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This cheat sheet is merely an elementary guide to help with understanding the larger concepts found within the field of sociology.
Typology: Cheat Sheet
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What is Sociology? Sociology is the scientific study of society and human behavior (Henslin 2003: GL-13).. What is the field of Sociology? The field of sociology is the professional application of scientific and humanistic approaches to the understanding of society and human behavior. It is a science based profession used to understand the social and human condition. Sociologist, C. Wright Mills (1959) in his text, The Sociological Imagination, encourages readers to think about the relationship between themselves and the society in which they reside. Mills espouses that we are innately influenced by the larger society and the historical context in which we find ourselves. What is the unit of analysis in sociology? The unit of analysis in sociology can range from the individual person to a large group of persons. The unit of analysis can be one to a whole society. Different theoretical perspectives within sociology focus on different units of analysis. Sociologists use the terms Micro, Mezzo, and Macro to define what level of analysis is being utilized. What are the major theoretical orientations in the field of sociology? There is debate in the field of sociology as to what are the major theoretical orientations that guide the profession. These debates merit attention to those within the field, however, sociologists would generally state that the profession is primarily focused on three theoretical orientations. These three theoretical orientations are: Structural Functionalism, Symbolic Interactionism, and Conflict Perspective. What is the history of the discipline of sociology? Auguste Comte (1798-1857) is credited with creating the term sociology, and is considered the founder of sociology (Henslin 2003). Comte desired to understand society using the scientific method, this is called positivism. Comte believed that society operated under laws similar to physical laws of nature. To discover what these social laws were meant one had to study society. “Comte stressed that this new science not only would discover social principles but also would apply them to social reform. Sociologists would reform the entire society, making it a better place to live” (Henslin 2003: 9). From this early focus on science a number of theoretical approaches to understanding society have been developed, see above. Sociology remains connected to its early foundational roots as it is still using science to understand society and human behavior. To understand a theoretical orientation in any profession it is critical to understand what is meant by the term theory. Simply stated, “A theory is a statement of how and why specific facts are related” (Macionis 2006: 11).