Main Theoretical Perspectives Within Sociology

Sociologists develop theories to explain and analyze society at different levels and from different perspectives. Sociologists study everything from the micro level of analysis of small social patterns to the “big picture” which is the macro level of analysis of large social patterns.

Theories are a series of interconnected proposals. Theories are an effort to describe, explain, predict, and finally control a period of events. We are able to base our experiments and select the contenders for the experiments off of our theories. We are able to test our theories by how well the cumulated data describes, relates to and predicts reality. Theories act as patterns for interpreting specific data that we may refer back to. These patterns ensure we stay on topic and are able to obtain the proper results needed to verify our theories.

After a careful study and a deeper research on an introduction to sociology, I have come to understand that no problem can be solved well enough if one does not have the sociological perspective which is defined as a way of looking at the world through a sociological lens. In fact, there is the need of the lens that will help one to view situations and have the eye to emerge through different views to solve that problem. This mirror has become a doorway that will help one to have a beginner’s mind to approach problems.

A theory is a set of systematic informed hunches about the way things work. A good theory goes beyond accepted wisdom and offers explanations and speculations about phenomena. Additionally, a good theory consists of a system of concepts which means that the theorist were able to make connections among his ideas. A theory tends to shape our perception of reality and behaviour and guides us through unknown areas.

In the world of sociology there are many different ways that humans interact with the world. Although we are all human beings, we do not always see the world the same way that others do. Even though not many are aware of the different ways they can see the world, there are three sociological perspectives. Using structural functionalism, the conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism one will be able to decide which view best represents the way they see this world. When asked about my perspective on the world, I view it using the conflict theory due to the examples that society gives us based on events that happen frequently. Even though all three of these theories are socially correct, the conflict theory defines my view of the world more than structural functionalism and symbolic interaction.

Symbolic interactionism focuses on the language and symbols that help us give meaning to the experiences in life. It also studies how people discuss the meaning of social life during interactions

There are five theoretical perspectives used by sociologists in their research: symbolic interaction, rational choice, structural functionalism, social conflict, and feminist. Actions of the family members in Family Dinner Date video can be explained by each of these theories.

A theory is an explanation of why or how things are related to each other (Bohm & Vogel, 2011). Additionally, a theory is defined as a plausible or scientifically acceptable principle, or a body of principles, offered to explain phenomena (Merriam-Webster Dictionary, 2017). Furthermore, crime theories examine and attempt to identify relationships among humans, criminal behavior, and specific factors such as biological factors, psychological factors, sociological factors, and economic factors (Bohm & Vogel, 2011). Since we have defined a theory, let us further discuss how theories are created beginning with the components of a theory.

This hand-out will be explaining the seven principle sociological perspectives. The seven principle sociological perspectives are Functionalism, Marxism, Feminism, Interactionism, Postmodernism, The New Right and Collectivism. Sociology is the understanding of different people, breaking down the word sociology; ‘soci’ means society and ‘ology’ means the science of. The main aim of sociology is to try to describe and explain human behaviour within society. Sociology studies subjects such as religion, crime, family, law, poverty, prejudice, race and gender. Sociology also studies different terms which include social structures, social diversity and socialisation. A social structure means the things that make up society in the UK, for example how we have a free education system whereas a lot of other countries don’t and how we have the NHS which is a free health care system. Social diversity means the differences between people within a society, for example age, race and gender are all diverse factors of society as they are all differences, other differences include religion, languages and ethnicity. There are two types of socialisation, primary socialisation is learning the norms like manners and expected behaviour from family members and what they believe is a ‘norm’. This is why people exhibit certain behaviour, because it’s what they’re family believe and what they are brought up to be like, for example their view on racism could differ due to what their family think.

Symbolic Interactionism is one of the three perspectives that uses symbols as the key to understanding how the world is view. These symbols have meaning to people and it can be the way they use these symbols to determine how they define their self and the world they live in.

What are the three major sociology perspectives in regards to social issues? They are Symbolic Interactionism perspectives, Functionalism perspectives, and Conflict Theory perspectives. These perspectives offer sociologists abstract examples for explaining how society affects people, and vice versa. Each perspective individually theorizes society, social forces, and human behavior.

In Sociology, the theoretical perspectives that exist are ones that deal with how the world is perceived amongst individuals. In this study, sociologist have been able to identify many theories in which the world follows to create a type of ordnance. These could involve whether a certain society is being conducted in a smooth manner or if a society is struggling for order and power within their people. An example of this is to ask the question, how is it that government keep constant communication with its citizens? The theoretical perspective of sociology involve 3 different viewpoints of how a society can function and the relationship between the people within different societies interact with each other.

Theories in sociology provide us with different perspectives with which to view our social world. A perspective is simply a way of looking at the world. A theory is a set of interrelated propositions or principles designed to answer a question or explain a particular phenomenon; it provides us with a perspective. Sociological theories help us to explain and predict the social world in which we live.

“Sociology is a science because it is based on a rational body of knowledge, much of which can be tested objectively” (Claerbaut, 2015). The method in which this relates to the attempt to understand the functions and nature of human behavior is by how people view society. There are three major theories that provide a lens to compare how and individual see their environment. “A theory is a set of ideas that attempts to explain the known facts of a subject in a way that makes sense” (Claerbaut, 2015).

According to Haralambos and Holborn (2008), a theory is a set of ideas which attempts to explain how something works.