Sociology hall of fame

• Auguste Comte


  Believed that society is constantly changing and individuals and groups are struggling to adapt to these changes
• Positivism


  • The application of the scientific method to obtain quantifiable data in order to understand society
  • An approach to the study of society that relies specifically on scientific evidence, such as experiments and statistics, to reveal a true nature of how society operates
  • by Auguste Comte
• Auguste Comte coined the word sociology
• Auguste Comte's notion of positivism was one of his most important contributions
• Emile Durkheim


  • Influenced by Comte
  • Function differentiation - divisions that created to help deal with complex environment; these divisions operate independently but are connected to one another
  • His theories provided the foundation of structural functionalism
  • His book suicide answers a difficult question, such as why do people commit suicide
• Talcott Parsons


  • Developed the concept of social system
  • Examined social behavior as a single entity or mass
  • Believed in social evolutions and social Darwinism
  • Individual and specific groups could be defined by the purpose they served
• Karl Marx


  • Developed theories about social inequality that influenced other theorists
  • Believes that society is about fierce, power, and wealth, therefore if the factory workers did not get low pay, they would revolt against the factory owners
  • Conflict theory
• Conflict Theory


  • Studies the conflict within the economic system between two classes, like higher class and lower class
  • The conflict theory can also be applied to gender and race
• C. Wright Mills


  • Influenced by both Marx and the conflict school and Weber's idea
  • Disagreed by Parson's theory
  • Developed the concept of sociological imagination - The ability to connect individual experiences with social realities
  • Conflict theory
• Dorothy Smith


  • Her theory is that women have been marginalized in society
  • The starting point of her analysis is that culture is socially constructed
  • The ideas of imposed on women in a society constructed on concepts that favour men
• Charles Cooley


  • Studied the relationship between the individual and society in great depth
  • Believed that looking - glass self is as a way of explaining how individuals see themselves through the eyes of those whom they interact
  • Primary group - a set of people with whom an individual has strong as emotional and personal connections
• George Herbert Mead


  Believed that individuals wear masks depending on the role they were playing
• Max Weber


  • German scholar that believes that social life is rife with examples of conflict and cohesion
  • Rationalization - social actions motivated by efficiencies and benefits, not custom or emotional
  • Bureaucracy - a large administration that pursues a wide variety of goals
  • Symbolic interaction
• Conformity

  • The process by which an individual alter and change themselves to avoid rejection from society 
  • Social driven 
• Compliance 

  • Something that can be punished or rewarded
  • Avoid punishment
• Obedience 

  • The act or habit of doing what one is told to do 
  • Power
• Roles 

  Guidelines for the expectations from the role
• Sanction

  • Informal or formal penalty or reward to ensure conformity within a group
  • Ensure conformity of a group