Basilan State CollegeGraduate Studies

Isabela City

Chapter 1The Role and Scope of Sociology

Present By:

ARGIE J. SARCOM.A. Social Studies

Email Add: sarco_argie@yahoo.com

Learning Goals• Tell why sociology is important• Discuss factors influencing intensity of

Muslim-Christian conflict• Discuss reasons for neutrality in social

issues• Discuss what is meant by scientific method• Compare the survey method and

participant-observer method• Indicate employment opportunities for

sociologists

Terms to be understood

• Conflict model• Correlation• Empirical• Generalization• Mean• Mode• Objective• Participant observer• Relative deprivation• Reliability• Replicate• Social forces

Definition of Sociology

• Is the study of science of society, social institution , and social relationship; the systematic study of the development , structure, interaction, and collection behavior of organized groups of human being.( Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 10th ed.,Springfield,Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster,Inc., 1995)

• is the scientific study of patterns of human interaction that deals with the study of group life.

• It deals with the study of patterns and processes of human relations.

• It deals with the study of current issues and problems such as ethnic relations, family life, community life and participation, social mobility, etc.

• A body of scientific knowledge with theories based on scientific investigation rather than “Armchair speculation”.

• Sociology may then defined as “ the science of associates.” or more broadly, as ‘the scientific study of human society.”

The Beginnings of Sociology

• INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION• An area of advancements in manufacturing

technology that paved the way to massive labor lay-offs in Europe.

• It resulted to social unrest and massive demonstrations.

• It signaled the beginning of vast changes in this social world, in patterns of relationship among people and in social life.

• It brought about an intellectual crisis in Europe.

Auguste Comte ( 1798-1857 )

• Developed the first complete approach to the scientific study of society (coined the word sociology)

• “Father of Sociology”• Published a book Positive

Philosophy (1855)• Viewed that societies can be

studied using methods similar to those in the Physical Sciences

• Positivism – emphasizes the techniques of observation, comparison and experimentation in the development of knowledge concerning the nature of society and human action (the use of scientific method).

Herbert Spencer ( 1820-1903 )

• Considered the society as a living organism that grows. He viewed the society as an organism that evolves into another animal. The society must also take the course of evolution like the Darwinian theory.

• Social Evolution Theory – let the society takes it course, Unplanned Change is better than planned change. Unplanned change would create a perfect society.

Emile Durkheim ( 1858-1919 )

• Functionalist Perspective – A larger system is composed of subsystems and parts that must work harmoniously according to their functions and role to attain equilibrium or balance

Karl Marx ( 1818-1883 )

• Conflict Theory – sees competition and social conflict as forming the basis of group or social life. It is also the source of social change.

Thesis vs. Anti-thesis

Synthesis

Karl Marx ( 1818-1883 )• Marx’s model of social evolution: History as the

history of class struggle resulting to social change.

ANCIENT FEUDAL CAPITALISM• Through each period of history and societal

evolution, the exploited class comes to recognize their exploitation and revolts against those in power.

Max Weber ( 1864- 1920 )

“Symbolic Interactionism “

• The interactionist perspective focuses on social life and human behavior from the standpoint of the individuals involved in the day to day interaction.

• It assumes that people bring into each social situation certain ideas about themselves and about others.

Max Weber ( 1864- 1920 )• People learn ideas from others through the

ongoing processes of symbolic interaction. Through symbols, words, action and gestures – people communicate the meanings of events, situations and behavior.

• Social Action – occurs when people intend to act in ways others expect. It is the behavior intended to fulfill expectations.

Sociology in the Philippines

• Sociology in the PhilippinesFr. Valentin Marin OP – introduced sociology as a subject

in the academe of the University of Santo Tomas in 1896.

It was initiated in the University of the Philippines in 1911 by Prof. Murray Bartlet.

The Siliman University was one of the first to include sociology in their curriculum.

Sociology started as a social philosophy perspective that continued up to the 1950’s

Serafin Macaraig – the first Filipino to receive a PhD. In sociology in 1920 from the University of Wisconsin. He introduced the social problem orientation.

