The Different Aspects of Sociology - Essay Example

Essay

Sociology

Sociology is defined as the study of society to understand social interactions, culture, and patterns in social relationships surrounding everyday life. There are various methods used in social science, such as empirical investigation and carrying out critical analyses for the development of bodies of knowledge that can help generate knowledge about social change and order. The term sociology draws from a Latin word, socio, which means making a comparison with others, and the Greek word, logo, which, when translated, means reason. There have been changes in sociology since the term was coined, but it remains an important discipline to develop a clear understanding of daily life and the world we live in. Sociology has seven major areas that are important to understand sociology as a social science.

Social organization is an aspect of sociology that refers to the patterns of relationships among different people groups. It is a fundamental of modern society since it facilitates the inclusion of different people groups into societal activities while being sensitive to their differences. Sociologists have a task of identification and classification of different people groups. The groups are defined based on having people who interact with each other, share norms, and have a sense of identity. Social organizations refer to social institutions such as schools or families. These social groups comprise people who identify by profession, religious groups, and social inequality groups such as the distinction between working and lower class in the society.

Social psychology looks into the relationships between individuals and the larger social processes and structures that they take part in. Examples of areas of study include group dynamics theories, ethnicity, gender, race, and deviance. The area of study looks into subjects such as psychological consequences of the work0family life, attitudes that minority groups have toward cultural mainstreams, and social structures of interacting with other people. Human ecology is another branch that studies the nature of a given population and their interaction with the environment. The effect of social structures on the quality of life is investigated to understand the indulgence in prostitution, drug addiction, delinquency, and other habits affected by the adaptation to the quality and quantity of resources.

Social change is a branch that studies the alterations of the societal organization to explain the cause and effect of changes. Social change is defined as progressive and linear. It is used by theorists to emphasize explanations for evolution where society is said to have developed from simple to complex organizational forms. The key factors that drive towards change or have an influence are technological advancements, population changes because of migration, level of contact or isolation with outside communities and cultures, and changes in the physical environment. Sociological methods and research are integrated to understand how sociological principles and insights are applicable in the study and research on understanding the social environment. The field of study is representative of the effort of building and developing theories to understand people's actions and behaviors. Applied sociology is another aspect of sociology that looks into understanding sociological problems to achieve solutions for social problems such as squatters, prostitution, and poor nutrition.

Diversity and the Forces of Change

Diversity is defined as the differences in social categories such as gender, sexual orientation, sexuality, ethnicity, nationality, race, ethnicity, age, disability status, and parental status, among other factors. The contexts of diversity are theoretically infinite because of the different characteristics that are variations in a group of people, and they could be narrowed down to features such as eye color, hair type, or even the differences in body types and shapes. The diverse attributes used to define interpersonal relationships or norms that people groups identify with should be respected because of the beauty that diversity brings. Diversity is the cause for discrimination when people to not respect, understand, or accept the differences and tend to oppose different analogies while making theirs seem superior.

Organizations often have diversity statements that are considerate of the differences in people to create harmony and protect the rights of other people. Statements on cultural and racial diversity are strongly enforced to prevent violence against minority groups, especially people of black skin color. Companies and other institutions are required by law to include people from different cultural backgrounds to help end discrimination and create a diverse and inclusive society. There is a need to practice diversity in society and understand the difference between individuals or people groups, and learn how to accept the differences and how they make life beautiful. There are many lessons to learn from people from diverse cultural backgrounds. Historically, the differences have resulted in new foods being introduced to other cultures, cohesion between different people groups, and a sense of belonging despite the differences.

Change is constantly occurring because of various factors affecting everyday life. Social change is driven by social movements and collective behavior to create new habits and other societal changes. The disruptive forces in society are randomly occurring, intentional, naturally occurring, or driven by human behavior and activity. Some of the notable causes of social change include social institutions, changes to technology, population shifts, migration, or factors. The changes caused by the different variables cause a shift in society and functioning because of the need to adapt to the changes. The drivers of change cause both positive and negative changes, and there is a need to learn how to adjust and adapt to the changes so that one can find a means of positively adapting.

