology, and philosophy), Cooley’s concepts
of the looking-glass self and the primary and secondary group have had lasting
impressions on the field of Sociology.

Cooley believed we acted like mirrors to each other, reflecting back to one another an
image of ourselves. The three components to Cooley’s looking-glass self are: 1) imagining
how we look to others, 2) imagining what others think of us, and 3) developing self-feeling,
such as pride or shame, from our perceptions of judgments by others.66

Cooley theorized that the looking-glass self was responsible for the formation of our
concept of the self. In other words, when we are able to experience the three parts of the
looking-glass self, our conceptualization of the self will form. For Cooley, there could be no
sense of self without society and social interaction because it is society that is providing us
with our looking-glass self-image. The concept of the looking-glass self influenced George
Herbert Mead’s creation of a theory of self that has influenced the paradigm of Symbolic
Interactionism.

W.E.B. DuBois, 1868-1963
William Edward Burghardt DuBois was born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. He was
the first Black sociologist and the first Black student to graduate from his high school.
DuBois became the first African American to earn his Ph.D. from Harvard University.

DuBois plunged eagerly into research. He was certain that the race problem was one of
ignorance, and he was determined to unearth as much knowledge as he could, thereby
providing the “cure” for color prejudice. His relentless studies led into historical
investigation, statistical and anthropological measurement, and sociological interpretation.
Besides contributing to the understanding of Black communities, DuBois worked for civil
rights. “DuBois was recognized by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who called him a gifted seeker
of social truths and a scholar who aspired to fill the immense void that existed in the study
of Black people.”67 One can imagine the importance DuBois gave to racial matters. He
famously stated that “the problem of the 20th century is the problem of the color line”.68

17 | S o c i o l o g i c a l B e g i n n i n g s

DuBois became one of the most influential Black leaders in the early twentieth century. He
was the only Black member of the Board of Directors of the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) when it was founded in 1910, and he was the
editor of its journal for the next twenty-four years.

DuBois called the United States a country of “magnificent possibilities” but one that was
“selling its birthright.” He was grateful for the education he was able to achieve, and he
continuously praised America for its noble and generous souls. However, he also pointed
out its ongoing history of “injustices, crimes, and mistakes.”69 “DuBois used his academic
knowledge to fight against inequality, exploitation, and discrimination.”70 Scholars continue
to use DuBois’ work and ideas in studies of inequality (racial, religious, sexual, etc.).

DuBois became disillusioned after a lifetime of groundbreaking research and social
activism. He moved to Ghana, Africa, where he died at age 95 in 1963. It was less than one
year after his death when the Civil Rights Act of 1964 made it illegal to discriminate against
people based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

Robert K. Merton, 1910-2003
Robert Merton coined the term self-fulfilling prophecy and was one of the most
important sociologists of the 20th century. He was born on the 4th of July, 1910 in
Philadelphia. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University and was a professor at
Columbia University for 38 years.71 He won a National Medal of Science in 1994. Merton
served as one of the presidents of the American Sociological Association (ASA). He thought
that sociologists should bring together the micro and macro approaches to the study of
human interactions.

Merton was interested in deviance and based his explanation of crime on individual
behavior influenced by society’s approved goals and means. He focused on deviance as a
consequence of structural disorganization—anomie. He refined Durkheim’s conception of
anomie, as both theorists wrote during a time of crisis and change. Merton saw deviance
not in terms of personality types, but as role responses to different forms of dysfunction.72
According to Merton, deviant roles are not created by willful intent or intimate experiences.
They occur as patterned responses to a breakdown between universal expectations (to be
successful) and the availability of approved methods to achieve those ends. In Merton’s
own words: “When a society professes that every office boy can become president, while
the avenues to such aspirations are socially limited, the stage is set for deviance on a broad
scale.”73

“The theoretical sociology of Robert K. Merton is best conceptualized as a form of neo-
functionalism, developed in response to the criticisms often leveled at is logical base.
However, this effort leaves many substantive points untouched, while several of its reforms
raise new questions. To begin, Merton’s work may be an attempt to reconcile the
irreconcilable. For example, the effort to accommodate change occurs in a theoretical
matrix primarily concerned with adjustment and order. This means that such theory can
conceive of change only in the limited sense of tempering or eliminating certain

18 | S o c i o l o g i c a l B e g i n n i n g s

dysfunctional parts of the whole, a process that leaves the overall societal system intact. It
is clear that Merton’s revision of functionalism does not address change at the societal or
institutional level. His focus was on adjustments that are consistent with the existing
nature of the social system. Thus, the underlying dilemma of functionalist (as well as
organist systems) theory remains untouched. In creating a portrait of order, societal and
cultural patterns emerge as systems of mutually reinforcing elements. Substantive social
change, specifically in the form of new institutions, is simply unexplained. It can only
represent, as it did in Merton’s early Sociology, a process pushed by those trapped in
deviant roles.” He died Feb. 23, 2003, in New York. 74

Erving Goffman, 1922-1982
Goffman, a Canadian-U.S. sociologist, was born in Canada and died in Philadelphia, PA.
Goffman taught principally at the University of California, Berkeley and the University of
Pennsylvania. “He studied primarily face-to-face communication and related rituals of
social interaction; his The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life (1959) laid out the
dramaturgical perspective he used in subsequent studies, such as Asylums (1961) and
Stigma (1964). In Frame Analysis (1979) and Forms of Talk (1981), he focused on the ways
people “frame” or define social reality in the communicative process.”75

“Erving Goffman’s The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, provides a detailed description
and analysis of process and meaning in mundane interaction. Goffman, as a product of the
Chicago School, writes from a symbolic interactionist perspective, emphasizing a
qualitative analysis of the component parts of the interactive process. Through a
microsociological analysis and focus on unconventional subject matter, Goffman explores
the details of individual identity, group relations, the impact of environment, and the
movement and interactive meaning of information.”76 Goffman’s analysis of the self
provided new insights that challenges how we understand the notion of the stable self.

