Inleiding in sociologie
H1: Questions
1.1
Sociology = The scientific study of social phenomena. This means that, if you want to
give a sociological explanation of human behavior, you need to consider the influence of
social contexts and study the resulting collective human behavior.
individual perspective = Type of explanation of human behaviour which focuses
on individual causes.
Example: Person with obesity has their own personal reasons for the cause of
obesity and has own personal reasons on how he could change his behaviour. You
can explain an individual perspective to explain his kind of human behaviour.
Sociologist don’t deny that there are individual causes of obesity but prefer to understand
the behavior of persons by considering their social context. The American sociologist C.
W. Mills famously said the term sociological imagination to signal that the task for
sociologists is to identify social causes of human behaviour (Mills, 2000 [1959]).
The sociological perspective seeks to explain human behaviour by the social contexts
individuals share. In short, it identifies social causes as opposed to individual causes.
Sociological imagination (also sociological perspective) = type of
explanation of human behaviour which focuses on social causes.
Social context = social environment in which people are embedded.
In cause of the obesity, sociologist look at the social surroundings of the individual, for
example the country they are in. Not everything can be considered as pure individual.
Social phenomenon = collective human behaviour.
What sociologists aim to understand is how, first, human behavior typically results from
shared contextual conditions and how, subsequently, this gives rise to collective
outcomes. sociologists argue that behavior has social causes and that such shared social
contexts result in collective outcomes.
How is the sociological perspective on human behaviour related to the individual
perspective? Sociological perspective supplements the individual perspective. They are
not in conflict, but the two perspectives together provide a more comprehensive
explanation of human behavior. Sociologists sometimes argue that individual causes of
human behavior are “proximate” causes of behavior, not ultimate causes.
Proximate causes = The factors that are “close to” the phenomena the
researcher wants to explain, whereas ultimate causes are factors that are
“deeper,” “hidden” in the background. Proximate causes are explained by
ultimate causes (also called “distal causes”).
Ultimate causes = factors that underlie proximate causes.
,Different social contexts:
1. The micro level refers to the lowest level, namely individuals and their behavior,
attitudes, resources and so forth.
2. The meso level designates social conditions that individuals share in their
immediate environment. Examples are: family, neighborhood, school, work
organization, religious community, political organization and social networks.
3. The macro level indicates the highest level that individuals share. Typically these
are countries or groups of countries (continents, world regions).
1.2
A social problem, also named public issue, is commonly understood as a problem that
(Mills, 2000):
1. Goes beyond the individual (it affects many people).
2. Is an issue about which many people are concerned (it is in conflict with certain
values).
Social problems are more severe the more people are affected (criterion 1) and the more
strongly they conflict with prevalent values (criterion 2).
What people consider as a social problem depends on their values.
1.3
There are three core aims of sociology to describe, explain and to apply.
In sociology, social problems are studied as social phenomena, which means that they are
not studied as a normative problem but as a scientific phenomenon of interest.
Understanding social phenomena thereby contributes to understanding and solving social
problems.
1. Describe
The aim of a sociologist is to come up with accurate descriptions of the social
phenomena. (What is obesity?, how strong is the change in growth?)
2. Explain
The second aim of sociologists is to come up with scientific explanations for social
phenomena. (What causes obesity?, What social conditions set these forces in motion?)
3. Apply
The third aim of sociology is to apply and share its insights. By doing so, it returns to the
normative domain, to the public concern about social problems. Sociological findings can
be used to describe what is likely to happen.
, Sociologists can also apply their knowledge by developing and evaluating social
interventions.
Social interventions = Social policy measure. Interventions to apply to reduce
social problems.
Societal relevance = Relevance of sociological work for the understanding of
social problems.
It is important to realize that social problems are often complex and have multiple causes,
including not only social conditions but also non-social factors. This means that
sociological insights contribute to our knowledge of social problems, but that a full
understanding of social problems also includes the work of other scientists.
1.4
Normative questions = Social problems are accompanied with normative
questions about what “should be done.” Question that entails value judgments.
Example: Should we reduce income inequality? Should we reduce something about the
rising percentage of obese people? With these questions you focus on normative ideology
and judgements.
Scientific question = question that does not entail value judgments. There are
three types of scientific questions, namely: descriptive, theoretical and application.
1. Descriptive question = type of scientific question targeted towards describing
phenomena. How much, many? What is happening? (Example: How high is the
crime rate in Brazil and Canada?)
2. Theoretical question = type of scientific question targeted towards
understanding phenomena. Why is this happening? (Example: Why is the crime
rate higher in Brazil than in Canada?)
3. Application question = type of scientific question targeted towards applying
scientific knowledge. These questions can be targeted towards predictions or
towards social interventions. What will happen in the future? What are the
consequences of a certain social intervention? (Example: How will the crime rate
develop in Brazil?)
1.5
What makes a good sociological question? The art of asking good questions is to
reformulate such ill-defined questions into precise questions. The more precisely you
have formulated a question, the better it becomes. There are four question ingredients
that can be considered when you formulate your question:
1. The human behavior you are interested in
2. The social context
3. The period
4. The population.
It is also important that your sociological question is relevant. Social relevancy is not
always the primary motivation.
It is helpful to differentiate between two types of backgrounds to which sociological
studies can be relevant. Namely: scientific knowledge and social problems.