Technology is arguably one of the largest factors driving social change. Technology is a key factor driving the modernization of different aspects of social life from how people are able to communicate, how people are able to migrate, population control, and driving towards new models of construction and building to sustain the changes in population. The internet is one of the largest drivers of change and has impacted globalization. The first major wave of technological innovation comprises the wars and military expansion period characterized by the improvement of weapons used to achieve political power and exert control. Achieving control enabled the powers that were in control to take advantage of the resources available to drive towards further expansion.

The second wave is the industrialization era when industries came up to produce various products that are an integral part of modern-day development and are part of the globalizing economy. Some of the notable aspects of the development during the period include the evolution of steam-powered engines, construction of railroads, and engineering of motor vehicles. The period has seen the evolution of various aspects of living, such as the development of new techniques for building permanent structures that diverted from traditional temporary structures. The period is also associated with the invention of new modes of communication that are used in the modern-day.

The third wave that is referred to as the post-millennial era is driven by technology, with the internet being the main driver of the change. The change that has been observed during the era includes increased availability of internet access with the development of 5G networks, social media and other forms of electronic communication, and the rise of click and mortar businesses. The new age of technology comprises developments such as a reduction in the size of computers, increased ownership of mobile phones, and the ability to control more devices from a mobile device because of the internet of technology. People can communicate seamlessly from different areas across the world because of the internet, and they can share text, video, and audio files cheaply via email or instant messaging social applications such as WhatsApp or Telegram.

The evolution of technology spans to fields such as healthcare, where simulations and models are used to test drugs and explore medical practices to improve efficiency and effectiveness for improved quality of life. Advancements are also being sought in robotics to use robots in surgery for more precision and to overcome the drawbacks of humans, such as errors, inaccuracy, and lack of steadiness. The advancement of medicine is also identifiable in processes such as in-vitro fertilization, cloning, and genetic modification in humans, animals, and plants to increase resistance to diseases and create a super breed. The pursuit is aimed at improving the quality of healthcare and improve life expectancy.

Big data collected from users and the internet is used by businesses to drive towards more realistic business expectations and directions. Big data is also used to ease daily processes, such as creating shopping lists through artificial intelligence and machine learning by studying user patterns. The traditional classroom environment has also changed where instead of students having to be in a physical classroom, they can learn online. Social changes to technology require adapting to the trends and relying on technology for the improvement of quality of life.

However, despite the positive changes that technological evolution has created, there have been challenges such as the ethical questions of some of the technological innovations, especially those involving healthcare improvement. There are ethical concerns that technology is interfering with natural processes, and that there is a need to limit the technological innovations that are being made. The evolution of the internet has resulted in cybercrimes that are becoming increasingly difficult to manage and control because hackers and other malicious parties are constantly developing new means of running their technological swindles.

Cyberbullying is another negative effect of technology. Cyberbullying is propagated by factors such as people being able to create pseudo accounts under different names without the need for verification, and the prevalence of cyberbullying results in suicide and other psychological and social disorders. The adaptation to society's changes because of technology involves people taking measures that are more stringent to safeguard themselves, such as developing new measures for password creation and safeguarding their online accounts. There are various filters available on social media accounts to prevent comments with certain phrases from being sent or appearing in the comment sections.

Roadblocks to Diversity

There are various roadblocks to achieving diversity. One of the roadblocks is the societal expectations of gender roles that limit the female gender from making achievements equal to those made by males in society. The ripple effect of the expectations is that it spreads out to other areas such as the workplace, religious circles, and society. The stereotypes of gender roles are spread by religion with support to biblical references that women are subordinates of men. In this context, there is a lack of flexibility about what women can do in society. There is a lack of diversity to accept the differences between the genders, and that none is superior to the other. The gender stereotypes affect flexibility in society and in workplaces. The conversation about equal opportunities for men and women is still a controversial topic faced with opposition. The historically male-dominated system is difficult to change and overcome because of the underlying gender stereotypes that are difficult to erase.

The stereotypes around gender roles and expectations create unconscious and preconceived biases. Examples of such bias occurring are, for instance, if a child falls while playing, the reaction will be different depending on the gender of the child. If the child is male and they cry, the children are expected to toughen up, try again, and not cry because society has created stereotypes of males not being emotionally expressive. If the child is a female, they are likely to be soothed and encouraged to try playing games that are less dangerous for them. Therefore, in the course of the lives of the individuals, the outcomes will be different because the males will be expected by society to do more, while females will be limited by the society on what they can pursue. This reflects on the education and career journeys where males are given administrative roles because they are expected to be more aggressive and competitive as compared to females.