“Goffman employs a ‘dramaturgical approach’ (Dramaturgy) in his study, concerning
himself with the mode of presentation employed by the actor and its meaning in the
broader social context. Interaction is viewed as a “performance,” shaped by environment
and audience, constructed to provide others with “impressions” that are consonant with
the desired goals of the actor. The performance exists regardless of the mental state of the
individual, as persona is often imputed to the individual in spite of his or her lack of faith
in—or even ignorance of—the performance. Goffman uses the example of the doctor who is
forced to give a placebo to a patient, fully aware of its impotence, as a result of the desire of
the patient for more extensive treatment. In this way, the individual develops identity or
persona as a function of interaction with others, through an exchange of information that
allows for more specific definitions of identity and behavior.”77

“The process of establishing social identity, then, becomes closely allied to the concept of
the “front,” which is described as “that part of the individual’s performance which regularly
functions in a general and fixed fashion to define the situation for those who observe the
performance.” The front acts as a vehicle of standardization, allowing for others to
understand the individual on the basis of projected character traits that have normative
meanings. As a “collective representation,” the front establishes proper “setting,”

19 | S o c i o l o g i c a l B e g i n n i n g s

“appearance,” and “manner” for the social role assumed by the actor, uniting interactive
behavior with the personal front. The actor, in order to present a compelling front, is forced
to both fill the duties of the social role and communicate the activities and characteristics of
the role to other people in a consistent manner.”78

“Goffman served as president of the American Sociological Association in 1981-1982. In the
70s, he served on the Committee for the Study of Incarceration based on his work Asylums:
Essays in the Social Situations of Mental Patients and Other Inmates and prior to that he also
served as a visiting scientist to the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda,
Maryland, where he began his research that led to this book. Asylums is a penetrating
analysis of the significance of social structure in producing conforming behavior, especially
in environments that Goffman labeled “total institutions,” such as mental asylums, prisons,
and military establishments.”79

Erving Goffman’s primary methodology was ethnographic study, observation, and
participation rather than statistical data gathering, and his theories provided an ironic
insight into routine social actions. For example, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life
uses the theatrical stage as a metaphor to explain how we “stage manage” the images we
try to convey to those around us.”80 We attempt to project images of ourselves that
conform to who we believe we are, or as we like to think of ourselves.

Now that you have a broad look at where sociology emerged and a glimpse into the lives of
some of sociology’s earliest thinkers, we can begin to think sociologically. As you’ve read in
another chapter, the sociological imagination makes use of this information in the form of
biography and history’s intersection. Where does your own life story intersect with
history? How do these intersections shape the person you are? These are some of the
questions sociology ponders.

1
See www.youtube.com and search “James at war Halo3” for a humorous example of technology isolating us

from others.
2
Retrieved 13 January, 2009 from www.sprc.org. Risk and Protective Factors for Suicide, National Strategy

for Suicide Prevention: Goals and Objectives for Action, 2001. Interestingly Durkheim’s work is quoted
multiple times on this Website.
3
Retrieved 29 December, 2011 from Deaths: Preliminary Data for 2009 at

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/suicide.htm.
4
Retrieved 29 December, 2011 from

http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/violence/global_campaign/en/chap7
5
ibid. Age-Adjusted suicide rates by country from www.UN.org

6
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) www.suicide.org/suicide-statistics.html

7
Retrieved 24 April, 2009 from Table 120. Death Rates From Suicide, by Selected Characteristics: 1990 to

2005, http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/hus.htm
8
Retrieved 29 December, 2011 from

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bestjobs/2006/snapshots/196.html. Best Jobs in America.
9
www.asanet.org

10
http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/96jun/smith.html

Suicide Prevention Resource Center

http://www.suicide.org/suicide-statistics.html

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/hus.htm

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bestjobs/2006/snapshots/196.html

http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/96jun/smith.html

20 | S o c i o l o g i c a l B e g i n n i n g s

11

ibid
12

ibid
13

ibid
14

ibid
15

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_were_Adam_Smith’s_contributions
16

http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/96jun/smith.html
17

http://www.6sociologists.20m.com/comte.html
18

ibid
3
ibid

20
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positivism

21
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_three_stages

22
ibid

23
http://www.6sociologists.20m.com/martineau.html

24
ibid

25
ibid

26
http://www.brycchancarey.com/abolition/martineau.htm

27
ibid

28

Calhoun, C., Gerteis, J., Moody, J., Pfaff, S., & Virk, I., (Eds.). (2011). Classical Sociological Theory. Malden,

MA: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.. (Original work published 2007)
29

http://www.6sociologists.20m.com/marx.html
30

ibid
31

Marxists Internet Archive. Accessed on 30 December, 2011.

http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1875/gotha/ch01.htm
32

http://www.scn.org/cmp/modules/soc-marx.htm
33

ibid
34

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Sociological_Theory/Karl_Marx
35

http://www.historyguide.org/intellect/marx.html
36

http://www.iep.utm.edu/spencer/
37

Edles, L., & Appelrouth, S. (2010). Sociological Theory in the Classical Era – Text and Readings. Thousand

Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press. (Original work published 2004)
38

http://www.iep.utm.edu/spencer/
39

Edles, L., & Appelrouth, S. (2010). Sociological Theory in the Classical Era – Text and Readings. Thousand

Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press. (Original work published 2004)
40

http://www.iep.utm.edu/spencer/
41

ibid
42

ibid
43

ibid
44

http://www.6sociologists.20m.com/spencer.html
45

Calhoun, C., Gerteis, J., Moody, J., Pfaff, S., & Virk, I., (Eds.). (2011). Classical Sociological Theory. Malden,

MA: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.. (Original work published 2007)
46

Hartmann, Heidi. (1976). “Capitalism, Patriarchy, and Job Segregation by Sex.” Signs 1(3), 137-169.
47

Bureau and Labor Statistics. “Table 13. Employed persons by industry and sex, 2009 and 2010 annual averages.”

