i4 .

ChFpter 1Sociological Perspectives

STEPNICK. SOC 101. Packet 2

NO- 1 ICE: THIS MATERIAL MAY BE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT

LAW (TITLE 17, U.S. CODE) complex social system models

showing how all parts of a society fit together to compose

the whole. Sociologist Seymour Martin Lipset (1994)
argues that despite the discipline's focus during this
period, sociologists themselves remained politically
liberal and were actively involved in social reform
movements. One sociologist in particular, C. Wright Mills
(1916-1962), labored against the conservative tide in the
1950s to keep a liberal perspective alive in sociology.
Mills tried to raise people's awareness of the connections
between their personal lives and the social world. By
using what he called the sociological imagination, Mills
believed that ordinary people could see the links between
the personal troubles they experienced in their everyday
lives and the public issues that plagued their society.
Once they did this, they would come to understand that
most of their problems were not caused by their own
failings or limitaions, but rather by broader social forces
beyond their control as individuals. In other words, Mills
said, the sociological imagination helps us to grasp the
relationship between history and biography (Mills, 1959).
C. Wright Mills was only forty-six years old when he
died in 1962. Had he lived, he probably would have relished what happened to sociology in the 1960s. Antiwar
demonstrations, the civil rights and women's movements,
Watergate, and the discovery of large pockets of poverty
in the United States led some sociologists to see their
field as being too conservative. They asked their
colleagues, "Whose side are we on?" and called for more
radical social activism (Becker, 1967). Bitter
disagreements and ideological divisions erupted, which
may have hurt sociology's prestige and credibility as a
scientific discipline (Lipset, 1994). Nevertheless, disagreement led to the development of new sociological
perspectives, which, as we will see shortly, included the
voices of previously marginalized groups.

E ....
...L
The
Origins andC
Development
..E....
..T ..of Sociology
I .... ....
R..

1. How is sociology a social product?

2. Although similarities were drawn between

Europe and the United States, what do you
think are the most important differences
between early European and American
sociology?
3. If you had to pick a "sociology hero or
heroine" from among those we have
discussed so far, who would it be? Why?
4. If you think about the sociology department at
your college or university, would you say that
the participation of women and racial and
ethnic minorities in sociology is different today
than it was earlier in this century? In what

CONTEMPORARY SOCIOLOGICAL
PERSPECTIVES
A theory is a set of interrelated statements that explain
how two or more phenomena are related to one another.
American sociology today is composed of several
different theoretical perspectives, each of which has
been influenced by the European founding theorists as
well as by pioneering U.S. sociologists, and by various
events in this country and abroad during the twentieth
century. In this part of the chapter, we will discuss four
contemporary
sociological
theories:
structural
functionalism, conflict theory, symbolic interactionism,
and feminist theory. Each offers a lens through which
to view the social world; however, just as changing the
lenses on a camera alters the image that appears in a
photograph, so do each of these theories provide
differing insights into social life.
fj^Ch t)n4MSr ,
Structural Functionalism

JorA

If any one sociologist may be credited with the develop

ment of a particular theoretical perspective, it is
Harvard sociologist Talcott Parsons. Parsons was the
chief architect of the contemporary sociological theory
known as structural functionalism. He was joined in
this work by Robert Merton, one of his students who
went on to be a prominent sociologist in his own right.
Both theorists, as we will see, were strongly influenced
by Emile Durkheim's ideas, especially Durkheim's
emphasis on social order and social integration.
Parsons began with the assumption that a society is
made up of interrelated parts. Essentially, these parts are
social institutions or structures. They include the economy, government, family, education, religion, and the
health care system. Each institution has a function or role
to play in keeping society running smoothly. For example, each institution in its own way promotes cooperation
among the members of society and helps preserve social
order. Parsons saw these, in fact, as two of the most
important functions of any society's major social institutions or structures.
Merton elaborated on this point by distinguishing
between two types of functions: manifest functions and
latent functions. Manifest functions are observable
consequences or outcomes that are intended; that is,
they are supposed to happen. Latent functions are
observable consequences or outcomes that are
unintended or unexpected. For example, parents send
their children to kindergarten to learn some basic
academic skills, such as the ABCs, and to acquire
social skills such as learning to share with others; these
are manifest functions of kindergarten. But in interacting with one another in kindergarten, many
children also learn behaviors that their parents and
teachers consider undesirable-calling each other names,
for instance,

Contemporary Sociotogical Perspectives

.2
producing equilibrium and agreed-upon values, these divisions generate considerable tension at best and widespread inequality, conflict, social unrest, and even
violence at worst. By focusing on order and consensus,
functionalists help to preserve the status quo instead of
promoting social change, and overlook or downplay the
many sources of strain and divisiveness in a society.

