INTRODUCTION TO THEORY

AIM: TO UNDERSTAND POSITIVISM &

INTERPRETIVISM

“How is our identity shaped by culture?”

A suggested explanation for something…

A systematic and general attempt to

explain something…

“Why do people get married?”

“Why do people commit

crimes?

“How does the media affect us?” “Why do kids play

truant from school?”

“Why do some people believe in

God?”

TheoryTheory

Sociological theory is a bit like political parties. There are a range of sociologists who have differing opinions about how the

world operates.

Examples of some of these groups are:

Functionalists Marxists Interactionists

Feminists Post-Modernists

These groups then fall into one of two categories and will either be known as:

Positivists Interpretivists

YOU

Think about who you are, your

personality, attitude and behaviour.

Consider the factors that have shaped you into

who you are today

So, who controls who?

Does Society control us? (Positivism)

Do we control society? (Interpretivism)

Think about this image of a grumpy man. Consider:

1) Is he grumpy due to individual factors particular to him or is he grumpy due to the effect of society?

2) He is also shy, is he shy because society has made him shy or is that just an individual characteristic?

Do you think that this child has learnt to behave by society informing and socialising him how to behave (Positivism) or do you think he has learnt to behave

through personal trial and error (Interpretivism)?

Positivism vs Interpretivism

Positivists believe we are influenced by social systems, that

society controls who we are

Interpretivists believe in social action, that we as individuals

control society

Positivists use large samples of people

Interpretivists use small samples/individuals

MACRO MICRO

Positivist or Interpretivist?

To understand crime in Lewes I felt it was really important to question as many people as possible and use statistics

to look at crime in the whole area.

I feel people commit crime in Sussex due to society factors, often there is an element of boredom or lack of jobs in the area which drives people to crime.

My feeling is that often people become criminal because of factors such as neglect, bullying or

psychological problems.

To understand crime I think it is really important to observe small gangs of criminals and get to know their behaviour on a really in-depth basis.

Socialisation

Write a paragraph (5-6 lines) explaining how

Positivists and Interpretivists would

differ in their opinion of how the Socialisation

process works

24 Mark Essay‘Explain what is meant by the socialisation

process and the learning behaviour of humans’

Aim to write around 2 sides of A4 (around 500 words)

Explain the difference between primary and secondary using examples

Refer to the examples of feral children discussed or on the DVD

www.feralchildren.com

Positivism vs Interpretivism

• Also known as top-down/macro/social systems or

structural theory

• Believe that it is important to look at society as a whole when studying it

• Believes sociologists should use more scientific approaches to

society

• Use methods such as Statistics and questionnaires

• Examples are Functionalists, Marxists and Feminists

• Also known as bottom up/micro or social action theory

• Believe that it is important to analyse society by studying individuals

• Believes sociologists should use more in-depth approaches to society

• Use methods such as observations and in-depth interviews

• Examples are Interactionists and Post-modernists