From “Women in the Labor Force: A Databook (2011 Edition)”. Accessed on 30 December, 2011,

http://www.bls.gov/cps/wlf-databook2011.htm.
48

Calhoun, C., Gerteis, J., Moody, J., Pfaff, S., & Virk, I., (Eds.). (2011). Classical Sociological Theory. Malden,

MA: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.. (Original work published 2007)
49

Payne, S., Swami, V. & Stanistreet, D.L. (2008). The social construction of gender and its influence on suicide: A

review of the literature. Journal of Men’s Health 5(1), 23-35.
50

http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1931/addams-bio.html
51

ibid
52

ibid
53

ibid
54

http://www.iep.utm.edu/mead/
55

http://www.sociologyprofessor.com/socialtheorists/georgeherbertmead.php

http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/96jun/smith.html

http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/96jun/smith.html

http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/96jun/smith.html

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_were_Adam_Smith’s_contributions

http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/96jun/smith.html

http://www.6sociologists.20m.com/comte.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positivism

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_three_stages

http://www.6sociologists.20m.com/martineau.html

http://www.brycchancarey.com/abolition/martineau.htm

http://www.6sociologists.20m.com/marx.html

http://www.6sociologists.20m.com/marx.html

http://www.scn.org/cmp/modules/soc-marx.htm

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Sociological_Theory/Karl_Marx

http://www.historyguide.org/intellect/marx.html

Spencer, Herbert

Spencer, Herbert

Spencer, Herbert

http://www.6sociologists.20m.com/spencer.html

http://www.bls.gov/cps/wlf-databook2011.htm

http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1931/addams-bio.html

Mead, George Herbert

http://www.sociologyprofessor.com/socialtheorists/georgeherbertmead.php

21 | S o c i o l o g i c a l B e g i n n i n g s

56

http://www.iep.utm.edu/mead/#H3
57

ibid
58

Mind, Self, and Society, 14
59

http://www.iep.utm.edu/mead/#H3
60

Mind, self and society, 42-43
61

Mind, self and society, 47
62

http://www.iep.utm.edu/mead/
63

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureaucracy#Max_Weber
64

Edles, L., & Appelrouth, S. (2010). Sociological Theory in the Classical Era – Text and Readings. Thousand

Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press. (Original work published 2004)
65

ibid.
66

Ferris & Stein. (2008). The real world: An introduction to sociology, (2nd ed.). Norton: New York.
67

ibid
68

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/w/w_e_b_du_bois.html
69

ibid
70

ibid, 49
71

http://www.answers.com/topic/robert-merton
72

ibid
73

ibid
74

ibid
75

http://www.answers.com/topic/erving-goffman
76

http://web.pdx.edu/~tothm/theory/Presentation%20of%20Self.htm
77

ibid
78

http://www.suite101.com/content/goffmans-presentation-of-self-in-everyday-life-a94378
79

http://www.sociologyprofessor.com/socialtheorists/ervinggoffman.php
80

http://www.blackwood.org/Erving.htm

Mead, George Herbert

Mead, George Herbert

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureaucracy#Max_Weber

http://www.answers.com/topic/robert-merton

http://www.answers.com/topic/erving-goffman

http://web.pdx.edu/~tothm/theory/Presentation%20of%20Self.htm

http://www.suite101.com/content/goffmans-presentation-of-self-in-everyday-life-a94378

http://www.sociologyprofessor.com/socialtheorists/ervinggoffman.php

http://www.blackwood.org/Erving.htm

1 | S o c i a l T h e o r i e s

Social Theories

Learning Outcomes
At the end of this chapter you will be able to do the following.

 Explain the major assumptions of each of the three major theoretical perspectives.
 Compare and contrast the three major theoretical perspectives.
 Apply the three major theoretical perspectives to everyday life.

MAKING SENSE OF ABSTRACT THEORIES

Sociological theories are the core and underlying strength of the discipline. They guide
researchers in their studies; they also guide practitioners in their intervention strategies.
And they will provide you with a basic understanding of how to see the larger social picture
in your own personal life. A sociological theory is a set of interrelated concepts used to
describe, explain, and predict how society and its parts are related to each other. Let’s use
binoculars as a metaphor to illustrate the usefulness of a theory. Binoculars serve to
magnify, enlarge, clarify, and expand our view of the thing we are looking at. Unlike
binoculars, you can’t see or touch a theory, but it is a framework to help you “see” the
world sociologically. Some things you want to look at need 20×80 strength binoculars
while you might see other things better with 8×40 or 10×30 lenses. It’s the same with
society. Some things need the lens of Conflict Theory, while others need a Structural
Functionalist or Symbolic Interactionist lenses. Some social phenomena can be viewed
using each of the three frameworks, although each will give you a slightly different view of
the topic under investigation.

Theories are sets of interrelated concepts and ideas that have been scientifically tested and
combined to magnify, enlarge, clarify, and expand our understanding of people, their
behaviors, and their societies. Without theories, science would be a futile exercise in
statistics. In the diagram below, you can see the process by which a theory leads
sociologists to perform a certain type of study with certain types of questions that can test
the assumptions of the theory. Once the study is administered, the findings and
generalizations can be considered to see if they support the theory. If they do, similar
studies will be performed to repeat and fine-tune the process. If the findings and
generalizations do not support the theory, the sociologist rethinks and revisits the
assumptions they made.