Conflict Theory

t u might a structural functionalist describe what is hap~rurt

in this picture? What concepts and questions would ~, rost

relevant? For instance, how does the scene depict nrrative
consensus? In contrast, how might a conflict
- , ~Jrist describe what is happening in relation to the
larger ;.r1 < ontext? For instance, what competing
interests and r,1i iacqualities might be involved? How
would a symd:, ; nleractionist go about studying the
situation?

nOusing to touch certain people or things because

they i% c "cooties." Peer socialization or social learning
from luhlrcn their own age, whether positive or
negative, is a ~tcrtt function of kindergarten.
Ithe institutions of a society function together 1111'(t the
society's basic needs, which results in social d,r ~,r, as
functionalists would say, a state of equilib
(rr balance. In addition, the members of the
society a `ct of values, customs, and expectations for
ap'"hrtate behavior that functionalists call the
normative m%cnsus. However, Merton recognized
that at times var 11 tn ,titutions and values of the social
system may not '0urn well for all the society's
members, so he stressed 'rcc(l to study dysfunctions as
well as functions. Dys 'anktirais are any consequences or
outcomes produced by the social system that lower
social integration. "\.tmple, in the United States we
value family privacy, ' III : premium we place on privacy
hides the abuse "'`'" and children often suffer in the
home and leaves "' rcrt unaccountable for their crimes.
"rtctural functionalists emphasize the orderly
work' "r t 110ciety and see the sociologist's job as
studying " t'call~ how particular structures
contribute to order = '.thilit-a task not without
merit. However, it is
erliphasis on order and consensus that
draws 'sm. Critics point out that our society and
many " arc divided along lines of social class,
race and "ex, age, and sexual orientation. Rather
than
,

Structural functionalism enjoyed tremendous popularity

from the 1940s to the early 1960s, when the social climate of the United States was decidedly conservative.
However, as noted earlier, sociology was not untouched
by the social unrest that swept the country during the
1960s. Certainly it appeared then that society was characterized more by conflict than by order, and there
seemed to be little agreement among various segments of
the population regarding values. In one study, for
instance, people were asked whom they consider
"deviant." The researcher received more than 250
different answers, including some we would expect, such
as criminals, alcoholics, and drug addicts, but others that
should surprise us: women, young people, Democrats,
and men with beards (Simmons, 1969).
In the midst of antiwar protests, public
demonstrations demanding equal rights for women and
Black Americans, and a widespread questioning of what
constituted core American values, many sociologists
turned to the study of social conflict and inequality. The
sociological perspective known as conflict theory
developed from their work. Conflict theorists owe much
to the writings of the classical social theorists Karl Marx
and Max Weber, especially their analyses of social class.
Conflict theory's emphasis on studying and solving social
problems also bears the influence of the Chicago School.
And although he wrote before the theory became popular,
C. Wright Mills is often identified as a founding conflict
theorist, largely because of his focus on the struggles
between the powerful and the powerless. Mills (1956)
argued that the political influence wielded by top
corporate and military leadersthe power elite, as he called
them-was undermining democracy because it drowned
out the voices of the rest of the population, denying them
any say in decision making. Although his research to
back up his claims was later criticized for its lack of
precision, his analysis of class conflict provided a strong
foundation for conflict theorists to build on (Coser,
1977).
Conflict theorists begin with the observation that societies are characterized by inequality. That is, societies
are arranged in such a way that resources and rewards are
unevenly distributed among the population. This inequality gives rise to conflict. Conflict from this perspective is not necessarily bad for society since it is a
source of social change, but inequality itself has serious

16 Chapter 1

Sociological Perspectives

consequences in the lives of individuals.

