theory and methods

Question 1

sociology should be a science

Answer 1

Durkheim
-social facts
-suicide study, existed outside of consciousness

Comte
-reality exists outside the mind
-certain social facts govern laws of society such as material deprivation causing crime e.g merton, it’s up to them how they respond
-but they don’t have control over feeling this

Question 2

sociology can be a science

Answer 2

scientific knowledge= testifiable knowledge

Durkheim, positivist methods

Even interpretivist data is testifiable, fuller tested beckers data

Question 3

sociology can not be a science

Answer 3

Unobservable
-unscientific e.g Fuller, labels were about meanings attached and that isn’t a tangible thing

Consciousness
-reaction to external stimuli is conscious in humans unlike science
-label- their reaction

Question 4

sociology is not a science

Answer 4

Popper
-only falsifiable info = science
-not all sociology = falsifiable
-e.g Marxism, can’t prove right or wrong

Interpretivists
-humans have free will so have a choice in how they act
-Cooley, choice of others in how they perceive an action

Question 5

positivists

Answer 5

e.g Durkheim, Comte

official statistics, social facts, laws

quantitative, scientific, value free, objective

Question 6

interpretivists

Answer 6

e.g Cooley

qualitative, value laden

Question 7

kuhn

Answer 7

Paradigms
-basic framework of assumptions, principles and methods from which the members of it’s community work.
-set of norms which tell a scientist how to think and behave

-sociology doesn’t have a single paradigm and no fundamental agreement on what or how to study sociology. Could become a science if it does this

Question 8

popper

Answer 8

Falsification
-black swan theory

-science is unique due to falsification, it has the ability to prove itself wrong
-sociology isn’t a science as it is unable to be falsified, e.g Marxism

science looks for black swan, sociology acceps they’re all white

Question 9

ethnomethodology

Answer 9

Garfnkel
Ethnomethodology does not focus on the effect of meanings, but instead how meanings were created in the first place.

behaviour studied through disturbances of patterns, lodgers experiment

Garfinkel believes in indexicality - nothing has a fixed meaning, it depends on the social context

Question 10

phenomenology

Answer 10

Schultz
Typifications - categories and concepts shared with other members of society:
​
Typifications allow us to stabilise meaning and make sure we agree on meanings of things, which make it possible to cooperate and communicate
​
Without typifications, social order would not be possible

based on common sense knowledge, these socially construct meanings

Question 11

mead

Answer 11

taking the role of the other

We create our world through actions and interactions, which are based on meanings we give to situations.
Our behaviour is not fixed, we give meanings to the things which are important to us by attaching symbols to the world.

When something happens, we embark on an interpretive phase before responding to it, in order to select an appropriate response (for instance, if someone makes a hand gesture at you, you interpret whether this was out of anger or as a joke)

We work out meanings by taking the role of the other - to function in society, we must see ourselves as others do which helps us share symbols and language to act as others require us to

Question 12

weber

Answer 12

social action theory
To gain a full understanding of human behaviour, the sociological explanation involves two levels:
The level of cause.
The level of meaning.

Question 13

thomas

Answer 13

labelling theory
The two concepts that underpin this theory are:
The definition of the situation - if we attach a label to something, it will affect the way we act and has real-life consequences (Thomas).

Question 14

goffman

Answer 14

dramaturgical model
-viewed people as theatrical performers, performing in their everyday lives on stage
-different performances based on social contexts (with friends vs at bank trying to get a loan)
-interchangeable roles (backstage/frontstage)

Question 15

cooley

Answer 15

looking glass self

how people’s sense of self develops through social interactions, and argued that people develop a sense of self by interpreting the reactions of others to them

1- people imagine how their behavior is viewed by others e.g boring

2- People observe the reactions of others and make conclusions on how others evaluate them. For example, they may think others like them for being smart, or dislike them for being boring

3-People develop a self-concept and start to have feelings about themselves based on how they interpret other’s reactions. For example, people might develop a positive sense of self if they realize others like them because they appear as smart

Question 16

social policy

Answer 16

func:
Sociological research should help the government create policies that help society to function. Durkheim believed that through scientific research they could discover both the problems and solutions to society’s problems through social facts. Therefore, sociology’s role is to provide the state with objective scientific information that they can use to base their policies on.

TNR:
murray, welfare benefits
liked child support agencys didnt like divorce reform

marx:
he state represents the ideas of the ruling class, so it’s policies are in the interests of capitalism, and do not serve society as a whole.
ideological function
prevents revolution

fem:
liberal- good improvment
Leonard- some hold back e.g maternity focus on nuclear family, sfp

Question 17

ob and vf

Answer 17

Positivists believe that Sociology can be value free because they are uncovering the ‘objective’ laws of how social systems work – these laws exist independently of the researchers observing them. EG suicide study

interactionism:
Gomm argues that ‘a value free Sociology is impossible… the very idea is unsociological’. He argues that Sociologists react to political, economic and social events- social and moral implications

Becker argues that it is inevitable that
sociologists take sides and that they
should take the side of the Under dog
rather than that of the powerful. Partly
because less is known about these
groups but also because their stories
need to be told in order to redress the
balance.

Gouldner - committed sociology
-not value free
-sociologists should state values so others can keep this in mind and create own judgements
-even science isnt value free due to career oaths, paradigms etc.

Question 18

Factors affecting the influence of sociology on social policy

Answer 18

cost/funding
-may not have budget to implement recommendations

globalisation
Social policy isn’t just made by
a nation in isolation.
International organisations
such as the IMF and EU may
influence social policy within
individual nations.

critical sociology
Sociologists such a the Marxists
are critical of the state and
therefore unlikely to influence
policy