Here’s a real-life scientific example: In the 1960s, two researchers named Cumming and
Henry studied the processes of aging. They devised a theory on aging that had assumptions
built into it. These were, simply put, that all elderly people realize the inevitability of death
and begin to systematically disengage from their previous youthful roles while at the same
time society prepares to disengage from them.1 Cumming and Henry tested their theory on
a large number of elderly persons. Findings and generalization consistently yielded a “no”
in terms of support for this theory. For all intents and purposes this theory was abandoned
and is only used in references such as these. Theories have to be supported by research and
they also provide a framework for how specific research should be conducted.

2 | S o c i a l T h e o r i e s

Theories can be used to study society—millions of people in a state, country, or even at the
world level. When theories are used at this level they are referred to as macro-level
theories, theories which best fit the study of massive numbers of people (typically Conflict
and Functional theories). When theories are used to study small groups or individuals, say
a couple, family, or team, they are referred to as being micro-level theories, theories which
best fit the study of small groups and their members (typically Symbolic Interactionism). In
many cases, any of the three main theories can be applied at either the macro or micro
levels. We call these theoretical perspectives, as there are a number of theories that can be
categorized into each perspective, and some theories overlap perspectives. Let’s consider
the three major theoretical perspectives one at a time.

CONFLICT THEORY

The Conflict Theory is a macro-level theory designed to study the larger social, national,
regional, or global levels of sociological phenomena. This theory was founded by Karl Marx.
Marx was a witness to oppression perpetrated by society’s elite members against the
masses of poor. He had very little patience for the capitalistic ideals that undergirded these
powerful acts of inhumane exploitation of the average person. To him, struggle was innate
to all human societies. Later Max Weber further developed this sociological theory and
refined it to a more moderate position. Weber studied capitalism further, but argued
against Marx’s outright rejection of it.

Conflict theory is especially useful in understanding a wide variety of social phenomena:
war, wealth and poverty, the haves and the have-nots, revolutions, political strife,
exploitation, divorce, ghettos, discrimination and prejudice, domestic violence, rape, child
abuse, slavery, and other conflict-related social phenomena. Conflict Theory claims that
society is in a state of perpetual conflict and competition for limited resources. Marx and
Weber, were they alive today, would likely use Conflict Theory to study the unprecedented
bail outs by the U.S. government which have proven to be a poor-to-rich (because it is the
average person’s tax dollars that have gone to bail out banks) wealth transfer, and to help
guide the explanation of private health care companies benefiting from illness and poverty.

Conflict Theory assumes that those who “have” perpetually try to increase their wealth at
the expense and suffering of those who “have-not.” It is a power struggle that is most often
won by the wealthy elite and lost by the common person of common means. The “haves”
are those who possess power. What they health is wealth. Power is the ability to get what
one wants even in the presence of opposition. When power is institutionalized, we call it
authority. Authority is institutionalized, legitimate power. By institutionalized we mean
making something (for example a concept, a social role, particular values and norms, or modes

of behavior) official by embedding it within an organization, social system, or society as an

established custom or norm within that system
2
.

By far, the haves, in Marx’s terms, the bourgeoisie or wealthy elite (the royal, political, and
corporate leaders) have the most power. The bourgeoisie are the Goliaths in society who

3 | S o c i a l T h e o r i e s

often bully their wishes into outcomes. They own and control the means of production. The
have-nots or Marx’s proletariat are the common working class, lower class, and poor
members of society. They must sell their labor for a wage in order to survive. According to
Marx (see diagram below) the bourgeoisie and proletariat cannot both have it their way.
Furthermore, in order to offset the wealth and power of the bourgeoisie, the proletariat
rise up and revolt against their oppressors (The French, Bolshevik, United States, Mexican,
and other revolutions are examples).

Marx and Weber realized that societies have different social classes and a similar pattern of
relatively few rich persons in comparison to the majority who are poor. The rich “call the
shots.” Look below at the photographic montage in Figure 1 of homes in one U.S.
neighborhood that were run down, poor, trashy, and worth very little. They were on the
west side of a gully, frustrating those who lived on the east side who were forced to drive
through these slums to reach their own mansions.

Figure 1. Photo Montage of Haves and Have-Nots in a U.S. Neighborhood3

The Conflict Theory has been repeatedly tested against scientifically derived data, and it
repeatedly proves to have a wide application among many different levels of sociological
study. That is not to say that all sociological phenomena are conflict-based. But, most
Conflict theorists would argue that more often than not Conflict assumptions do apply.
Feminist theory is a theoretical perspective that is couched primarily in Conflict Theory
assumptions, but has added the dimension of sex or gender to the study of society.
Feminist theorists are interested in the inequalities in opportunities between men and
women.

4 | S o c i a l T h e o r i e s

STRUCTURAL FUNCTIONALISM THEORY

The Functionalist Theory perspectives claims that society is in a state of balance and kept
that way through the function of society’s component parts. Society can be studied the same
way that the human body can be studied: analyzing what specific systems are working or
not working, diagnosing problems, and devising solutions to restore balance. Socialization,
religious involvement, friendship, health care, economic recovery, peace, justice and
injustice, population growth or decline, community, romantic relationships, marriage and
divorce, and normal and abnormal family experiences are just a few of the evidences of
functional processes in our society.

Functionalists would agree with Conflict Theorists that break-downs, or dysfunctions,
occur in society and that unfair treatment of others is common. Dysfunctions are
breakdowns or disruptions in society and its parts that threaten social stability. Enron’s
collapse, the ruination of 14,000 employees’ retirement funds, the loss of millions in
shareholder investments, and the serious doubt it left in the mind of U.S. investors about
the stock market’s credibility and reliability, which lasted for nearly a decade, are examples
of dysfunctions in the economy. Functionalists also look at two types of functions, manifest
and latent functions. Manifest functions are the apparent and intended functions of
institutions in society, while latent functions are the less apparent, unintended, and often
unrecognized functions in social institutions and processes.