Most people in our society suffer from theeffects of inequality, while a few reap
tremendous benefits from it. Moreover,
those few at the top of the hierarchy can
use their greater economic and political
resources to preserve their advantageous
position. Conflict theorists tell us that in
studying society, sociologists must
carefully consider the competing interests
of the haves and have-nots.
Conflict theorists also argue that
sociological research should not be
separated from sociological practice. To
the conflict theorist, separating
sociological research from the ways in
which the research can be used is
irresponsible. The sociologist's job is not to
study society just for the sake of increasing
knowledge, but rather to use the knowledge gained to develop strategies for
making society better. To the conflict
theorist, a "good" society is a society in
which resources, rewards, and
opportunities are distributed equitably.
The conflict perspective, though popular, is
not without its critics. Some sociologists
argue that focusing on conflict and change
exaggerates their importance in the overall
workings of the social system while
downplaying the significance of order,
stability, and consensus. Others believe
that in advocating the rights of the
oppressed, conflict theorists lose
objectivity and are thus blind to alternative
points of view. Interestingly, still others
charge that while conflict theory focuses
on inequality, it does so in an unequal way,
not giving sufficient attention to women
and other oppressed groups.
Another criticism, though, has been
Symbolic
Interactionism
leveled
against
both conflict theory and
While structural functionalism and conflict
theory may be characterized as top-down
approaches to the study of social life and
social organization, symbolic interactionism may be viewed as a bottom-up
approach. By this we mean that symbolic
interactionists start with the assumption
that culture, organizations, and social
structures are created through daily
communications and interactions among

tions become so much a part of people's

lives that they do them almost
automatically, like actors playing a wellrehearsed part. It is only when the
patterns or rules are: broken as in the
Doing Sociology box on page 17, tha
social actors become consciously aware of
the rules' existence-and their importance
in everyday life.
Social reality, then, is constructed. Thus,
what we recognize as social life and,
indeed, the social lives we lead.. are
largely products of a multitude of social
interactions that have taken place over
time. From a symbolic interactionist
perspective, there can be no society
without a group of individuals who
routinely interact with one another.
Moreover, interacting generates symbols
that have a shared meaning among the
members of the group. A symbol is
anything that stands for something else.
Symbols can take many forms-for
example, words, sounds, gestures,
objects-but no symbol has intrinsic
meaning. Rather, the meaning of a symbol
is assigned to it by the people who decide
that the word, sound, gesture, or object
has significance. For instance, there is
nothing inherent in the color red that tells
people they must stop their cars when
they see a light that color. Instead, in
particular societies, that meaning has
been assigned to red lights by people who
have decided to use them for this
purpose.
It was sociologist George Herbert Mead
(1863-1931) who first emphasized the
importance of symbolic communication
for understanding human interaction.
However, it was Herbert Blumer who
developed Mead's ideas into the theory of
symbolic interactionism. Blumer (1969)
pointed out that people's actions derive
from their interpretation of what goes on
around them, and much of this
interpretation is learned through
interacting with others. We do not create
new meanings every day; this would make
daily life burdensome at best, chaotic at
worst. Instead, as we live in a society, we
learn the meanings that have been
assigned to particular symbols. This

Contemporary Sociological Perspectives

4

What Does Rule Breaking

Teach You about Rules?

ocial life, we have said, is

governed by a set of rules about
behavior that develops out of people's
ongoing interactions with one
another. These rules become so
routine that most people are unaware
of them-until they are broken. Indeed,
some sociologists have devised
experiments in which rules of social
interaction are deliberately broken in
order to reveal them for more careful
study.
The leading advocate of this approach
is Harold Garfinkel (1967), who
asked his students to violate some of
the most basic, unspoken rules of
social interaction. In one experiment,
for example, students behaved like
strangers in their own homes: They

door and waited for an answer before

entering the house; they addressed
their parents or roommates by formal
titles, such as "Mr." or "Mrs."; they
asked for permission to watch
television or take something from the
refrigerator. In other experiments,
Garfinkel's students would move
closer and closer to the person they
were talking to until they were
practically touching, or they would
board an elevator and instead of looking politely at no one, would stare directly at a fellow passenger.
None of these experiments took much
time, either because the experimenter
felt too uncomfortable to continue for
long or because the unwitting participants in the experiments reacted so
strongly. Regardless of the specific
experiment, participants responded in
much the same way: They were usually surprised and confused, but soon

nant values and rules of the larger society and the very
organization of the society. So, for example, we may
teach our children that racism is wrong, but if they live in
racially segregated neighborhoods and go to racially segregated schools where their textbooks teach only about
the accomplishments of White people, they are likely to
grow up with many of the same prejudices as previous
generations. Thus, while social learning can contribute to
social change, its effect is limited without simultaneous
efforts to bring about macro-level change.
Feminist Sociology

