Sociology as a science Positivism Flashcards
What do positivist’s believe?
Belive that the behaviour of human beings can be objectively and scientifically measured in a similar way to natural science
What methods do they think sociologists should adopt?
Should adopt the logic and methods of the natural sciences in their exploration of how the social structure shapes people behaviour and actions
What is the Hyporthetico-deductive apprpach
Beginning by making an observation about the world-leading them to come up with hypotheses and- informed guesses about how and why the social situation they have observed come about
How do they test their hypotheses?
By collecting data or evidence- scientists normally do this by carrying out laboratory experiments where is positivist sociologists generally go out into the field, social context and conduct a scientific survey
What are Functionalist views?
People behave in the way they do because society and its social institutions have socialised them into a very powerful value consensus. It is difficult to behave differently from everyone else because people might fear the disapproval and punishment that might result in non-conformity
What are Marxist views?
Behaviour is shaped by the economic organisation of capitalist society, and particularly the social class relationships that result from it
A person’s social class position strongly influence educational achievement, job opportunities, life expectancy and even causes of death