Continuing with the Enron example, the government’s manifest function includes
regulation of investment rules and laws in the stock market to ensure credibility and
reliability. After the Enron collapse, every company offering stocks for trade underwent a
government supervised audit of its accounting processes in order to restore the public
trust. For the most part, balance was restored in the stock market (to a certain degree at
least). There are still many imbalances in the investment, mortgage, and banking sectors
which have to be readjusted; but, that’s the point: society readjusts and eventually
recovers.

Does the government also provide latent or accidental functions to society? Yes. Take U.S.
military bases for example. Of all the currently open U.S. military bases, all are economic
boons for the local communities surrounding them. All provide jobs, taxes, tourism, retail,
and government contract monies that would otherwise go somewhere else. When the
discussion about closing military bases comes up in Washington DC, Senators and members
of Congress go to work trying to keep their community’s bases open.

As you can already tell, Functionalism is more positive and optimistic than Conflict Theory.
Functionalists realize that just like the body, societies get “sick” or dysfunction. By studying
society’s parts and processes, Functionalists can better understand how society remains
stable or adjusts to destabilizing forces when unwanted change is threatened. According to
this theory, most societies find that healthy balance and maintain it. If they don’t, then they
collapse as many have in the history of the world. Equilibrium is the state of balance

5 | S o c i a l T h e o r i e s

maintained by social processes that help society adjust and compensate for forces that might
tilt it onto a path of destruction.

Getting back to the Conflict example of the gully separating extremely wealthy and poor
neighborhoods, look at the Habitat for Humanity picture in Figure 2. Functional Theorists
would say that component parts of society respond to dysfunctions in ways that help to
resolve problems. In this house the foundation was dug, poured, and dried within a week.
From the foundation to this point was three working days. This house is now finished and
lived in, thanks mostly to the Habitat non-profit process and the work of many volunteers.
Lots of homeless people are a dysfunction for society. Think about what would happen if
half of society was homeless, for example. Another part of society, the normative
organization of Habitat for Humanity, steps in and makes adjustments; they buy lots, get
donations and volunteers, and build homes helping to bring society back into equilibrium.

Figure 2. Photo of a Habitat for Humanity Home4

SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM THEORY

Symbolic Interactionism claims that society is composed of ever-present interactions
among individuals who share symbols and their meanings. This is a very useful theory for
understanding other people, improving communication, and in understanding cross-
cultural relations. Values, communication, witch hunting, crisis management, fear from
crime, fads, love, evil and sin, what’s hot and what’s not, alien abduction beliefs, “who I am,”
litigation, mate selection, arbitration, dating joys and woes, and both personal and national.
Meanings and definitions can all be better understood using Symbolic Interactionism.
According to this theoretical perspective, meaning is created through social interaction.

Once you realize that individuals, by their social natures, communicate very symbolic with
one another, then you begin to understand how to persuade your friends and family, how

6 | S o c i a l T h e o r i e s

to understand others’ points of view, and how to resolve misunderstandings. This theory is
interested in meanings. Think about these three words: LOVE, LUST, and LARD. Each letter
is a symbol. When combined in a specific order, each word can be defined. Because we
memorize words and their meanings we know that there is a striking difference between
LOVE and LUST. We also know that LARD has nothing to do with either of the other two
terms. Contrast these word pairs: hate versus hope, help versus hurt, advise versus abuse,
and connect versus corrupt. These words, like many others, carry immense meaning and
when juxtaposed sound like the beginning of philosophical ideas.

Symbolic Interactionism makes it possible for you to be a college student. It makes it so you
understand your professors’ expectations and know how to step up to them. Our daily
interactions are filled with symbols and an ongoing process of interactions with other
people based on the meanings of these symbols. Ever had anyone you’ve greeted actually
answer your question of “How’s it going?” Most of us never have. It’s a greeting, not a
question in the U.S. culture. A Symbolic Interactionist would be interested in how it
changed from a question to a greeting.

Symbolic Interactionism helps you to know what the expectations of your roles are, and if
you perceive yourself as doing a good job or not in meeting those expectations. The
Thomas Theorem is often called the “Definition of the Situation.” It says that if people
perceive or define something as being real, then it becomes real in its consequences. An
example of this is a woman who was diagnosed as HIV positive. She made her funeral plans,
made sure her children would be cared for then prepared to die. Two-years later she was
retested. It turned out her first test results were a false positive, yet she acted as though she
had AIDS and was certainly going to die soon from it. She changed how she saw her
remaining days. In a hypothetical case, a famous athlete defines himself as invincible and
too famous to be held legally accountable for his criminal behavior. He is subsequently
found guilty of a crime. A hypothetical politician believes that his/her constituents will
tolerate anything, so he/she engages in morally reprehensible behavior. The point is that
when we define our situation as being real, we act as though it is real, regardless of the
objective facts in the matter.

One of the major realizations that comes with Symbolic Interactionism is that you begin to
understand the other people in your life, and come to know that they are neither right nor
wrong, but just have a different point of view. They define social symbols with varying
meanings. To understand the other person’s symbols and meanings is to approach a
common ground.

Listen to this statement by Rosa Parks (1913-2005): “All I was doing was trying to get
home from work.” In 1955 when she refused to give up her seat on the bus to a White
person, it proved to be a spark for the Civil Rights Movement that involved the leadership
of Martin Luther King, Jr. and many other notable leaders. It was Rosa Parks’ simple and
honest statement that made her act of defiance so meaningful. The lion’s share of the nation
was collectively tired and sick of the mistreatment of Black people. Many White people
joined the protests while others quietly sympathized. After all that was written in the

7 | S o c i a l T h e o r i e s

history books about it, Rosa Parks simple yet symbolic gesture started the healing process
for the United States.

