An Introduction to the Theoretical Perspectives of Sociology

Sociologists have covered a broad amount of material in their accumulated studies. Some, like Karl Marx, studied broad topics related to the whole of societies. He theorized that the root of human misery lies in the uneven distribution of wealth in society. Others, like Emile Durkheim, focused on more concise topics. He concentrated much of his effort on determining why certain sects of people are more apt to commit suicide than others. Still others, like Max Weber, studied patterns in culture throughout history to determine how much a social group can affect one's life. Though many sociologists study different topics, all use their recorded data to produce theories. These theories suggest how certain parts of the world fit together and how they work. If you break theories down further, you can sort them into three distinct categories: symbolic interactionism, functional analysis, and conflict theory. All three can use different observations to prove the same point.

Firstly, symbolic interactionism. This theory initially stated that one evaluates himself based on the conduct of others. As years went on, symbolic interactionism also showed that people use symbols to encapsulate their experiences. Symbolic interaction is generally conducted at the Microsociological level. That is - it examines small scale patterns of social interaction. For example. If you think of a family member as an aunt or an uncle, you will behave in a certain way. If the person is a best friend, you will carry yourself quite differently. Without symbolic interaction, we would have no way to define relationships, and we would be reduced to a level of animal interaction. In short, symbolic interactionists analyze how our behaviors depend on the ways we define ourselves and others.

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Functional analysis basically states that society is a whole made up of independent parts that work together. A sociologist that was mentioned earlier in the paper, Emile Durkheim, was one of the most prominent sociologists associated with this view. His work noted that, although the whole of society works together, individual sects of people can be more likely to do certain things than others. Most notable of all his studies is likely his work done on finding social factors that may contribute to the likelihood of a person committing suicide. He observed that how strong or weak social bonds are have a strong impact on suicide rate in a social group. For example, women and protestants are more apt to commit suicide because their ties to their social groups are weaker. Also, he noted that if bonds are too strong, the risk for suicide increases as well. A man who loses his spouse may be more likely to commit suicide, because he sees death as a better option than living without his wife. In this case, their feelings were deeply integrated.

An Introduction to the Theoretical Perspectives of Sociology

Finally, there is conflict theory. This theory came as a result of Karl Marx's studies on social equality. He concluded that the key to human history is class struggle. This meant that one small group of people controls the means, while a much larger group of workers is exploited for their benefit. This, of course, was recorded at a time when worker's rights, labor laws, and capitalism were in their infancy. For the most part, workers were at the mercy of their employers. Marx suggested that if all the wealth was shared evenly, humans could coexist in harmony.

These three theories not only explained human interaction when they were created many years ago, but can also be applied today to more modern situations. Take Emile Durkheim. His studies on human interaction stated that the group of people one is surrounded by determines how he carries himself. If Durkheim were alive today, and he intended to undertake a study of gangs, he would likely start out by observing what type of external factors lead to an individual's desire to join one. External forces, such as parental neglect, lack of friendship, and lack of social activity could all be considered legitimate reasons for one to join a gang. Upon entering, Durkheim would follow several gang members and see how drastically a person's values would change in order to conform to the lifestyle of the gang. In short, he would show that weak bonds with family fuel a desire for strong bonds with another source - whether that source is a positive or a negative influence.

The three sub levels of Theoretical Perspectives help us to better understand how sociologists go about crafting their theories, and how they will experiment to attempt to prove them. While there is no single way to go about producing sociological theories, each one of the sub categories listed in this essay can offer a legitimate explanation for almost any sociological issue.

An Introduction to the Theoretical Perspectives of Sociology

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