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Foundations of Sociology : Exercise 2
- Theoretical paradigms of sociology
Instructions:
Read each passage and click on the correct answer. Scroll down
if you do not see the Answer box. If wrong, try again. Click
here to review the key terms for this exercise.
While both the structural-functional
and the social-conflict paradigms study society with a macro-level
orientation (a broad look at social structures and how they shape
the whole society), the symbolic-interaction paradigm has a micro-level
orientation (a close-up look at social interaction in specific
situations). The symbolic-interaction paradigm views society as
resulting from the everyday interactions of individuals.
Sociologists who follow the symbolic-interaction
paradigm focus on everyday behaviors, especially on the ways people
have face-to-face interactions. According to them, humans communicate
using symbols - words, gestures, facial expressions, sounds, and actions
- that have common interpretations. These symbols and their interpretations
help shape people's behaviors. For example, if a student is trying
to talk to a teacher and the teacher keeps looking outside or at his
watch, these symbols will tell the student that the teacher does not
have a lot of time. This will cause the student to cut his conversation
short.
The interactions among people and
their understanding of these interactions not only help shape people's
behavior, but they also help them shape their understanding of their
own reality. Therefore, human behavior is not only determined by
the facts of a situation but also by what beliefs people have about
that situation. For example, if a person believes that
NYC streets are dangerous at night, he will not go outside at night
regardless of the fact that the crime rate is low. In short, to
sociologists who follow this approach, society is a complex and
always changing collection of personal meanings (people's own belief
or interpretation of every situation).
Instructions:
Read each passage and click on the correct answer. Scroll down
if you do not see the Answer box. If wrong, try again.