Comparing the Three Major Sociological Theories 5

Conflict Structural Functionalism Symbolic Interactionism

Macro Macro Micro

 Inequality lies at the core of
society which leads to conflict

 Resources are limited
 Power is not evenly

distributed
 Competition is inevitable

(winners & losers)
 Negotiations based on

influence, threats, promises,
and consensus

 Threats and coercion
 Any resource can be used as

tool of power or exploitation
 War is natural
 Haves and have-nots
 Privileges are protected by

haves
 Order is challenged by have-

nots

 Uses biological model
(society is like a living
organism)

 Society has interrelated
parts

 What are functions or
dysfunctions of parts

 Society finds balance and
is stable

 Equilibrium
 Society adjusts to

maintain balance
 How are parts integrated
 Manifest functions
 Latent functions and

dysfunctions

 Society is an ongoing process of
many social interactions

 Interactions based on symbolic
context in which they occur

 Subjective perceptions are critical
to how symbols are interpreted

 Communications
 Meanings
 Roles
 Self
 Reality shaping in self and with

others
 Social construction of reality
 Thomas Theorem
 Definition of the Situation

1
Maddox et al. 1987 The Encyclopedia of Aging, Springer Pub. NY. For a more scientifically supported theory on

aging Google Activity Theory and or Continuity Theory.
2
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institutionalisation

3
© 2009 Ron J. Hammond, Ph.D.

4
© 2009 Ron J. Hammond, Ph.D.

5
Prepared by Ron J. Hammond, Ph.D. 2008

1 | S o c i o l o g i s t s d o i n g R e s e a r c h

Sociologists doing Research

Learning Outcomes
At the end of this chapter you will be able to do the following.

Explain the steps in the research process.
Define and identify dependent and independent variables.
Explain sampling.
Calculate the mean, median, and mode of data.
Identify levels of measurement of variables.
Analyze ethical concerns in research.

One of the most remarkable traits that August Comte mandated for Sociology was a core of
scientific rigor. He proposed the concept of positivism which is the scientifically-based
sociological research that uses scientific tools such as survey, sampling, objective
measurement, and cultural and historical analysis to study and understand society. Although
the current definition of positivism expands far beyond Comte’s original vision, sociological
scientific methodology is used by government and industry researchers and across higher
education and the private sector. Comte was originally interested in social statistics, why
societies remain the same, and social dynamics, why societies change. Most sociological
research today falls within these broad categories. Sociologists strive for objectivity, which
is the ability to study and observe without distortion or bias, especially personal bias. Bias-
free research is an ideal that, which if not present, could open the door to extreme
misinterpretation of research findings.

Sociology is both different from and similar to other scientific principles. It differs from
chemistry, biology, and physics in that sociology does not manipulate the physical
environment using established natural science theories and principles. It is similar to
chemistry, biology, and physics in that statistical principles guide the discovery and
confirmation of data findings. Yet, sociology has no universally social laws that resemble
gravity or the speed of light, as other scientific methods do. This is because chemistry,
biology, and physics have the luxury of studying phenomena which are acted upon by laws
of nature. Sociologists study people, groups, communities, and societies which are
comprised of agents, people who use their agency to make choices based on their varied
motivations.1

THE RESEARCH PROCESS2

Problem Recognition & DefinitionResearchers start with a question such as “What do I want
to know?”; “What is important for society to know?”; or “Why does this occur?”
Unfortunately some questions cannot be answered, such as “How many angels can dance
on the head of a pin?” Even though many would like to know the answer to this question, it
cannot be empirically observed; that is it cannot be perceived through one of the five
senses—sight, taste, touch, hearing or smell. After a researcher decides on what question
they want to answer they must state their goals and objectives. Do they want to determine
if religious service attendance causes couples to have happier marriages? Or do they want

2 | S o c i o l o g i s t s d o i n g R e s e a r c h

to describe the characteristics of happy marriages. The first one is a causal study (what
causes what), and the second is a descriptive study.

The next step is to conduct a literature review to establish what is already known about the
topic. Why reinvent the wheel? If social scientists have already done research on the
characteristics of happy marriages, why do you need to do similar research as well? Well,
perhaps the researcher before you only studied certain characteristics and you have
thought of more that might be important. Much research in sociology builds on existing
research.

The research question is usually stated as a hypothesis. A hypothesis is the researcher’s
educated guess or prediction about what he/she will find, such as “Those marriages that
possess the most characteristics of happy marriages will be the happiest.”

Creating the Research Design

There are many different types of studies that can be conducted. The most common type in
sociology is survey research, but there are also interviews, observation, action research,
polls, and experiments, as well as others.

One determinant of the research design is whether the researcher wants to describe some
social phenomenon or determine if one phenomenon causes another phenomenon.
Descriptive studies answer the questions of who, what, where, and when. Causal studies
are undertaken to determine how one variable affects another, and why. Back to our marital
happiness study, do we want to describe the characteristics of a happy marriage? Or do we
want to determine if the presence of many of the characteristics causes a happier
marriage? In other words, how does presence of such characteristics influence marital
happiness?

Sampling

Sometimes the entire population, the group you are interested in researching, can be
studied; however, often it is too large to study everyone. Think of distributing a survey to
all the students at College of the Canyons, that is over 20,000 people. Do we really need to
survey all of them? Can we realistically survey all of them? If we carefully choose a
sample, subset of the population, it should reflect the characteristics of the population. Also,
the way the sample answers the questions will be representative of everyone in the
population.

Sampling methods are classified as either probability or nonprobability. In probability
samples, each member of the population has a known chance of being selected. Probability
methods include random sampling, systematic sampling, and stratified sampling. In
nonprobability sampling members are selected from the population in some nonrandom
manner. These include convenience sampling, judgment sampling, quota sampling, and
snowball sampling. You will learn about all of these sampling methods in your research
methods class. We will discuss only random and convenience sampling in this chapter.

