Chapter 1
Sociology: Perspective, Theory, and
Method
Contents
Author’s Note
Late Breaking News
Additional Content in Revel
Learning Objectives
Detailed Chapter Outline
Revel Media
John’s Chapter Close-Up: Society and Personal Choice (A)
John’s Chapter Close-Up: The Census Bureau Paints a Picture of the United States (B)
John’s Personal Video Suggestion (A)
John’s Personal Video Suggestion (B)
Research for a Cutting-Edge Classroom
Supplemental Lecture Material
Sociology and Related Disciplines
Using the ASA Journal Teaching Sociology in Your Classroom
The Liberation Sociology Tradition
The Social Conflict Approach and the Sociology of Sport
Academic Freedom and “Political Correctness”
The False God of Numbers
Separating the Wheat and the Chaff: Spurious Correlations
Essay Topics
________________________________________________________________
,Author’s Note for Chapter 1
This first chapter is the most important chapter in the text. Why? Because this
chapter presents the sociological perspective, the point of view that is the
foundation for everything that follows. Students who “get it” at this early stage have
excellent odds of doing well throughout your course.
How can you help them understand the sociological perspective? Giving clear
definitions is important. But it is vital that you illustrate the perspective with lots of
examples. Notice how the Power of Society Figure on page 2 of the text helps show
that what we feel to be the personal force called “love” is guided by society. Here are
additional examples found throughout the chapter:
Page 4 explains how women’s expectations for a spouse are guided by their
class position.
Global Map 1–1 on page 5 explains how women’s decisions about
childbearing are guided by the level of economic development of the society
in which they live.
Figure 1–1 on page 6 shows how the most personal choice about ending
one’s life is guided by gender and race.
National Map 1–1 on page 14 shows suicide rates are higher in states with
low population density and lower in states with higher population density.
The discussion on pages 9 and 10 also explains how the birth of sociology
itself was the result of social forces—a breakdown in the traditional social
order of the middle ages with the Industrial Revolution, the growth of cities,
and a more individualistic political culture.
The discussion of applying sociology’s theoretical approaches to sports also
shows insights gained from looking at sports with the sociological
perspective. The “stacking” figure on page 19 shows how African–American
players are disproportionately playing the outfield and not the central
positions of pitcher and catcher.
Finally, use the Seeing Sociology in Everyday Life photo essay (at the end of
each chapter) to highlight the power of society to shape personal choice and
individual experience. The photo essay for this chapter, found on pages 38–
39, explores popular culture to see how social forces guide celebrity couples
to come together.
, Sociology is defined by its perspective, or point of view. But applying that
perspective to the task of gathering knowledge about the social world brings us to
sociological investigation. Sociology is a multi-paradigmatic discipline. This is true,
as the chapter explains, in terms of theory. It is also true that there are many ways to
approach sociological investigation. In part, sociology is a social science. Therefore,
the second half of the chapter starts off with an explanation of scientific inquiry. But
some sociologists, aware of the limitation of focusing on observable action and
quantitative data, support a more qualitative inquiry that relies on interpretation
and focuses on meaning. In addition, some sociologists, aware of the limitation of
science imposed by its struggle to claim objectivity, embrace a more critical and
activist vision of research in pursuit of social change.
In sum, scientific sociology, qualitative sociology, and activist or critical
sociology all fall within the “big tent” of our discipline. Many sociologists favor one
approach; many blend them in various ways. Notice, too, that these approaches
roughly correspond to the differences in theoretical orientations: scientific
sociology is consistent with structural-function theory, interpretive sociology shows
commonality with symbolic-interaction theory, and critical sociology shares traits
with various social-conflict and feminist theories.
Keep students focused on the reason we study the social world in the first
place—there is much to learn and this knowledge can help us live richer lives and
improve our society. But to shape our world, first we must understand it.