The other challenge to diversity is the lack of mentors to improve perspectives and eliminate stereotypes around gender. Mentors should use informative means of driving towards change, such as teaching about the pillars of inclusion. The pillar of inclusion is a framework that comprises aspects such as access, attitude, choice, communication, opportunities, partnerships, and policy to address the commonalities on inclusion. A society that is inclusive and mindful of the different genders is likely to achieve positive outcomes in terms of gender inclusivity and other challenges that are encountered that affect achieving the desired changes. The other roadblock to diversity is that there are not enough resources available for women empowerment. The society is focused on giving resources to the males across different stages in their lives, but there are few programs that focus on the improvement of women to help open as many opportunities for them as there are for males.

Foundations in Sociology

The foundations of sociology are the investigations on the science between human behavioral traits and how social structures, categories, and institutions shape them. The foundations suggest that a person's holistic being is shaped by the societal aspects around them and how they respond to them. The fourfold perspective on sociology seeks to look into individuals belonging to groups, groups having an influence on their behavior, groups taking on characteristics that are independent of the members, and the behaviors exhibited by groups different because of the categories of classification. Sociological studies backdate to ancient philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle. The officiated social science studying the differences in groups and other aspects was started in the early 19th Century with August Comte accredited as the founding father who inspired the study.

The current approach to sociology is divided into macro and micro-sociology. The concept of macro-sociology focuses on the study of the society as a whole with emphasis on the need to analyze social systems and populations on a large scale to create high theoretical abstraction. The concerns presented by this analysis are not focused on the relationships between smaller aspects of society, such as families or individuals, but focuses on the larger societal system they belong to. Micro-sociology focuses on smaller groups and their behaviors. Social status and roles are some of the key elements that are studied in micro-sociology, with the ongoing interactions between the social roles continually investigated. The body of research seeking to create theoretical perspectives to bridge the approaches are continually being studied to determine how they continue to be interrelated.

The major areas of sociology investigated in research include family, social inequality, gender roles, health and illnesses, consumption, work and industry, and demography. The categories are some of the major differences that are focused on in the society and are continually investigated to determine how to narrow down the gaps. The different aspects that create the inequities are studied to come up with means of creating cohesion within the society and bringing people together to unify them to work towards a common goal of improvement. The divide can be addressed by sharing knowledge about diversity to help understand and appreciate diversity, and the potential impact of failure to accept the differences. The primary cause of the lack of cohesion in society is driven by the lack of knowledge and understanding of the science of sociology.

Principles: Concepts and Perceptions

Concepts are defined as the ideas that aid in the organization of perceptions, thoughts and enable individuals to make sense of their observations. The basic sociological concepts are the social structure, functional integration, power, social action, and power. Social structure refers to the patterns of social relationships, social positions, and population demographics. The different aspects investigated include the population demographics to understand the differences in the population in terms of gender, age, and life expectancy. Other factors included are employment status, relationship status, and occupation, among other factors. These factors are bound to change but are often stable over time. There is a likelihood that the individuals will affect social structures and that there is a need for continuous adaptation so that the choices made can be encompassed within the range of options that are left open by social structures.

Social action refers to the extent to which the behavior displayed by people relies on the meaningful understanding of their occupation and correlates to the orientation of other people’s actions. The distinguishing factor for social action is the things that are done without conscious self-awareness and those that are done consciously and how they affect each other. Social action is a key concept because of its reference to the actions of individuals in groups and the effect on social life and creates a revelation of people being the key determining factor of the outcomes of interpersonal relationships. The concept identifies that people are dependent n relationships formed to develop modes of communication with the larger society and that analysis of individual actions is dependent on the effect of other people’s social actions.

Functional integration is another sociology concept that refers to the interdependence between the different parts of a social system. The concept is compared to the human body and how the different parts are intertwined to maintain the whole's proper functioning. Social systems have interconnected systems that are complementary and supplementary for each other and supporting social groups. The different parts are expected to make certain contributions to create a holistic functional system. The quality of the relationships between the different aspects is a reflection of the effectiveness of the system. Therefore, functional integration, if not well-integrated, will create dysfunctions and other side effects that do not support a healthy system. The effect of insufficient guidelines on the system will result in a disintegrated system that is costly or sometimes impossible to repair, depending on the extent of the damage realized.