3 | S o c i o l o g i s t s d o i n g R e s e a r c h

In random sampling, each member of the population has an equal chance of being selected.
You need a list of everyone in your population to obtain a random sample. The easiest way
to draw a random sample is to assign a number to each person in the population and then
use a table of random numbers to select the subset or sample. (You will learn about this in
your research methods class.)

Convenience sampling is used when you do not have a list of everyone in your population so
you choose participants because they are convenient to you.

Data Collection and Analysis

The next step is to collect your data by administering your survey, interviewing your
subjects, or making observations. If you collect quantitative data—data that is, or can be
converted to, numbers—you can enter it into a computer program, typically SPSS (you will
use this in your statistics class). If you collect qualitative data—data that can not be
converted to numbers; data that is about the quality of something-you look for themes in the
results. This type of data is usually collected by conducting interviews or making
observations.

Reporting the Results

The reason we do research is to expand the knowledge base; in order to do that we need to
report our results. This is typically done by submitting articles to journals, and/or
presenting them at conferences. Journal articles typically contain several sections:
abstract, statement of the problem, literature review providing the theoretical framework,
methods used, results, discussion of the results, and references.

The analysis is the process through which large and complicated collections of scientific
data are organized so that comparisons can be made and conclusions drawn. For example,
if you want to prove that marijuana use leads to heroine use, you have to prove that there
are no other contributing factors such as peer pressure or emotional or mental
dysfunctions. The study must show validity—the study must actually test what you
intended to test. If you want to say one event is the cause of another, you will need to rule
out other possibilities or explanations to show that your research is valid. The study must
also demonstrate reliability—the ability to repeat findings of a research study. Our study
passes the test of reliability when we have demonstrated that our research process can be
replicated with similar results.

Sociologists Perform Survey Research

Since by far the most common form of research in sociology is survey research, we are
going to discuss how and when it is most useful. Many sociologists may opt to study people
who choose, decide, succeed, fail, harm or help others, harm or help themselves, and
behave in rational and irrational ways. If you took an ounce of gasoline and dropped a
burning match into it, the gas will burn. The gas has no choice just as the flame has no

4 | S o c i o l o g i s t s d o i n g R e s e a r c h

choice. But, if someone placed a burning match on your arm, or the arm of your classmate,
you or they might respond in any number of ways. Most would find the experience to be
painful. Some might enjoy it, others might retaliate with violence, and yet others might feel
an emotional bond to the one who burned them. Sociologists must focus on the subjective
definitions and perceptions that people place on their choices and motivations. In general,
surveys are research instruments designed to obtain information from individuals who
belong to a larger group, organization, or society. The information gathered is used to
describe, explain, and at times predict attitudes, behaviors, aspirations, and intended
behaviors. Surveys are easily used to collect information about political views, social and
religious opinions, demographic information, past or expected future behavior, and even
marital happiness and characteristics such as communication style, level of commitment,
and fidelity.

Polls are typically surveys which collect opinions, such as who one might vote for in an
election, how one feels about the outcome of a controversial issue, or how one evaluates a
public official or organization. Surveys can be administered cross-sectionally, once, or
administered longitudinally, two or more times.

If you administer your survey and get a good response rate—the percentage of people who
complete your survey—you can generalize your results to the entire population.
Generalizability means that the results from the sample can be assumed to apply to the
population as though the population itself had been studied.

Also important is the quality of the survey itself as a scientific instrument. Valid survey
questions are questions that are accurate and measure what they claim they will measure.
For example, if we wanted to know how students feel about the Lacrosse team at College of
the Canyons. Which statement should we propose to find out their level of agreement? 1.
“Every campus needs a Lacrosse team” or 2. “College of the Canyons would benefit from a
Lacrosse team.” The first asks about all campuses, not specifically this one. It is seeking an
opinion about campuses and Lacrosse teams in general. The second asks specifically about
this campus, and is a valid measure of what we want to know.

Reliable questions are questions that are relatively free from bias errors which might taint
the findings. In other words, reliable survey questions are consistent. If I ask a similar group
of people the same question I will get similar results.

Surveys

There are two types of survey questions. First, open-ended questions are questions
designed to get respondents to answer in their own words (e.g., “What might be the benefits
of having a Lacrosse team?”_______________ . ) Second, closed-ended questions are questions
designed to get respondents to choose from a list of responses you provide to them (e.g., “Are
you married?” Yes or No.) Likert scale questions are statements which respondents are
asked the degree to which they agree or disagree with a question or statement. They are the
most common types of questions used in surveys (e.g., “How much do you agree that the

5 | S o c i o l o g i s t s d o i n g R e s e a r c h

president is doing a good job of running the country?” Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Neither
Agree nor Disagree, Agree, Strongly Agree.)

Demographic questions are questions which provide the basic categorical information
about respondents such as age, sex, race, educational level, marital status, and other
applicable information..

Levels of Measurement

Nominal level data is data with no standard numerical values. This is often referred to as
categorical data (e.g., What is your favorite type of pet? __Reptile __Canine __Feline __Bird
__Other). There is no numerical value associated with reptile that makes it more or less
valuable than a canine or other type of pet. Other examples include sex, favorite color, or
town you grew up in.

Ordinal level data is data with categories that have an order to them. One category is more
of something than another category. For example, height measured as short, medium, and
tall is ordinal because medium is more height than short and tall is more height than both
short and medium. Likert scale responses are usually at the ordinal level.

Interval level data is data with categories that have an order, but we add standard
numerical values with regular intervals. If we measure height in feet and inches we have
interval data. A height of 5 feet, 3 inches is 8 inches away from 5 feet, 11 inches. Each of
those 8 inches has the same value, the intervals are identical. Five feet, 3 inches is one of
the categories, but in this case the categories are numbers. The Fahrenheit temperature
scale is an example of an interval scale. The difference between 68 degrees and 72 degrees
is the exact same four degrees as the difference between 101 degrees and 105 degrees.