H1: Questions
1.1
Sociology = The scientific study of social phenomena. This means that, if you want to
give a sociological explanation of human behavior, you need to consider the influence of
social contexts and study the resulting collective human behavior.
individual perspective = Type of explanation of human behaviour which focuses
on individual causes.
Example: Person with obesity has their own personal reasons for the cause of
obesity and has own personal reasons on how he could change his behaviour. You
can explain an individual perspective to explain his kind of human behaviour.
Sociologist don’t deny that there are individual causes of obesity but prefer to understand
the behavior of persons by considering their social context. The American sociologist C.
W. Mills famously said the term sociological imagination to signal that the task for
sociologists is to identify social causes of human behaviour (Mills, 2000 [1959]).
The sociological perspective seeks to explain human behaviour by the social contexts
individuals share. In short, it identifies social causes as opposed to individual causes.
Sociological imagination (also sociological perspective) = type of
explanation of human behaviour which focuses on social causes.
Social context = social environment in which people are embedded.
In cause of the obesity, sociologist look at the social surroundings of the individual, for
example the country they are in. Not everything can be considered as pure individual.
Social phenomenon = collective human behaviour.
What sociologists aim to understand is how, first, human behavior typically results from
shared contextual conditions and how, subsequently, this gives rise to collective
outcomes. sociologists argue that behavior has social causes and that such shared social
contexts result in collective outcomes.
How is the sociological perspective on human behaviour related to the individual
perspective? Sociological perspective supplements the individual perspective. They are
not in conflict, but the two perspectives together provide a more comprehensive
explanation of human behavior. Sociologists sometimes argue that individual causes of
human behavior are “proximate” causes of behavior, not ultimate causes.
Proximate causes = The factors that are “close to” the phenomena the
researcher wants to explain, whereas ultimate causes are factors that are
“deeper,” “hidden” in the background. Proximate causes are explained by
ultimate causes (also called “distal causes”).
Ultimate causes = factors that underlie proximate causes.
,Different social contexts:
1. The micro level refers to the lowest level, namely individuals and their behavior,
attitudes, resources and so forth.
2. The meso level designates social conditions that individuals share in their
immediate environment. Examples are: family, neighborhood, school, work
organization, religious community, political organization and social networks.
3. The macro level indicates the highest level that individuals share. Typically these
are countries or groups of countries (continents, world regions).
1.2
A social problem, also named public issue, is commonly understood as a problem that
(Mills, 2000):
1. Goes beyond the individual (it affects many people).
2. Is an issue about which many people are concerned (it is in conflict with certain
values).
Social problems are more severe the more people are affected (criterion 1) and the more
strongly they conflict with prevalent values (criterion 2).
What people consider as a social problem depends on their values.
1.3
There are three core aims of sociology to describe, explain and to apply.
In sociology, social problems are studied as social phenomena, which means that they are
not studied as a normative problem but as a scientific phenomenon of interest.
Understanding social phenomena thereby contributes to understanding and solving social
problems.
1. Describe
The aim of a sociologist is to come up with accurate descriptions of the social
phenomena. (What is obesity?, how strong is the change in growth?)
2. Explain
The second aim of sociologists is to come up with scientific explanations for social
phenomena. (What causes obesity?, What social conditions set these forces in motion?)
3. Apply
The third aim of sociology is to apply and share its insights. By doing so, it returns to the
normative domain, to the public concern about social problems. Sociological findings can
be used to describe what is likely to happen.
, Sociologists can also apply their knowledge by developing and evaluating social
interventions.
Social interventions = Social policy measure. Interventions to apply to reduce
social problems.
Societal relevance = Relevance of sociological work for the understanding of
social problems.
It is important to realize that social problems are often complex and have multiple causes,
including not only social conditions but also non-social factors. This means that
sociological insights contribute to our knowledge of social problems, but that a full
understanding of social problems also includes the work of other scientists.
1.4
Normative questions = Social problems are accompanied with normative
questions about what “should be done.” Question that entails value judgments.
Example: Should we reduce income inequality? Should we reduce something about the
rising percentage of obese people? With these questions you focus on normative ideology
and judgements.
Scientific question = question that does not entail value judgments. There are
three types of scientific questions, namely: descriptive, theoretical and application.
1. Descriptive question = type of scientific question targeted towards describing
phenomena. How much, many? What is happening? (Example: How high is the
crime rate in Brazil and Canada?)
2. Theoretical question = type of scientific question targeted towards
understanding phenomena. Why is this happening? (Example: Why is the crime
rate higher in Brazil than in Canada?)
3. Application question = type of scientific question targeted towards applying
scientific knowledge. These questions can be targeted towards predictions or
towards social interventions. What will happen in the future? What are the
consequences of a certain social intervention? (Example: How will the crime rate
develop in Brazil?)
1.5
What makes a good sociological question? The art of asking good questions is to
reformulate such ill-defined questions into precise questions. The more precisely you
have formulated a question, the better it becomes. There are four question ingredients
that can be considered when you formulate your question:
1. The human behavior you are interested in
2. The social context
3. The period
4. The population.
It is also important that your sociological question is relevant. Social relevancy is not
always the primary motivation.
It is helpful to differentiate between two types of backgrounds to which sociological
studies can be relevant. Namely: scientific knowledge and social problems.