Culture, another aspect of sociology, is definitive of the beliefs, symbols, knowledge, values, norms, and languages that make up a way of life, which identifies a certain community or people group. There are differences in how different groups are able to share and replicate to grow and formulate relationships outside their group. Culture creates a sense of identity and belonging for a group of people, making it easy to communicate and relate. Cultures can be split further into subcultures because of distinct features that result in smaller groups finding a common denominating factor that brings them together. There are millions of subcultures across the globe, and each individual identifies with at least one. Examples of subcultures are the LGBTQA community, hippies, bikers, and other groups dependent on regions of the group's parent culture. Sharing in a culture or a combination of subcultures helps formulate the sociological system.

Power is defined as one of the strongest aspects of sociology and is defined as the capacity of a single social actor who can be an individual, an organization, or a group, that has capabilities to push others to do things in their design or will. Power can also result in a social actor benefiting from the actions of those who are influenced. The exertion of power can be forcibly done or indirectly. An example of a direct exercise of power is where a parent punishes a child for their actions and pushes them to behave or do things in a certain way as they desire. In such an occurrence, the parent is the single social actor in control of those under them. Indirect application of power is when there is an external force causing social structures to take a certain pattern or drive towards a specific form of social integration that will benefit a larger group of people. For instance, fighting against discrimination results in the betterment of society and does not benefit a single actor. The exertion of power can be faced with resistance, which creates a conflict that can escalate to war. In most instances, power is managed by social structures such as the government, where power is distributed across different individuals to prevent misuse of power. Instances of power being exerted without controls or limitations are seen in dictatorship and other forms of leadership where democracy is not practiced, and all individuals are expected to follow the ideals of the person in power.

Maslow's Theory and ERG Theory

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is a motivational theory applied in psychology and can cross over to sociology to help understand human needs as presented in the pyramid. The pyramid of needs classifies the needs as self-actualization, esteem, social, safety, and physiological needs. The ERTG theory, proposed by Clayton Aldermen, is little known but is a further development of Maslow’s theory that condenses Maslow’s needs. The needs are drilled down into self-fulfillment needs for growth, psychological needs for relatedness, and basic needs for existence. Self-fulfillment needs include self-actualization needs that are the drivers towards the achievement of one’s full potential to include their creative activities. These needs are fueled by the drive to grow as a person and achieve certain goals but do not stem from a lack of something. The achievement of self-actualization needs is dependent on the fulfillment of psychological and basic needs. However, for some individuals, the need for creative fulfillment and high self-esteem might surpass the basic needs, and this can manifest as a psychological disorder.

The psychological needs encompass the belongingness and love needs, which constitute a social circle or community that one identifies with. The relation of the theory to sociology is that in the study of communities, people's perception and understanding depend on their community and the resources available. For some, esteem needs are defined by the quality of products, while for some, their esteem stems from their capabilities to survive harsh conditions. A sense of belongingness can be associated with factors such as the neighborhood one lives in, their interests in sports, or their parents' financial status. The different categorical factors that affect psychological classifications can define how different people groups interact and relate.

The basic needs encompass the safety and physiological needs such as security, food, safety, warmth, and rest. The distribution of resources in a community is unequal, and this affects the perception of how a person understands their basic needs. For instance, a person who has been brought up in a low-income area will identify anything edible as food, while a person who has come from a high-income area will be selective of what they consume as food. The differences in the distribution of resources, from s sociological perspective, shape the differences in understanding the needs. Another comparison can be that the safety needs of one person are that they have a house, without considerations of the location, while for another, they have multiple considerations to make, such as the neighborhood and other sociological and economic factors surrounding the neighborhood.

Achievement, Affiliation, and Power

Achievement, affiliation, and power are the concepts identified by David McClelland in the definition of the acquired needs in his theory that explains the process of motivation. The process is broken down into what is needed, how it is needed, and the approach that needs to be used. The three concepts of the theory were developed based on the fact that despite differences in culture, race, age, or other discriminatory factors, there is a commonness in the needs, and they act as drive. The theory suggests that individuals' specific needs are shaped over time and acquired as one collects experiences throughout their lives—they need for achievement, affiliation, and power to influence a person's behavior. From a larger lens, the theory is an extension of Maslow’s theory.