Ratio level data adds a real zero starting point for the numerical values. We can create
ratios with ratio level data. With ratio data we can say that someone who has two children
has twice as many children as someone having only one child, and someone having four
children has twice the children of someone who has just two children, and the person with
four children has four times the number of children as the person with only one child. Also,
it is feasible to have zero children, or a real zero pertaining to the numerical data of
quantity of children. Unrelated to this particular example, it is important to note that when
examining the variables of height and age, it is not possible to be completely void of either
Ratio data is used to compare to other data. For example, the sex ratio is the number of
males per 100 females in a society. In 2005, the sex ratio for Alaska, Rhode Island, and the
US was Alaska 103.1; Rhode Island 93.1, and U.S. 96.3 We can say that Alaska had more
males than females (103.1 males per 100 females) while Rhode Island had more females
than males (93.1 males per 100 females). The U.S. overall has more females than males (96
males per 100 females).

Number of males and females, opinions about a Lacrosse team, marital happiness, height,
and sex are variables. Variables vary by respondent (one is male, the next is female, the
next is female, etc.). Sex is the variable and male or female are the attributes, or the

6 | S o c i o l o g i s t s d o i n g R e s e a r c h

possible category choices. Everyone in your class is human, so humanness is not a
variable—it does not vary. But almost everything else you can observe is a variable.

Two types of variables are dependent and independent variables. Dependent variables
change in response to the influence of independent variables; they depend upon the
independent variables. Independent variables are variables that when manipulated will
stimulate a change upon the dependent variables. If I know the independent variable, then
can I predict what the dependent variable will be? If I know that you possess many of the
characteristics of happy marriages, then can I predict your level of happiness? Yes. That
does not mean that everyone with many of the characteristics will be the happiest, but
more often than not, they will be. So possession of characteristics is the independent
variable and happiness is the dependent variable. How happy you are depends on how
many of the characteristics you possess.

Is this a causal relationship or merely an association or correlation? A causal relationship
is when one variable actually causes the other to occur, such as eating lots of Krispy Kreme
donuts causes you to gain weight. That is pretty clear, but in sociology most relationships
are not that clear. Do I know for certain that possession of many of the characteristics that
are found in happy marriages causes a marriage to be happy? No. What if there is
something else that is causing both happiness and possession of characteristics? Maybe it
is religion, or optimistic personality, or something else. If this is true, then this is an
association or correlation. They go hand in hand, but one does not cause the other. In
social science research, it is important to know that correlation does not equal causation.

Quantitative Analysis

When basic statistics are performed on data, we call them measures of central tendency
(mean, median, and mode). Consider this list of numbers which represents the number of
movies that nine students have seen in the last two weeks: 0, 1, 1, 1, 3, 4, 4, 5, 8.

The mean is the arithmetic score of all the numbers divided by the total number of students
(i.e., 27÷9=3). The median is the exact mid-point value in the ordered list of scores (e.g., 0, 1,
1, & 1 fall below and 4, 4, 5, & 8 fall above the number 3 thus 3 is the median). The mode is
the number which occurs most often (e.g., 1 occurs the most, so the mode is 1). The extreme
values or outliers are the especially low or high numbers in the series (e.g., 8). Notice that if
you removed the 9th student’s score and averaged only the remaining scores the mean
would be 2.375. Extreme values can increase or decrease the mean. You will cover these
basic and more interesting statistics in your statistics class.

ETHICS OF RESEARCH

Ethics are standards of what is right and wrong. They are a general agreement shared by
researchers as to what is proper and improper in scientific research. Our culture and
sociology have ethical standards that may be different from other disciplines or other
cultures. Standards may arise from religious, political, or pragmatic sources. Standards

7 | S o c i o l o g i s t s d o i n g R e s e a r c h

differ over time; for example, long ago we did not have formal considerations about how to
treat people who participate in scientific studies.

There are four major ethical issues that protect research subjects. First, voluntary
participation means that subjects must participate voluntarily, they must understand the
risks of participating, and they must be able to withdraw from the study at any time.
Second, researchers can do no harm to participants. This includes anything from killing
someone to causing them undue stress. Third, every study must be confidential which
means that the researcher can never divulge the participants’ identities. Some studies are
anonymous which means the researcher does not know the participants’ identities. Fourth,
deception cannot be used to get people to participate in research they would not want to
participate in.

To be sure that subjects know what they are getting into when they agree to participate in a
study they sign an informed consent form which tells them the general purpose of the
study, explains their right to withdraw, explains the confidentiality of the study, tells
whether it is anonymous, explains the potential risks, and describes how to contact the
researcher.

A university or research institution will have an Intuitional Review Board (IRB), which
oversees and makes sure all research meets ethical standards. Often researchers will need to
get written plans for their projects approved by the IRB before they begin official research.

Even with ethical standards, you can probably think of times when it would be necessary to
deceive a subject or when you might need to cause just a little stress to investigate
something. Of course there are exceptions, but we will leave that to your research methods
class to clarify.

An Outline of the Process of Social Research

1. Develop a research question
2. Consult prior research (literature review)
3. Select a population and sample
4. Select a method of data collection
5. Select a method of data analysis (qualitative or quantitative)
6. Collect data
7. Analyse data
8. Report research findings

1
Google Anthony Giddens-human agency, January 18, 1938 British Sociologist.

2
http://www.statpac.com/research-papers/research-process.htm

3
http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/GRTTable?_bm=y&-_box_head_nbr=R0102&-

ds_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_&-_lang=en&-format=US-30) 7 January, 2012.

http://www.statpac.com/research-papers/research-process.htm

http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/GRTTable?_bm=y&-_box_head_nbr=R0102&-ds_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_&-_lang=en&-format=US-30

http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/GRTTable?_bm=y&-_box_head_nbr=R0102&-ds_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_&-_lang=en&-format=US-30