Intro to Sociology

Sociology

• The study of social patterns and behavior
• Focuses on group level behavior, relationships, and interactions

Sociologists want to understand:

• how individuals are influenced by the society in which they live
• understand how people’s actions and beliefs change society and culture over time

Sociological
Perspective: looking at the behavior of groups, instead of individuals.

Sociological Imagination: The ability to see links between society and self

Sociologists focus on group behavior because it tends to follow Patterns, and is therefore predictable

Sociologist vs Psychologist

How would a Sociologist explain your SAT/ACT Score?

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Social Group: two or more people who interact with one another, share similar characteristics, and collectively have a sense of unity.

Social Groups encourage Conformity: behaviors that match group expectations

Emile Durkheim

• Helped developed the Sociological perspective
• Compared Social Groups to Bronze
• Lead, copper, and tin are all soft metals. But when mixed together they form a hard, durable metal with new properties.

Durkheim believed that groups are not just collections of individuals. They are separate from the individuals who form them.

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