Sociology Chapter 2 Every manifest function has a dysfunction Traditions are scienti c sociology humanistic sociology and critical sociology Scienti c Natural sciences Humanistic Unique capacity of humans to create meaning Critical Improve society known as applied sociology Theoretical perspective Guide ideas research Understand social behavior Symbolic Interaction Through interaction and symbols we socially construct our world Key theorist George H Mead and Iowa School Neglects macro structures dif cult to study the mind and the self Through interactions humans negotiate their own de nition Rely on symbols such as words and gestures The Looking Glass Self Charles Horton Cooley Ideal beauty can change over time Rational Choice Theory People make choices based on self interest attempt to maximize reward and minimize cost Every interaction involves an exchange of something valued Macro level and internal precesses given little attention cannot explain altruistic behavior Social order is possible because humans realize it is in their best interest to cooperate Structural Functional Theory Society is primarily stable and orderly all parts are interrelated and necessary for society s function Comte Durkheim Parsons Merton Fails to explain change assumes con ict is harmful system stability does not mean equality in the society Structuralist theory questioned in the 1960 s Functionalism Socialization and integration necessary for stability Stability necessary for strong society Believes social change is ok just not rapidly Manifest function Planned outcomes Latent function unplanned unintentional outcomes Dysfunction Actions that undermine the planned outcome Feminist Theory Criticizes the hierarchal structures that treat women and minorities unfairly Sociology has been male dominated Feminist theory is rooted in symbolic and con ict interactions Theory should address race class and gender Patricia Hills Collins black feminist Matrix of Domination that includes poverty race and gender Max Weber Structural functionalist Micro and macro approaches Verstehen understanding actions that occur that change our interpretations of the social world Iron Cage of Bureaucracy didn t like it but necessary in complex society Con ict Theory Con ict underlies all social relations because of injustice in society social change is desirable when it leads to equality Marx Du Bois Dahrendorf Simmel Coser Micro level not explained Society is characterized by persuasive inequality based on class gender Far reaching social change needed for equality Karl Marx Inspired communist revolutions in Russia China Cuba and Vietnam Explained con ict between social class and interests Concomitant variable Extent in which x and y occur together Time order of occurrence The causing event must occur before or during the effect cannot happen afterwards Absence of other possible causal factors The factor or variable being investigated should be the only causal explanation Now Institutional Review Boards for sociologists due to 1932 Tuskegee syphilis case Biggest social problem today Race Meso Macro Inequality Micro Meso Police brutality Middle class morality