Sociology is the study of human social behavior and society. There are three main perspectives in sociology: conflict theory, symbolic interactionism, and functionalism. Conflict theory, influenced by Karl Marx, views society as fragmented with groups competing for scarce resources. Symbolic interactionism focuses on how people interact and make meaning through symbols. Functionalism, associated with Emile Durkheim, sees society functioning like an organism with institutions working together to maintain stability and solidarity.

1. SOCIOLOGY

2. Definition
 The study of human social
behavior, especially the study of the
origins, organization, institutions, an
d development of human society.
 Analysis of a social institution or
societal segment as a self-contained
entity or in relation to society as a
whole.

3. Perspectives in
Understanding
Society

4. CONFLICT PERSPECTIVE
- Conflict theory sees society as a
dynamic entity constantly
undergoing change as a result of
competition over scarce resources.

5. KARL MARX

6.  According to the conflict
perspective, society is made up of
individuals competing for limited
resources (e.g., money, leisure,
sexual partners, etc.). Competition
over scarce resources is at the heart
of all social relationships.

7.  Conflict theory emphasizes the role
of coercion and power in producing
social order. This perspective is
derived from the works of Karl
Marx, who saw society as
fragmented into groups that
compete for social and economic
resources.

8.  Social order is maintained by
domination, with power in the
hands of those with the greatest
political, economic, and social
resources. When consensus exists, it
is attributable to people being united
around common interests, often in
opposition to other groups.

9.  According to conflict theory, inequality
exists because those in control of a
disproportionate share of society’s
resources actively defend their
advantages. The masses are not bound to
society by their shared values, but by
coercion at the hands of those in power.

10.  This perspective emphasizes social
control, not consensus and conformity.
Groups and individuals advance their own
interests, struggling over control of
societal resources. Those with the most
resources exercise power over others
with inequality and power struggles
resulting.

11.  Great attention paid to
class, race, and gender in this
perspective because they are seen
as the grounds of the most
pertinent and enduring struggles in
society.

12.  conflict perspective focuses on the
negative, conflicted, and ever-changing
nature of society, challenge the status
quo, encourage social change (even when
this means social revolution), and believe
rich and powerful people force social order
on the poor and the weak.

13.  Conflict theorists note that unequal
groups usually have conflicting values and
agendas, causing them to compete
against one another. This constant
competition between groups forms the
basis for the ever-changing nature of
society.

14.  The theory ultimately attributes
humanitarian
efforts, altruism, democracy, civil
rights, and other positive aspects of
society to capitalistic designs to control
the masses, not to inherent interests in
preserving society and social order.

15. Symbolic-Interactionist
Perspective
 Symbolic interactionism looks at
individual and group meaning-
making, focusing on human action
instead of large-scale social
structures.

16. Charles Cooley

17. This drawing depicts the looking-glass self. The person at the
front of the image is looking into four mirrors, each of which
reflects someone else's image of himself.

18.  There are three main components of
the looking glass self:
◦ We imagine how we must appear to others
◦ We imagine the judgment of that appearance
◦ We develop our self through the judgments of
others

19.  As children, humans begin to define
themselves within the context of their
socializations. The child learns that the
symbol of his/her crying will elicit a
response from his/her parents, not only
when they are in need of necessities, such
as food, but also as a symbol to receive
their attention.

20.  Symbolic interactionism has roots in
phenomenology, which emphasizes
the subjective meaning of reality.
 Symbolic interactionism proposes a
social theory of the self, or a looking
glass self.

21.  Symbolic interactionism is a theoretical
approach to understanding the
relationship between humans and
society. The basic notion of symbolic
interactionism is that human action and
interaction are understandable only
through the exchange of meaningful
communication or symbols.

22.  In this approach, humans are portrayed
as acting, as opposed to being acted
upon.The main principles of symbolic
interactionism are:
 Human beings act toward things on the basis of
the meanings that things have for them
 These meanings arise out of social interaction
 Social action results from a fitting together of
individual lines of action

23.  Assumes that people are primarily
conformists who try to achieve the
norms that accompany their roles; group
members check each individual’s
performance to determine whether it
conforms with that individual’s assigned
norms, and apply sanctions for
misbehavior in an attempt to ensure role
performance.

24. Structural-Functional Analysis
 The functionalist perspective
attempts to explain social
institutions as collective means to
meet individual and social needs.

25. Emile Durkheim

26.  Structural functionalism, or simply
functionalism, is a framework for
building theory that sees society as a
complex system whose parts work
together to promote solidarity and
stability.
 It is sometimes called structural-functionalism because it
often focuses on the ways social structures (e.g., social
institutions) meet social needs.

27.  Emile Durkheim was concerned with the
question of how societies maintain
internal stability and survive over
time. He sought to explain social
stability through the concept of
solidarity, and differentiated between the
mechanical solidarity of primitive
societies and the organic solidarity of
complex modern societies.

28. Primitive / Traditional Society
 were held together by mechanical
solidarity; members of society lived
in relatively small and
undifferentiated groups, where they
shared strong family ties and
performed similar daily tasks. Such
societies were held together by
shared values and common
symbols.

29. Modern Society
 Traditional family bonds are weaker;
modern societies also exhibit a complex
division of labor, where members
perform very different daily tasks.
Members of society are forced to interact
and exchange with one another to
provide the things they need.

30.  In the functionalist perspective,
societies are thought to function like
organisms, with various social
institutions working together like
organs to maintain and reproduce
them. The various parts of society
are assumed to work together
naturally and automatically to
maintain overall social equilibrium.

31.  Because social institutions are
functionally integrated to form a
stable system, a change in one
institution will precipitate a change
in other institutions. Dysfunctional
institutions, which do not contribute
to the overall maintenance of a
society, will cease to exist.

32.  Functionalists analyze social institutions in
terms of the function they play. In
other words, to understand a component
of society, one must ask, "What is the
function of this institution? How does it
contribute to social stability?" Thus, one
can ask of education, "What is the
function of education for society?"