Sociological Perspectives

Functionalism is a macro system theory which sees society as a mega structure of linked social institutions such as school, family and the legal system. Each different institution is functional to ensure the whole of society is maintained. For example primary socialisation takes place within the home where children are taught basic life

The purpose of this paper is to construct an essay and define the sociological perspective. To be able to explain how my knowledge of the Sociological Perspective has helped me to understand the social world on both a macro and micro level. This essay will include the definition, discussion and application of specific sociological terms, concepts and theories.

Growing up, my life was somewhat sheltered compared to the lives of other people my age. I was raised by both my mom and dad in a Christian household, in which I was taught morals based upon our faith. As a result of this upbringing, my parents and I made the decision to enroll me in a private Christian school in sixth grade. In this setting I was protected from the influences of the outside world. All of the language, violence, and temptations were around me, which I began to recognize as I entered my freshman year of high school. Even the walls of the highly respected establishment could not keep the real world out.

In today’s tumultuous world, a person can benefit from different ways to make sense of all the things that happen around them to add perspective and reason. One of these ways is to use a sociological perspective to achieve a greater understanding of both cause and effect. The three major sociological perspectives include: the functionalist perspective, the conflict perspective, and the symbolic interactionist perspective. In response to the news article NYC Police Officers Turn Their Backs on Mayor, each of the sociological perspectives will be discussed in relationship to the civil unrest between the New York City police department and mayor’s office in the shooting deaths of two officers during protests.

Sociological perspective is according to the lecture viewing the world through a sociological lens. In doing this, allows us to see the general in the like how society shapes general patterns of behavior and/or to see the shape in the familiar like how people behave how it is not just individual choice. An example of using sociological perspective would be how society influenced me to go to college and not just college what made me pick Louisiana tech. the first influence that most people would not think as society is my parents. I say my parents because my parents have always told me to be better than them which to them that meant going to college and finishing. Even with me being the youngest of four and my parents

In order to understand have theory of Sociological perspectives you must first define the three major philosophies. The first sociological perspective will be the symbolic interactionist perspective which focus on the everyday details of life. They look at how people interpret different signs and symbolic images that have a specific meaning to the originator but sometimes loses meaning to the receiver. Since words are not concrete and can sometime be manipulated to another person to justify why they thought this was the correct interpretation. The second sociological perspective I would like to address is the Functionalist perceptive which focus on how we are held together by adapting to social consensus. The majority

In the theory of functionalism society is made from a bunch of connected structures. One structure is institutions which is structures that meet the needs of society, like education systems, businesses, marriage and medicine.

Sociologists use one or more theoretical perspective approaches to make different assumptions about society three of the most common theoretical perspectives is the conflict, functionalist, and interactionist. Each one of these three major sociological perspectives have similarities and differences among each other.

Symbolic interactionism is the first of the three theoretical perspectives in Sociology. This avenue of examining sociological factors looks at more personal interactions than the other two perspectives. Sociologist observe patterns and behaviors of these smaller interactions to define, or redefine, the use and evolution of symbols in society. Some sociologist see this approach as being too focused on one person’s view and take on society rather than trying to understand society as a functioning whole (Turner, "Symbolic Interaction Theory”). One example of symbolic interactionism put forth by Erving Goffman (1974) uses Roger, an engineer, as an example. Even though he and his parents believe that Roger is an amazing engineer, their perspective would not take into account that Roger’s boss found his skills to be insufficient and fired him. Without combining these two perspectives, that of Roger and his parents and of his boss, there is not a complete understanding of Roger and his skills, or lack there of. The following two perspectives in Sociology examine society at a larger scale.

There are three specific ways to view the world from a sociological perspective. The first is symbolic interactionism, which emphasizes the social aspect of society. People develop symbolic meanings through social interactions. This theory analyzes the way society functions by looking at the meanings people place on objects, whether they are physical, social, or abstract. Another perspective is structural functionalism, which states that society is made up of interrelated parts that work together, and is structured to do the greatest good for the benefit of the most people. This theory views society as a complex system that works together to form solidarity and stability. Lastly, there is the conflict theory, which says that society is composed of groups that are involved in a constant power struggle, and even if outwardly it seems there is cooperation, there is always underlying conflict. There is an emphasis in using

Throughout history various social perspectives have been observed in an attempt to explain and classify different types of sociological behavior. Various theories have been made regarding the sociological perspective, which examines the social contexts that people live in and how these contexts effect the individual and society (Henslin 2). Each sociological perspective examines something different and poses a different theory. Discussed here are three sociological perspectives: the functionalist perspective, the conflict perspective and the feminist perspective. All three perspectives are forms of social institutions or the ways that a society meets its basic needs (Henslin 104).

Sociology allows for each individual to have varying opinions and results based off of their own perspective. There are three main categories by which people follow and live their lives by, almost like a predestination of sorts. The sociological perspectives are structural-functional, social conflict and symbolic interactions. All perspectives differ in the approach taken as well as the success rate for each, but without these classifications society would not function as a whole.

In chapter one of our book it is talking about the sociological perspective. Sociology is defined as the systematic study of human society. It is explained that sociological perspective is seeing the common in the specific. Sociologists look for common patterns in the behavior of certain people. I found it very interesting in chapter one where it states that higher class white men are more likely to commit suicide than any other population and that between genders; men are more likely to commit suicide. This is interesting because I would have thought the roles were reversed. I would have thought that women are more likely to commit suicide because women are more emotional than men. Later on in the chapter it goes on to talk about how to apply sociological perspective. It can be applied in three different ways. It can be applied in one’s life, one’s work, and in studying sociology. When we apply sociological perspective to our lives we are more likely to become active and more aware. After applying sociological perspective we begin to think more critically in our everyday lives. There are three major theoretical approaches. The structural-functional approach is the basic layout for building theory that sees society as a complex system whose parts work simultaneously to stimulate harmony and strength. The social-conflict approach sees society as a place of inequality that produces struggle and change. Lastly is the symbolic-interaction approach. This approach sees that

The three theories in sociology provide us with different understandings of how to view our social world. The perspectives are the different ways of looking at the world. The theories are a set of ideas that are designed to understand generalizations of society and social behavior. The sociologists study anything from specific events, also known as micro level, to the bigger events, also known as macro level.

Sociology is the study of the social lives of human beings and how humans live culturally and socially develop relationships. It is crucial to understand the society that humans live in and a series of social behavior that humans undergo. The three major ways you could view sociology, Structural Functionalism, Conflict theory, and Symbolic Interaction. Not everyone will have the same sociological perspective because the different perspectives are truly based on what you believe this world runs on.