• Modern Sociology started in the Philippines after the World War II

• Many Filipinos Went to Europe and America to study sociology and went back to the Philippines as Fulbright professors, stirring the social interest of the people.

There was strengthening of course offerings in universities like:

University of the Philippines, Ateneo de Manila and Xavier University. Other universities took sociology as a part of their curriculum.

• 1952 – Philippine Sociological Society was organized. It published the journal Philippine Sociological Review

• The Philippine Sociological Society in the beginning drew members from social sciences but the officers were mostly sociologists and anthropologists.

Sociology among the Other Social Sciences

• Sociology is a pure social science… Pure Social Science > provides verifiable facts and fundamental principles, foundations upon which the applied social science base their program. SOCIAL WORK is an applied social science

• Pure Social Sciences are: Economics, Political Science, Anthropology, Psychology and Sociology.

The science related to sociology, but which differ from its emphasis and modes of analysis are…

Anthropology

Physical Anthropology – stresses the biological sciences and focuses on the origins and the evolutionary aspects of human beings as well as their behavioral characteristics.

Cultural Anthropology – is concerned with the study of total societies

• Psychology – focuses on individual behavior, examining the mind as well as the mental processes of the individual including learning, perception and motivation.

• Economics – the study of economic life of humans and is focused on the various dimensions of wealth, such as its production, distribution and consumption.

• Political Science – it studies the political behavior of humans and focuses on the various aspects of government, political institutions, political processes and political parties.

Careers in Sociology

• Social Work• Profession in the fields of medicine, law,

engineering and clergy• Civil Service Position• Embassies• Government Agencies• In teaching, research and administration• Consultants in Social Welfare organization• Research

The Sociological Perspective

• The word sociology is derived from the Latin word “socius” meaning “associate” and the Greek word “logus” or “science.”

• Sociology may then defined as “ the science of associates.” or more broadly, as ‘the scientific study of human society.”

Social Influence in Operation• Natural and social scientist agree that the

relationship between nature ( what you inherit) and nurture (what you learn) is a complex one.

• Sometimes, social influences are more difficult to identify.

• For example annual decisions about how the government budget of the Philippines is to be spent may have a great influence

• upon all our lives, yet most of us are not aware of how these decisions are made nor how the budget is apportioned among various government agencies.

• Some sociologist use the term social forces to describe the social factors that may influence the behavior of individuals or groups.

• Our thoughts and actions usually conform to those which are seen as “normal “ and “proper” by other group members.

• Our chances of success in life will also be affected by the groups or social categories to which we belong. Thus, whether someone is rich or poor, Muslim or Christian , male of female has a very important influence upon the course of his/her life.

The used of scientific method in sociology

• Science is not only a collection of statistics or facts. It is also a means for collecting and verifying information. This procedure is known as the scientific method.

• Most basic characteristics of the scientific method lies in the fact that scientists base their conclusions on empirical observation.

• For sociological study to be empirical , it must be based on observations of actual human behavior and not on commonly ideas, personal impressions, the writing of noted of philosophers, or images from the mass media.

The Characteristics of the Scientific Approach

Verifiable Evidence

Factual observations which others can see, measure, weigh or check for accuracy

an avenue/ tool for follow-up studies

• Ethical Neutrality – Related to objectivity– One must remain neutral in the interpretation of

one’s findings, without being influenced by his value judgment or his conviction about his own group or of himself.

• Accuracy – It refers to the correctness of a statement

• Precision It refers to the exactness of a quantity and the degree

or measurement.

• It is Systematic >working in accordance with a method of organization

• It Records– The characteristic of having the ability of

storing information and data using accepted technology.

• Objectivity It means that the data must be presented, analyzed and interpreted independently of the researcher’s own beliefs and value judgments. It is the ability of the researcher to give an account of things as they are.

• It has Trained Observation

Observation must be undertaken by trained observers in the field in order to make research credible.

• Must Identify Controlled Conditions

A characteristic where scientific observation is conducted within

situations that are manageable.

The scientific method

• Sociologists are guided by the scientific method when they investigate human behavior; in this sense they are scientists.

• The Scientific method is an approach to data collection that relies on two assumptions:

• (1) knowledge about the world is acquired through observation,

• (2) the truth of the knowledge is confirmed by verification—that is, by others making the same observations.

