FOUNDATIONS OF SOCIOLOGICAL

THOUGHT

FOUNDATIONS OF SOCIOLOGICAL

THOUGHT

What is Sociology?

• Comte (1798-1857) – Knowledge of society

• Browne (1992) – Developing a critical

understanding of society; understanding social

relations; understanding our social world

• Scientific study of human behaviour in groups

• Giddens (2001) – study of human social life,

groups and societies

What is Sociology?

Generally therefore Sociology is seen as the

study of human behaviour in society.

There is ongoing debate as to whether Sociology

can be defined as a science – i.e. meeting the

rigid requirements of science.

What is society?

• Society is defined as one type of social

organisation;

• Society is a social organisation in which

individuals interact with each other and in the

process patterns of behaviour become

acceptable and sustainable among them

What is society?

• Society is a social system comprising

interconnected and interrelated parts (sub systems)

• Some suggest that society is a social organism

similar to a biological organism in that there is a

whole made up of different yet interconnected

parts all working for the benefit of the whole.

What is society?

• Linton, quoted in Chinoy (1954) – defined

society as ‘any group of people who have

worked together long enough to get themselves

organised and think of themselves as a social

unit with well-defined limits’.

What are beliefs?

• Beliefs are systems of meaning around which

culture is organised

• Beliefs are practical

• Statements that are held to be true

• Beliefs motivate behaviour

• Beliefs may integrate of divide societies

What are values?

• Values are behaviours that the society considers

valuable or important enough to hold dear

• Talcott Parsons defined values as behaviours that

society considers desirable and worthwhile;

• Values influence the social conduct of members of

society

What are norms?

• Norms are behaviours that govern social action

and which the majority of the members of

society regards as proper, right and expected.

• Norms lead to the standardisation of behaviour

within any given society

• Norms are an important form of social control

Norms

• There are four types of norms:

- Mores

- Folkways

- Taboos

- Laws

What are mores?

• Mores are norms that society considers vital

for its survival; what is right and wrong, moral

and immoral

• Strongly sanctioned by society. Eg. Society

insists on respect for human life. Therefore

murder is harshly punished.

What are folkways?

• Folkways are norms governing behaviour

which the society considers acceptable but does

not insist upon. Eg Using a spoon instead of a

knife and fork at table; picking one’s nose in

public

• Folkways are relatively weak norms

What are taboos?

• Taboos are behaviours that society finds

revolting. Eg Incest;

What are laws?

• Laws are norms that society considers

sufficiently valuable that they are

codified/formalised through the legislative

process with specific formal sanctions/penalties

to be imposed on those who break them. Eg

Praedial larceny

What are social institutions?

• Parsons: Social Institutions are ‘normative

patterns which define what are felt to be proper,

legitimate or expected modes of action of social

relationships’

• Eg. Family, religion, education, economy,

political subsystem, legal subsystem, mass media.

What is social structure?

• Social structure refers to the framework of a

society

• The patterns around which society is organised

What is culture?

• ‘The culture of a society is the way of life of

its members; the collection of ideas and habits

which they learn, share and transmit from

generation to generation’ – Ralph Linton

(1954)

What is culture?

• ‘Culture is that complex whole which includes

knowledge, art, belief, morals, law, custom and

any other capabilities acquired by man as a

member of society’ – Tylor (1954)

What is culture?

• Culture is learnt

• Culture is intangible

• Culture is shared

• Culture is transmitted through successive generations

• Culture is symbolic

• Culture changes over time and place

What is a sub culture?

• A sub culture is the way of life of a segment of society that differs from that of the majority of the members of the society.

• Sub cultures are a reality in any given society

• Eg. The Rastafarians constitute a sub culture in Jamaican society. The seek to live in a manner that distinguishes them from the rest of the society. They have their own beliefs, values and norms.

What is socialisation?

• Socialisation is the process by which the

culture of a society are transmitted through to

successive generations

The agents of socialisation?

• The Agents of Socialisation are:

- Family

- Peer Group

- School

- Religion/Church

- Mass Media

Types of socialisation?

• Formal socialisation – deliberate

• Informal socialisation – unconscious

• Primary socialisation – the individual and primary

relations – Family

• Secondary socialisation - the individual and

secondary relations – the school; peer group

• Tertiary socialisation – the work force and tertiary education

Status

• Status refers to the social honour/social respect

accorded to an individual in society.

Ascribed status – allocated at birth; has nothing

to do with the individual per se

Achieved status – allocated based on the

performance/achievement of the individual

Roles

• Roles are the behaviours, obligations and

privileges associated with a status essentially

defining the way an individual is expected to

behave in given situations.

• Father, mother, teacher, preacher are some

of the roles in society

Roles

• Role Conflict refers to situations where an

individual having more than one status in

society finds him/herself performing

different roles.

• Role Strain refers to situations where an

individual comes under pressure because of the

demands of different roles attached to one status

Groups

• Groups are ‘two or more persons linked by ties

of mutual dependence and by a set of norms

prescribing expected ways of behaving toward

each other’ Study Guide

• Groups are individuals who share a sense of

common identity and belonging

Types of Groups

• Primary Group – ‘we’ - Family, close friends, peer

group

• Secondary Group – larger, anonymous, impersonal

• In-Group – Members have strong sense of loyalty

• Out-Group – A group to which one feels a sense of

antagonism

• Reference Group –used as a standard for comparison

Community

• Community refers to a cluster of people –

individuals, homes, places of work.

• A set of primary and secondary groups

responding to the basic needs of its members

Gemeinschaft (Community)

• Ferdinand Tonnies defined Gemeinschaft as a

society in which the majority of social

relationships established are based on personal

ties of friendship and kinship

Gesellschaft (Association)

• Tonnies defined Gesellschaft as a society where

the dominant social relationships are based on

formal, impersonal and specialised

Sociology and Psychology

• Psychology deals with the individual

personality – how the mind is shaped and

works.

• It offers explanations of emotions, thoughts,

beliefs and actions from the vantage point of

the individual

Sociology and Political Science

• Political science deals with the allocation of resources

in society – who gets what;

• Political science relates to the power relations in

society; what kinds of power ; how it is distributed

• Sociology investigates the relationship between

political structure and social life/behaviour

Sociology and History

• History focuses on individual contributions

and causes of events within specific social

context

• Sociology seeks explanations for the way social

life has changed through time

Sociology and Economics

• Economics examines production, distribution,

trade, consumption patterns and the social

institutions that organise these in society

• Addresses wealth creation; poverty

• Sociology examines the impact of the economy

on social behaviour in society

Sociology and Social Work

• Social Work focuses on micro issues – how

one individual relates to another;

• Focuses on resolving social problems –

behavioural change; social reform

• Sociology provides the information – causes of

behaviour – that is used by social workers

Sociology and Anthropology

• Anthropology focuses on simpler societies;

adopts a holistic view as opposed to

sociology’s focus on social institutions

Sociology and Demography

• Demography refers to the study of population;

its movement; trends etc

• Sociology utilises the data to determine the

causes of the relationships established in the

society

Sociological Imagination

C Wright Mills coined the concept of the

Sociological Imagination

• Historical Sensibility – reviewing what has

gone before; reviewing the changes in society

through the ages

Sociological Imagination

• Anthropological Insight – reviewing our

perception of life today as being superior to

what obtained before;

• Realisation of the diversity of human behaviour

Sociological Imagination

• Critical of the present – ‘be conscious of

alternative futures that are potentially open to

us’

•