At first I took this sociology course because I needed to cover my social science requirement for my associate degree. During the first week of school, I started reading the sociology book by Schaefer, and I became interested in the theories that sociologist came up with. When I started reading the modern development theorists, Charles Horton Cooley, it was so fascinating because he focused on social interaction. Cooley came up with the concept called “looking glass self”, and I will explain it and show my view about it in this essay. Charles Horton Cooley was born during the 18’s. He grew up in wealthy life where his father and mother had professional jobs in the industry. He was lonely and shy person that wrote his daily ides in the diary, but destroyed later on in his life because he did not want to remember it. He dreamed of becoming a great leader and writer during his early childhood. He accomplished his dreams because he followed it by attending college at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. While he was at University, he took several courses in history, economics and philosophy. These subjects drew Cooley’s interest into sociology. During the 1890’s, he started his graduate work in political economy and sociology. Before he received his doctored degree, he came up with a theory that is a base of sociology studies till this year he called it "The Theory of Transportation." He received his PhD in political economy in 1894. He became professor
Labelling theory has also been used to apply the interactionist theory to society; the theory, like Mead, emphasises the importance of symbols and situations in which they are used. The main interactionist concepts are the definition of the situation – if we believe in something then it could affect the way in which we behave. The looking glass –self – this was created by Cooley who argues that we see ourselves in a way in which we think others see us. These concepts have been useful in explaining why people act in certain ways in certain situations; therefore, the labelling theory is effective in the study of society.
Three ways the sociological perspective can help one succeed in college and the work force has to begin with what the work force and college life is actually looking for. College is a place where students socialize and become part of the community, the work force is where people socialize and become part of a larger idea to make a profit. Without the complete desire to become apart of the world, then the whole experience is limited for an individual. The sociological perspective is an outlook on the world so that one can see beyond the individual and one’s focuses, and focus upon seeing the way the world functions and how people interact with one another. (Ballantine et al, 2016) There are eight ways the sociological perspective can help an
Chapter 3 of Essential of Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach by James M. Henslin discusses the topic of socialization, which is the process by which people learn the characteristics of their group—the knowledge, attitudes, skills, norms, values, and actions thought appropriate for them. Sociologists try to determine how much of a person’s characteristics comes from “nature” (heredity) and how much from “nurture” (social environment). Studying feral, isolated, and institutionalized children, such as The Skeels/Dye Experiment, have helped them understand how “society makes us human.” The theories and research of Charles Horton Cooley, George Herbert Mead, and Piaget to explain socialization into the self and mind. Cooley’s looking-glass self theory focuses on how we believe others perceive us.
Sociologists employ three major theoretical perspectives in sociology today. They are the structural-functionalist perspective, the conflict perspective, and the symbolic interactionism. The structural-functionalist perspective is done at a macro level and its focus is on the relationships between the parts of society. The Conflict perspective is done at a macro level and its main focus is on how the wealthy controls the poor and weak.
In Allen Johnson’s “The Forest, The Trees, and The One Thing”, he expresses that in order to understand sociology we need to be able to understand the relationship between biography and history. To explain this, Johnson uses five rules to sociology called the sociological imagination. These rules explain how an individual relates to social systems.
George Herbert Mead and Erving Goffman are two theorists in the study of sociology that have impacted the way we see sociology today. Their works, when closely examined, actually share some extreme similarities. Both of these men seemed very interested in the perception of self in the eyes of others as well as yourself. “Mind, Self, and Society” is an article written by Mead which was placed in the book entitled “Social Theory: The Classic Tradition to Post-Modernism” which was edited by Farganis with the copyright of McGraw-Hill in 2004. This primarily deals with the development of one’s self, or their identity. “Presentation of Self in Everyday Life” is an article written by Goffman which was arranged to be in the book “Inner Lives and
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.
Chapter one explains more about the ability to use sociological perspective, build understanding to each unique person with different patterned lives. As a college student I’d hope to get a good job after I graduate, because sociology is a great development of knowledge for the real world. Sociology can help anyone prepare for communication and learn different factors of the real world we live in. Our economy is nothing but industrial and without socializing and communicating in being bigger and better than before, where would we be? We are nothing but expanding
A) Compare and contrast the functionalist, conflict, and interactionist theoretical approaches to the study of society. How does each approach view society, the individual, social order, and social change? Your textbook analyzes sports in terms of various perspectives. Using the analysis of sports as a model, analyze the role of television from the functional, conflict, and interactionist approaches.
C. Wright Mills defined sociological perspective as the ability to “think yourself away from the familiar routines of everyday life” and “the vivid awareness of the relationship between experience and the wider society.”
In Peter Berger's "Invitation to Sociology", the sociological perspective was introduced. Berger asserts that it is important to examine new or emotionally or morally challenging situations from a sociological perspective in order to gain a clearer understanding of their true meanings. This perspective requires a person to observe a situation through objective eyes. It is important to "look beyond" the stereotypical establishments of a society and focus on their true, hidden meanings. Consideration of all the hidden meanings of social customs, norms, deviations and taboos, allow one to establish an objective image about the truth behind it. This method can also be applied to understanding people. This questioning, Berger says, is the
The sociological imagination is an idea or a way of thinking that interlocks an individual in a society with the society as a whole. Most people refer to sociology as the study of how people or individuals interact with each other. In order to fully understand sociology and the concept of the sociological imagination as proposed by C. Wright Mills, one has to be able to envision the individual and the society working together to better understand the role each plays in the social order. C. Wright Mills states that "Sociology must make a connection between the individual and the social. It must allow the individual to see the larger context in which his or her life is lived, and in
The sociological imagination is the “quality of mind” (Mills, 1959: 4) that enables individuals to look outside their private sphere of consciousness and identify the structures and institutions in society that influence or cause their personal experiences. In this way, by looking at the bigger picture, they can understand their place in society and explain their circumstance in terms of societal influence.
The bigger picture is using your sociological imagination to understand today’s society to help make the necessary corrections for the greater good of the people in society. But due to society’s reliance on the individualistic perspective it is hard for millions of individuals to not blame no one other than themselves for the life they are currently living, good or bad. The individualistic perspective owns today’s society, however, if one would use the perspective used by sociologists than resolutions to one’s problems can be accomplished. In addition, this will help make corrections in society for the greater good of individuals struggling with the same issues and problems. As a result, skepticism is a crucial element in understanding one’s social environment because it will allow one to consider other interpretations that go against the common explanations for things. In conclusion, then, the two significant topics discussed are the focus on social and
At the beginning of the semester, I knew very little about sociology or even what it was about. I just knew I needed to take the class for my degree plan to transfer to a four-year university and that I would be doing a lot of reading about different terms and theories of society. However, this first month of class has helped me improve my understanding of what sociology is about and shown me how my personal society has impacted the way I view society. Not only did I learn about the relationships between society and myself, but I have also learned different concepts that have helped me gain a better understanding of how society works. There are three specific sociological concepts that has helped me improve my understanding of the relation