CHAPTER 1

THE NATURE AND USES OF SOCIOLOGY

CHAPTER SUMMARY

Sociology is defined as the study of social life and the social causes and consequences of human behavior. This chapter introduces the discipline of sociology by defining the term, explaining the sociological perspective, comparing sociology and popular wisdom, contrasting sociology with the other social sciences, introducing the occupational and personal uses of sociology, and examining academic and professional sociologists in the workplace.

Sociologists use the sociological perspective to describe and explain social life at either the micro or macro level. Macrosociology deals with large-scale structures and processes such as institutions and social systems, while microsociology is concerned with the dynamics of social life at the interpersonal, small-group level.

Sociology is one of the social science disciplines. Other social sciences include economics, popular science, anthropology, psychology, history, and geography. The social sciences focus on social relationships or social systems, while the natural sciences, including the biological and physical sciences, focus on both human and nonhuman organisms and the nonliving physical world.

A variety of occupational and personal uses of sociology are described and discussed. These include careers as teachers, researchers, administrators, and policy consultants. Three primary uses of sociology in the workplace include: applied social research, social engineering, and clinical sociology. Sociology is valuable to even those who do not pursue it as a career in preparation for other careers, as well as in one’s own personal life.

The introductory issue in this chapter calls attention to an important issue that has confronted social scientists: What is the major purpose of the social sciences? Is the purpose to gain basic knowledge for its own sake, or is it to develop practical solutions to personal, organizational, and/or social problems?

KEY TERMS

Sociology                                                                       macrosociology

analytical studies                                                            microsociology

anthropology                                                                  political science

applied social research                                                    psychology and social psychology

clinical sociology                                                             pure and applied sciences

descriptive studies                                                          social engineering

economics                                                                      social sciences

evaluative studies                                                           social work

geography                                                                      sociological perspective

history                                                                           sociological imagination

OUTLINE

I.     What is Sociology?

A.    Sociology is the study of social relationships, social institutions, and society.

1.   The term itself—often credited to Auguste Comte (1798–1857), the founder of sociology—is derived from two root words: socius, which means “companion” or “associate,” and logus, which means “word.” Basically, the term sociology means “words about human associations or society.”

2.   Sociologists investigate many areas, such as racial and ethnic relationships; prejudice and discrimination; power and politics; jobs and income; families and family life; school systems and the educational process; social control; organizations; bureaucracies; groups and group dynamics; leisure; health-care systems; military systems; women’s movements; and labor movements. It is an extremely broad field.

B.    The SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE involves a conscious effort to question the obvious, to remove ourselves from familiar experiences, and to examine them critically and objectively. This type of EMPIRICAL investigation enables sociologists to determine whether generalizations made about society are accurate. The sociological perspective operates at two levels:

1.   MACROSOCIOLOGY deals with large-scale structures and processes, such as broad social categories, institutions, and social systems.

2.   MICROSOCIOLOGY is concerned with small-scale units, such as individuals in small-group interaction.

C.    Sociology allows us to distinguish between truth and popular wisdom. The text provides several examples of some common-sense ideas that are actually proven false through research.

1.   Social research provides the way to distinguish what is actually true from what our common sense tells us should be true.

D.    Sociology is one of several disciplines in the social sciences. The SOCIAL SCIENCES all study human behavior, social organizations, or society.

1.   ECONOMICS is the study of how goods, services, and wealth are produced, consumed, and distributed within societies.

2.   POLITICAL SCIENCE is the study of power, governments, and political processes.

3.   ANTHROPOLOGY is the study of the physical, biological, social, and cultural development of humans, often on a comparative basis. The two major fields of anthropologists consist of PHYSICAL and CULTURAL (or SOCIAL) anthropology.

4.   PSYCHOLOGY is concerned primarily with human mental processes and individual human behavior. SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY is the study of how individuals interact with other individuals or groups and how groups influence the individual.

5.   HISTORY, considered either a social science or one of the humanities, is the descriptive study of the past.

6.   GEOGRAPHY is the study of the physical environment and the distribution of plants and animals, including humans. PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHERS investigate climate, agriculture, the distribution of plant species, and oceanography. SOCIAL and CULTURAL GEOGRAPHERS investigate how the distribution of people in a particular area influences social relationships.

7.   SOCIAL WORK is technically not a social science but is an APPLIED SCIENCE in which the principles of the social sciences are applied to actual social problems. The PURE SCIENCES seek knowledge for its own sake.

II.   Occupational and Personal Uses of Sociology

A.    Sociology is not only for sociologists.

1.   Sociological skills and knowledge are used in many jobs by many different types of people, and also in individuals’ personal lives.

2.   One of the fascinating and exciting things about sociology is its diversity of applications.

B.    One of the goals for this text is to demonstrate how the subject matter in each chapter can be used in occupations and in daily personal life.

1.   The remainder of the chapter looks at four uses of sociology:

a.   Academic sociologists

b.   Professional sociologists in the workplace (nonacademic)

c.   Nonsociologists in the workplace

d.   Nonsociologists in society and other social environments

III.   Academic Sociologists

A.    Academic Sociologists—more sociologists are employed as teachers than in any other capacity.

1.   Most teaching sociologists also serve as researchers, administrators, or social critics.

2.   Most of these researchers engage in basic or pure research.

B.    Professional Sociologists in the Workplace

1.   According to Peter Rossi and William Foote Whyte, two prominent applied sociologists, sociology can be applied to the workplace in three major ways.

a.   Through APPLIED SOCIAL RESEARCH, which utilizes the use of sociological knowledge and research skills to obtain information for various groups and organizations. Most of this research uses three specific types: DESCRIPTIVE STUDIES, ANALYTICAL, and EVALUATIVE STUDIES.

b.   Through SOCIAL ENGINEERING, which attempts to change the way a society, community, organization, institution, or group is arranged so that a particular goal may be achieved.

c.   Through CLINICAL SOCIOLOGY, which utilizes sociological perspectives, theories, concepts, research and methods for consulting and providing technical assistance to individuals, groups, or organizations.

C.    Nonsociologists in the Workplace

1.   The study of sociology offers valuable preparation for other types of careers.

2.   Sociology is useful in developing research skills, critical thinking and problem-solving skills, interpersonal skills, and communication skills. All of these skills are important in most occupations.

D.    Nonsociologists in Society and Other Social Environments

1.   The understanding of sociological principles should interest every social being.

a.   Sociology concentrates on an enormous range of topics and events.

b.   Sociology teaches us to consider perspectives other than our own and to look beyond the individual in our efforts to understand individual behavior.

c.   Sociology helps us to understand ourselves.

2.   Sociology helps us to understand both ourselves and soceity.

E.    The Benefit of the Sociological Imagination

1.   Sociology helps the student answer questions such as the following.

a.   How does the structure of society guide a person’s choices?

b.   How does a person’s relative level of power and wealth in society impact their personal experience?

c.   How do social arrangements and social rules influence the behavior of individuals and groups?

2.   C. Wright Mills wrote that the “sociological imagination” enables one to distinguish between “personal troubles” and “public issues.”

a.   By understanding how our own personal problems are generated by social forces, we are better able to deal with the problem.

3.   Sociology can help us with most of our important personal decisions, such as whether to get married, whether to have children, whether to buy a home, what type of career to pursue, and when to retire.

4.   In summary, sociology is certainly relevant to a college education; it can provide a tool for improving the quality of one’s own life and the lives of others as well.