The use of research techniques in sociology

• One of the most common techniques employed by sociologist is the survey.

• Survey concentrates on asking a portion or sample of the general population a set of standardized questions.

• Survey are great help in determining the characteristics of a population, such as the average level of education or the attitudes towards various family planning techniques.

Shown on right side is an example of a survey research, a poll on lawyers

• People have a poor regard for lawyers in general. At least half of those polled think that trustworthy ,loyal-to-client, just and helpful lawyers are pretty scare.

This was revealed in the Bishop-Businessmen’s Conference for Human Development nationwide survey: a survey on lawyers and the judiciary.

The survey was requested by the Philippine Bar Association to find out public perception of lawyers and the judiciary.

• The survey was conducted from June 15 to July 22, 1985 among a sample of 2,000 voters. The respondents were drawn equally from Metro Manila, Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao. Each region outside Metro Manila had 300 urban and 200 rural respondents.

• -Manila Bulletin Today,– October 30, 1985

Shown on right side is an example of a survey research, a poll on lawyers

• Sociologist who remain concerned about the limitations of survey research may employ a qualitative technique , such as participative observation, instead of quantitative techniques. In this approach, the sociologist becomes friendly with the members of the groups and joins them in their daily activities.

Participatory, Action, Research• As described by Ledesma, this techniques

is:• 1. participatory in that data gathering ,

analysis , and reporting are done by and for the local communities themselves

• 2. action-oriented in that research findings are utilized immediately by local communities to help solve (their) problems

• 3. research in that a systematic manner adhering to the basic norms of social science investigation is used

The use of statistics in sociology• It is probably fair to say that the principal

activity of sociologists is consists in the compilation, comparison, and interpretation of statistical facts.

• Mode is simply the number which appears with the greatest frequency.

• Mean is another term for average • Median is a number of items both the

above and below

Is Common Sense Enough?• Since sociologist deals with topics which are a

familiar part of our daily living, the accusation sometimes made is that the sociologist is simply one uses tortuous language to discuss subjects which could be handled by a simple common sense approach

• Common sense is required of the sociologist as well as others but, by itself , does not give us reliable knowledge about social life.

Roucek and Warren indicate some of the shortcomings of exclusive reliance on a common

sense approach:

Common Sense Says

• A person honest in gambling will be honest in business.

• You can tell a criminal by his/her facial features.

• The genius is generally unhealthy, impractical, and unsuccessful

Sociological Inquiry Finds

• Honesty in one situation tell relatively little about behavior in a different situation.

• There is no relation between behavior and any type of physical feature.

• The genius and near-genius are usually above average in health , emotional adjustment, and income.

Roucek and Warren indicate some of the shortcomings of exclusive reliance on a common

sense approach:

Common sense says

• High business profits take money away from laborers.

• Men are intellectually superior to woman

Sociological Inquiry Finds

• High business profits provide funds for more development, more jobs, and higher wages.

• Neither sex is superior in inherited intellectual capacities.

Models of Society: Competing Perspective

• Two of the major theories in sociology are the functional and the conflict models of society .

• According to the functional model , the different parts of society are closely interrelated. Like the different organs of the body, the institutions of society are seen as distinct to structure, but united in their contribution to the proper functioning of society as a whole.

Functional and Conflict views of society

Functional• Society is a collection of

teams which work together.

• Social class prepares people to work together.

• Values evolve by social consensus.

Conflict• Society id a field of

conflict.

• Social class enables people to combine forces against other groups.

• Values consensus is an illusion maintained by a dominant group for its own interest.

Models of Society: Competing Perspective

• In contrast to the functional approach is the conflict model of society.

• According to the proponents of this theory , social institutions are seen as having arisen , not so much because they serve the interest of the society as a whole, but because they work to the advantage of certain socially powerful groups.

Sociology and Group Values

• “ Observation, description and classification of social facts do not depend on faith and morals ; sociology is concerned with things as they are not as they ought to be;

• Sociology as a social science cannot tell us what we should want, but it may tell us how to get what we want.

End of the Presentation

SHUKRAN

MAY 01, 2010