The need to achieve is the urge to accomplish something, which is shaped by various experiences. Sociology has a role to play in need of achievement because people's perspectives and drives are mainly derived from the environment they are brought up in, their experiences, and other factors that influence their behavior. The need for affiliation relates to the need for having social relationships with particular sets of people who have common factors that unite them. The relation to sociology explains interpersonal relationships and why people are comfortable being in certain friendships or groups. For instance, a teacher is less likely to be comfortable in a group of doctors or lawyers but is likely to find comfort when in the company of other teachers because of the role-based interactions and similarities that make them adhere to similar tastes. The need for power is the desire within a person to control other people by influencing their decisions with their needs or influences. This relates to power as a concept of sociology, where people are motivated by a desire to be the single actors acting as a driving force to influence others.

Conclusion

Understanding the different aspects of sociology helps give clarity on the science behind exploring the subject area. The understanding of the different concepts culminating in the definition of sociology can help in the development of an informed understanding of self and can drive towards lifting the barriers towards making greater and more significant achievements. The various theories analyzed drive towards similar conclusions and explanations for human behavioral tendencies. There is a strong desire for belonging that drives interpersonal interactions, and the theories presented help develop a more informed approach towards sociology. There is a high tendency for people to be driven by the various forces around them to behave in a certain manner that helps them fit in a specific group that they are comfortable in. However, there is a need to drive towards harmonizing the different sociological classifications of people to achieve cohesion, togetherness, and unity.

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Social change is defined as progressive and linear. It is used by theorists to emphasize explanations for evolution where society is said to have developed from simple to complex organizational forms. The key factors that drive towards change or have an influence are technological advancements, population changes because of migration, level of contact or isolation with outside communities and cultures, and changes in the physical environment. Sociological methods and research are integrated to understand how sociological principles and insights are applicable in the study and research on understanding the social environment. The field of study is representative of the effort of building and developing theories to understand people's actions and behaviors. Applied sociology is another aspect of sociology that looks into understanding sociological problems to achieve solutions for social problems such as squatters, prostitution, and poor nutrition.

Diversity and the Forces of Change

Diversity is defined as the differences in social categories such as gender, sexual orientation, sexuality, ethnicity, nationality, race, ethnicity, age, disability status, and parental status, among other factors. The contexts of diversity are theoretically infinite because of the different characteristics that are variations in a group of people, and they could be narrowed down to features such as eye color, hair type, or even the differences in body types and shapes. The diverse attributes used to define interpersonal relationships or norms that people groups identify with should be respected because of the beauty that diversity brings. Diversity is the cause for discrimination when people to not respect, understand, or accept the differences and tend to oppose different analogies while making theirs seem superior.

Organizations often have diversity statements that are considerate of the differences in people to create harmony and protect the rights of other people. Statements on cultural and racial diversity are strongly enforced to prevent violence against minority groups, especially people of black skin color. Companies and other institutions are required by law to include people from different cultural backgrounds to help end discrimination and create a diverse and inclusive society. There is a need to practice diversity in society and understand the difference between individuals or people groups, and learn how to accept the differences and how they make life beautiful. There are many lessons to learn from people from diverse cultural backgrounds. Historically, the differences have resulted in new foods being introduced to other cultures, cohesion between different people groups, and a sense of belonging despite the differences.

Change is constantly occurring because of various factors affecting everyday life. Social change is driven by social movements and collective behavior to create new habits and other societal changes. The disruptive forces in society are randomly occurring, intentional, naturally occurring, or driven by human behavior and activity. Some of the notable causes of social change include social institutions, changes to technology, population shifts, migration, or factors. The changes caused by the different variables cause a shift in society and functioning because of the need to adapt to the changes. The drivers of change cause both positive and negative changes, and there is a need to learn how to adjust and adapt to the changes so that one can find a means of positively adapting.

Technology is arguably one of the largest factors driving social change. Technology is a key factor driving the modernization of different aspects of social life from how people are able to communicate, how people are able to migrate, population control, and driving towards new models of construction and building to sustain the changes in population. The internet is one of the largest drivers of change and has impacted globalization. Read More