You may have noticed that all of the mainstream sociologists we have discussed in this chapter shared several
characteristics: With few exceptions, they were/are all
White men of European ancestry. The fact that this social
group has dominated the discipline means that to a large
extent mainstream sociology has been both Eurocentric
and androcentric (Chafetz, 1997). It is Eurocentric in that
it has tended to focus on beliefs and concerns relevant to
Western societies with European roots. It is androcentric
because it traditionally has been malecentered;
sociological research and writing has been done primarily
by men, using mostly men as research subjects,

embarrassed, and others appeared

afraid, questioning the experimenter's
sanity. According to Garfinkel, such
reactions reveal the significance of
these taken-forgranted rules of
interaction in everyday life-rules we
don't realize we value until they are
broken.
Garfinkels'
experiments
are
straightforward and easy to
replicate. Try one yourself. You
could go into a department store
and try to bargain for an item, or
you could use one of the experiments we've discussed here. If
you need more ideas, consult
Garfinkel's book, Studies in
Etbnomethodology.
Whatever
experiment you choose, be sure to
record in a notebook the rule you
broke and others' reaction to you,
as well as how long you were able
to carry out the rule breaking and
your own feelings during the
experiment. Sharing your results in
class
will
generate
some

producing findings and theories from a male perspective.

Sociologist Lyn Lofland (1975), for instance, reviewed the
sociological research on urban communities and found
that it focused on settings in which men were likely to be
present, such as city street corners or neighborhood
taverns, whereas areas of urban life where women were
likely to be found, such as playgrounds with their children
or grocery stores, were almost entirely overlooked.
Consequently, although these urban sociologists claimed
to be studying community, they were studying male
community, not human community. "Most of what we
have formerly known as the study of society is only the
male study of male society" (Millman & Kanter, 1975, p.
viii).
During the 1960s, an increasing number of sociologists
began to call for a more inclusive sociology, one giving
voice to multiple perspectives, particularly those from
groups that had historically been silenced or marginalized.
Although some of these sociologists were men, the
majority were women, inspired by their personal experiences in society and the discipline as well as by the writings and actions of those involved in the women's or
feminist movement (Laslett & Thorne, 1997). Consequently, the perspective that these sociologists developed
is called feminist sociology.

V,

Chapter 1
Perspectives

Sociological

STEPNICK. SOC 101, Packet 2

Sociological
Perspectives

TABLE 1.2

Level of

Perspective

Analysis
Macro
Level

Structural
Functionalism

Conflict Theory

Macro
Level

Symbolic

Micro
Level

Interactionism

Feminist
Sociology

Macro
Level
or micro
level

Assumptions
Society is made up of
interrelated
parts,
each
of
which
contributes
to
the
functioning of society
as a whole.
Societies are arranged
in such a way that resources and rewards
are
unevenly
distributed among the
population, and this
inequality
produces
conflict.
Reality is socially created through people's
everyday interactions
and symbolic
communication with
one another.
Gender is a central
organizing factor of
the social world.

the growth of the discipline. Diversity

promotes dialogue, not always friendly,
that can help us to see the social world
in'alternative ways. This is especially
difficult because sociologists are part of
what we study: We are participants in the
social world. It's like the fish who doesn't
know its environment is wet. This makes it
even more important to include a plurality
of voices in sociology, especially those of
people who have traditionally been
considered "outsiders," because they often
For useful resources for study

Basic Question

Key People

Key Concepts

What function
does a specific
institution provide
for society as a
whole?

Durkhei
m,
Parsons,
Merton

manifest
functions, latent
functions,
normative
consensus,

Who benefits
and who loses
from a particular
social
arrangement?

Marx,
Weber
, Mills

inequality,
conflict

What
are
the
shared meanings
of
a
particular
interaction for the
members
of
a
social group?

Mead,
Blume
r

symbol
s

How does gender

shape people's
social
experiences?

gender,
sex

As our world grows ever smaller

because of the increasing number of
global ties that bind us, sociology grows
ever more important. In fact, at least one
observer has argued that sociology is
entering a new "golden age" ("Sociology's
New Golden Age," 1999). It is an
essential
tool
for
analyzing
and
understanding our personal lives and our
social
interactions
and
their
interconnectedness. Our goal in this text,
therefore, is to help you develop a
Chapter 1 'on your Living
Sociology CD-RO

CON N E C T I O N S

Impact of social
locators

Impacts of sex
and race in the
workplace

How do social locating factors such as age, sex,

race,
and experiences
class affect as members of a society? In
people's
how does occupation relate to wealth, power, and
10, how does gender orientation relate to
peer acceptance?
Differences
in social locating factors form the basis

In Chapter 10, how do the concepts of glass ceiling

illustrate gender inequality? In Chapter 11, how does
the
concept of, ob
discrimination
relate to racial
inequality?