Sociological Perspective

Deviance and Sociological Perspectives The current paper aims to discuss deviance in accordance with Structural Functional theory and Conflict Perspective theory. It is important to note that deviance is usually understood as a specific behavior, which seriously differs from the accepted social standards and mainstream trends. The deviance is especially noticeable in communication patterns and sexual life. There seems to be no doubt that deviance is present in any state due to the specific social laws discussed by the different theories (Ritzer 83-84).

I will be applying the three major sociological perspectives, which include functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism to the experiences of Hispanic Americans. No ethnic group attracts more public attention than the Hispanic people do due to their large numbers, their residential clustering, and bilingual programs and signs associated with them making them a recognizable ethnic group. Hispanic people who live in poverty or the small number involved in gangs, drugs, or other criminal activity get more attention and generate negative stereotypes, but most of them live as members of the middle class.

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.

Growing up, almost every parent will tell you, “you can be anything you set your mind to!” or “the possibilities are endless”. But from an early childhood my parents were creating an opportunity structure for my life. Through my 20 years, how I was taught, the places I went to, the people I interacted with and the implications of society and societal norms followed me. As with many other families, my parents focused on setting me up for the best possible future. But little did they know, they were contributing to a society where some people are allotted more privileges and opportunities than others. I will attempt to deconstruct this complex social construction by looking at gender, social class, family influences, race, and socialization; which will be discussed in greater detail further along. When analyzing sociological concepts like gender, social class, and race sociologists use a “sociological lens”. Using a sociological lens will allow me to take the experiences I had and look at them on a broader cultural level. Ultimately sociologists use sociological lenses to better understand how personal experiences not only impact 1 person but how they can be applied in a broader context, allowing individuals to relate to others in society who may have had similar experiences.

Max Weber was a sociologist, philosopher, jurist and political economist. A lot of his ideas profoundly influenced social theory and social research. He had believed in understanding one's social behaviors or actions and not just using senses. He also believed that there's not just one reason for peoples actions but multiple. David Durkheim was also a sociologist. most of his work was concerned with how societies could maintain their integrity and coherence in modernity.

Sociological perspectives is the study of human life and social interactions; the way humans interact in group settings or in society as a whole. In sociology there are three primary sociological theories or approaches known as conflict, functionalist, and symbolic interactionist. Each theory has its own perspectives based upon how humans view society, social change, social order or individual views. The symbolic interactionist perspective is the sociological approach that generalizes about everyday forms of social interactions in order to explain society as a whole (Witt, J. 2015, pp 17). Symbolic interactionist is what we will use to find out how it affects family, marriage, education and religion within our lives daily.

After reading the Three Main Sociological Perspectives, I developed a brief understanding about sociology. Out of all three perspectives, I have witnessed numerous examples that represent functional perspective. There are two parts that make up the functional perspective. The two parts are manifest function and latent function. One event that I witnessed that demonstrated a latent function was when Carmen Farina opened schools after a severe snow storm. In the winter of 2014, Carmen Farina made the decision that required all New York City schools to open. On the previous night, New York City endured a snow storm accumulating multiple feet. Her reason to open schools was due to the unintentional or latent function it provides to many individuals.

A good point to start is the sociological experience standpoint. You must mention that a child is affected by the upbringing it has had,the support and encouragement to succeed at school from parental influence and the EXPECTATION the parents have for their child. It is common for occurence for a child who cannot achieve and win praise at school, to then be disruptive in order to gain attention, even if it is notoriety. The peer group pressure is extremely significant. If the child associates with non-achievers, he is likely to fits in there, if he is with students who are achieving then the competition to keep up and be alike is great.Parents whose income is low may not be around because of late shifts or smaller children in the house, to

Personally, I learned the messages about how other groups of people should be categorized from my external surroundings of family, friends, peers, and other people around me. Throughout the years, my family would always tell and teach me their thoughts and beliefs of other groups of people. My friends and peers from school would also tell me their thoughts as well. From all the external influences in my life, I have gathered a lot of information on how to “judge” and “categorize” other people. Although I was taught by others to believe a certain way, I believe that my own ways of judgment and prejudice still come from within myself and I do not like to let others make the decision for me.

A sociological perspective on human behavior is connected to the society as a whole. It invites us to look for the connections between the behavior of individuals and the structures of the society in which they live. (Appendix 1)

In sociology there are three main sociological perspectives, these perspectives offer sociologists theoretical paradigms for explains how society influences people and how people influence society. The three main perspectives are symbolic interactionist perspective, the functionalist perspective, and the conflict perspective. All three of these perspectives look at things differently with in society. I define myself as a structural functionalist. Structural functionalism is the theory that attempts to explain why society functions the way it does, it mostly focuses on social institutions and the relationship between them.

Throughout the course of this semester, I have learned there are many different terms and theories about society that I feel like I can relate to and have a much better understanding about the concept of sociology. For the last paper of this class I would like to talk about the last three sociological concepts that I feel have helped me improve my understanding of the relationship between society and myself. The three concepts that I will talk about are: fictive kin, agenda setting theory, and lastly, bystander effect or diffusion of responsibility.

An employer is an individual or organization who employs one or more person (employee) for wages or salary, while an employee works for an individual or organization (employer) for wage or salary. The wage that is earn is used to cover expenses by the employee, in the form of bills, to cover health, housing, food, utilities, all seen as a necessity.

Sociocultural perspective is mainly about how different people are from one another. This theory is used to determine what might trigger or influence someone's behavior or mental stage, such as their surroundings, gender, culture, or even ethnicity. A person's surroundings is a major part of their behavior or actions because this could help a psychologist understand why they think something is normal, or where they picked up some of the habits they may have. For example, someone from a more individual or smaller society will have a more independent of others as well as themselves. Society is also put into the socio-cultural perspective because children tend to lean towards what everyone else does so they could feel pressured to do things just to fit into a group.

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