Chapter 1 explains and illustrates four major methods of doing research:
Experimental research, which is heavily used in the sciences such as
psychology and is occasionally used in sociology, is illustrated with the
classic research of Philip Zimbardo about the effects of prison life on people
who live of work there.
Survey research, which is widely used in sociology, is illustrated by the
research of Lois Benjamin into the power of race and racism as experienced
by highly successful African–American women and men.
Fieldwork research, used by both sociologists and anthropologists, is
illustrated by the participant observation research carried out by Joseph
Ewoodzie, investigation the lives of homeless people in Jackson, Mississippi.
Use of available data, which is done by sociologists, historians, and others, is
illustrated by the historical study of culture and achievement in Boston and
Philadelphia carried out by E. Digby Baltzell.
Late Breaking News
, In this new feature, found only in Revel, John Macionis provides new data and points to
recent events that are highly relevant to the chapter at hand. In this chapter, the news
bulletin offers insight into why national polls incorrectly predicted that Hillary Clinton
would win the 2016 presidential election
_____________________________________________________________
_____
Additional Content in Revel
Revel is the electronic version of this text that provides interactive learning, student
learning assessment, and additional readings and engaging video—at remarkably low
cost. All of the Revel content has been developed by John Macionis and is seamlessly
integrated into the text.
For each chapter, Revel expands and deepens student learning with rich content
including:
Late Breaking News –This brand new feature, available in every chapter, is
described above.
In Greater Depth—This interactive graphic allows students to go deeper into the Power
of Society figure at the beginning of the chapter, in this case showing how social class
position is linked to choice of a marriage partner.
Video—These short videos present key concepts in engaging ways. In this chapter,
students can access “The Basics: What is Sociology?” “Sociology on the Job,” and also
“The Big Picture: Sociological Theory and Research.”
Journals—These are short student writing exercises. This chapter’s journals encourage
students to apply the sociology perspective, to identify personal benefits of seeing the
world sociologically, to understand the method of fieldwork, and to assess the value of
sociological thinking for society as a whole.
Sociology: Perspective, Theory, and
Method
Contents
Author’s Note
Late Breaking News
Additional Content in Revel
Learning Objectives
Detailed Chapter Outline
Revel Media
John’s Chapter Close-Up: Society and Personal Choice (A)
John’s Chapter Close-Up: The Census Bureau Paints a Picture of the United States (B)
John’s Personal Video Suggestion (A)
John’s Personal Video Suggestion (B)
Research for a Cutting-Edge Classroom
Supplemental Lecture Material
Sociology and Related Disciplines
Using the ASA Journal Teaching Sociology in Your Classroom
The Liberation Sociology Tradition
The Social Conflict Approach and the Sociology of Sport
Academic Freedom and “Political Correctness”
The False God of Numbers
Separating the Wheat and the Chaff: Spurious Correlations
Essay Topics
________________________________________________________________
,Author’s Note for Chapter 1
This first chapter is the most important chapter in the text. Why? Because this
chapter presents the sociological perspective, the point of view that is the
foundation for everything that follows. Students who “get it” at this early stage have
excellent odds of doing well throughout your course.
How can you help them understand the sociological perspective? Giving clear
definitions is important. But it is vital that you illustrate the perspective with lots of
examples. Notice how the Power of Society Figure on page 2 of the text helps show
that what we feel to be the personal force called “love” is guided by society. Here are
additional examples found throughout the chapter:
Page 4 explains how women’s expectations for a spouse are guided by their
class position.
Global Map 1–1 on page 5 explains how women’s decisions about
childbearing are guided by the level of economic development of the society
in which they live.
Figure 1–1 on page 6 shows how the most personal choice about ending
one’s life is guided by gender and race.
National Map 1–1 on page 14 shows suicide rates are higher in states with
low population density and lower in states with higher population density.
The discussion on pages 9 and 10 also explains how the birth of sociology
itself was the result of social forces—a breakdown in the traditional social
order of the middle ages with the Industrial Revolution, the growth of cities,
and a more individualistic political culture.
