SOAN 2120 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Random Assignment, Symbolic Interactionism, Likert Scale
10 Apr 2016
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Foundations of social thought: max weber symbolic interactionism. Interested in the mind not the actual behaviour (focus on reasoning rather than reality) Want to understand the meanings behind people"s behaviour (perceptions of reality) Use qualitative methods: karl marx conflict theory. Conflict between competing groups resulting in a class struggle. Believe it"s possible to provide equality of result but not of opportunity. Use qualitative and quantitative methods: emilie durkheim functionalism. Believe that if something exists in society it serves a purpose (it is functional) Believe it"s possible to provide equality of opportunity not necessarily of outcomes. Social structure determines who excels and who doesn"t. A theory is a general assertion about something that is tested through a hypothesis about the direction of the theory. Two types of theories: non-testable theories, karl marx conflict theory. Saw capitalism as the strongest and darkest problem. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
