Introduction
Every person is unique, acting and interacting with others based on the mix of their upbringing, genetics, culture, past experience, and character. Thus, human beings behave and judge things and other people’s conduct differently, using their unique cultural compasses. Nevertheless, humankind is social by nature; people cannot exist and be productive in isolation. They unite to work, have a family, raise children, and socialize. As you can see, social relationships and interactions are diverse, and their study is called sociology. In this podcast, I will walk you through the basic concepts of sociology to show how it emerged and evolved, what primary concepts it studies, and how sociology approaches scientific research.
What Is Sociology?
Historical Background
Let’s begin with the definition and historical introduction. The term sociology is composed of two parts derived from the Latin terms socius and logos, respectively, where the former means ‘companion’ and the latter stands for ‘study, science’. The roots of sociological study can be found in the ancient philosophers’ works, like Plato, Aristotle, and Confucius. However, due to Auguste Comte’s works, sociology emerged as a modern formal science only in the 19th century (Akmut, 2022). Sociology expanded further with the contribution of such renounced scholars as Karl Marx, Georg Simmel, and Emile Durkheim.
Besides focusing on the essence of people’s behavior, driving forces of interactions, and group conflict, sociology is a chronological study of changing social norms and values. For example, body piercing and tattoos are considered body art today, with many people picking this type of self-decoration for self-expression and aesthetic purposes. However, sociology gives us interesting insights into how body art evolved with time. For instance, only two centuries ago, tattoos were used to label people as criminals or slaves. Thus, getting a tattoo would not be regarded as a positive change in one’s life.
Fundamental Concepts of Basic and Applied Sociology and Its Historical Development
Now, I would like to draw a principal distinction between two major sociological branches – basic and applied sociology. Basic sociology is a purely theoretical discipline that produces new knowledge, constructs theories, and tests hypotheses. Basic sociologists specialize in research on basic social life and study group effects on people (Thompson et al., 2018). Applied sociology, in its turn, analyzes social problems, evaluates the effect of social programs, and suggests solutions to improve the quality of people’s lives. Its subdivision, clinical sociology, proposes working solutions to social problems and guides clients toward their implementation. Therefore, the outcome of applied sociology is a tangible social change, either group or individual (Neubert, 2022).
Research Methods
Sociology uses the same research methods toolkit as other sciences do, with a rich arsenal of quantitative and qualitative methods utilized to expand the body of sociological knowledge. Quantitative studies are done with the help of questionnaires, structured interviewing, and quantitative data analysis. Qualitative studies follow the interviewing, focus group, or ethnography methods to elicit people’s subjective experiences and meanings. Mixed methods research is also commonplace in sociological studies; a pragmatic mix of qualitative and quantitative tools often helps answer questions one method cannot cover (Bryman, 2021).
The Role of Ethics in Social Research
Next, a couple of words about ethics. Like any other science, sociology needs to follow ethical principles and standards in research. Thus, the universal ethical guidelines regarding participant confidentiality, informed consent, and honesty about the study’s goals and methods are essential milestones of sociological studies (Walter, 2019). Sociologists are required to act with integrity, which means that they should be honest, fair, and respectful of their colleagues and study objects. People trust sociology, so professionals working in this sphere should act ethically and responsibly not to undermine public trust. Finally, respect for human rights, diversity, and dignity is a cornerstone of ethical, sociological research. Scholars have to work with populations from different cultures and backgrounds, many of whom are vulnerable or traumatized (Bryman, 2021).
Major Theoretical Perspectives of Sociology
People have been divided into social classes and worried about their social status since times immemorial. As you can see, nothing has changed; everyone will agree that a $10,000-worth car will take them to work as effectively as a $100,000-worth car. Still, driving a $100,000-worth vehicle is much more pleasant and gratifying, isn’t it? So, that’s about social class and stratification that accompanies humanity through centuries. Sociology approaches it from three perspectives: functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism. The functional perspective says that different class systems exist for good reasons and contribute to overall social stability and performance. Conflict theory holds a different opinion, treating the social class as an instrument of inequality promotion, human oppression, and division between the poor and the rich. Symbolic interactionism is more about the meanings people assign to their class belonging and how those meanings affect their social interactions and experiences (Bryman, 2021).
Returning to our example of an expensive car, functionalists say that people should occupy their predetermined units in society, with some of them living poorly, driving cheap cars, and doing cheap manual work. Otherwise, the social system may fail, and consequences can be detrimental to the overall social order. The proponents of social theory would say that cheap and expensive cars serve as physical evidence of social inequality and unjust access to material resources. Symbolic interactionism would study how a person driving a cheap and expensive car would feel, behave, and treat others.
Cultural and Social Interaction
Culture refers to the symbols, shared language, norms, values, and artifacts conceded from generation to generation within a specific society that affects people’s behavior, judgment, and lifestyle (Parray, 2020). Language is the cultural component that makes social interactions within a specific group possible, while norms and values shape the boundaries of what is acceptable or non-acceptable in those interactions. For example, the Japanese do not find handshakes acceptable and have a strong focus on collectivism, while Americans are much more comfortable with handshakes and favor individualism. These underlying cultural values and norms can hinder cross-cultural communication even if they speak a similar language, like English.
Socialization
As people are social creatures, their natural drive to establish or join groups is realized with the help of different agents of socialization. They include family, religious and political affiliation, penal system, schooling, peer society, etc. Children learn to socialize in their family and school settings, thus adopting a predetermined set of implicit rules and norms regulating their society. Further on, they socialize with people based on shared values, such as a common religion or political preference, which contributes to social stability and group regulation (Handel, 2020). Language and the media are also socialization agents that help people find common ground and interact. The former helps people understand the information coming through social channels, while the latter shape their attitudes and perceptions of global events, social trends, politics, innovations, and material objects (Walter, 2019).
Conclusion
As you can see, sociology is a valuable, legitimate science explaining basic social processes and dynamics, helping humankind understand their interactions better. It has data-backed answers to why people commit crimes, travel, consume specific information, and hold specific worldviews. Besides, it clarifies the in-depth historical transformations of the global society and explains why we are where we are now. Studying sociology may help you better understand yourself and your surrounding community, thus helping you establish positive social relationships and thrive in your cultural context.
References
Akmut, C. (2022). The history and sociology of computer science and technology II (part 3). Web.
Bryman, A. (2021). Social research methods. (6th ed.). Oxford University Press.
Handel, G. (2020). Childhood socialization. Taylor & Francis.
Neubert, D. (2022). Do Western sociological concepts apply globally? Towards a global sociology. Sociology, 1-16. Web.
Parray, T. A. (2020). An introduction to educational sociology. OrangeBooks Publication.
Thompson, W. E., Hickey, J. V., & Thompson, M. L. (2018). Society in focus: An introduction to sociology. Rowman & Littlefield.
Walter, M. (2019). Social research methods. Oxford University Press.