The discussion of applying sociology’s theoretical approaches to sports also
shows insights gained from looking at sports with the sociological
perspective. The “stacking” figure on page 19 shows how African–American
players are disproportionately playing the outfield and not the central
positions of pitcher and catcher.
Finally, use the Seeing Sociology in Everyday Life photo essay (at the end of
each chapter) to highlight the power of society to shape personal choice and
individual experience. The photo essay for this chapter, found on pages 38–
39, explores popular culture to see how social forces guide celebrity couples
to come together.
, Sociology is defined by its perspective, or point of view. But applying that
perspective to the task of gathering knowledge about the social world brings us to
sociological investigation. Sociology is a multi-paradigmatic discipline. This is true,
as the chapter explains, in terms of theory. It is also true that there are many ways to
approach sociological investigation. In part, sociology is a social science. Therefore,
the second half of the chapter starts off with an explanation of scientific inquiry. But
some sociologists, aware of the limitation of focusing on observable action and
quantitative data, support a more qualitative inquiry that relies on interpretation
and focuses on meaning. In addition, some sociologists, aware of the limitation of
science imposed by its struggle to claim objectivity, embrace a more critical and
activist vision of research in pursuit of social change.
In sum, scientific sociology, qualitative sociology, and activist or critical
sociology all fall within the “big tent” of our discipline. Many sociologists favor one
approach; many blend them in various ways. Notice, too, that these approaches
roughly correspond to the differences in theoretical orientations: scientific
sociology is consistent with structural-function theory, interpretive sociology shows
commonality with symbolic-interaction theory, and critical sociology shares traits
with various social-conflict and feminist theories.
Keep students focused on the reason we study the social world in the first
place—there is much to learn and this knowledge can help us live richer lives and
improve our society. But to shape our world, first we must understand it.
Chapter 1 explains and illustrates four major methods of doing research:
Experimental research, which is heavily used in the sciences such as
psychology and is occasionally used in sociology, is illustrated with the
classic research of Philip Zimbardo about the effects of prison life on people
who live of work there.
Survey research, which is widely used in sociology, is illustrated by the
research of Lois Benjamin into the power of race and racism as experienced
by highly successful African–American women and men.
Fieldwork research, used by both sociologists and anthropologists, is
illustrated by the participant observation research carried out by Joseph
Ewoodzie, investigation the lives of homeless people in Jackson, Mississippi.
Use of available data, which is done by sociologists, historians, and others, is
illustrated by the historical study of culture and achievement in Boston and
Philadelphia carried out by E. Digby Baltzell.
Late Breaking News
, In this new feature, found only in Revel, John Macionis provides new data and points to
recent events that are highly relevant to the chapter at hand. In this chapter, the news
bulletin offers insight into why national polls incorrectly predicted that Hillary Clinton
would win the 2016 presidential election
_____________________________________________________________
_____
Additional Content in Revel
Revel is the electronic version of this text that provides interactive learning, student
learning assessment, and additional readings and engaging video—at remarkably low
cost. All of the Revel content has been developed by John Macionis and is seamlessly
integrated into the text.
For each chapter, Revel expands and deepens student learning with rich content
including:
Late Breaking News –This brand new feature, available in every chapter, is
described above.
In Greater Depth—This interactive graphic allows students to go deeper into the Power
of Society figure at the beginning of the chapter, in this case showing how social class
position is linked to choice of a marriage partner.
Video—These short videos present key concepts in engaging ways. In this chapter,
students can access “The Basics: What is Sociology?” “Sociology on the Job,” and also
“The Big Picture: Sociological Theory and Research.”
Journals—These are short student writing exercises. This chapter’s journals encourage
students to apply the sociology perspective, to identify personal benefits of seeing the
world sociologically, to understand the method of fieldwork, and to assess the value of
sociological thinking for society as a whole.
