SOC100H5 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Talcott Parsons, University Of Toronto Mississauga, Symbolic Interactionism

• School: UTM
• Department: Sociology
• Course: SOC100H5
• Professor: Jayne Baker

Document Summary

Sociology - the systematic study of human behaviour in social context. Social causes are distinct from physical and emotional causes. Understanding social causes can help clarify otherwise inexplicable features of famine, marriage, and so on. There are 4 main styles of explanations of sociology: A sociological school of thought that stresses how human behaviour is governed by social structures that are based mainly on shared values and that contribute to social stability. One of the four main types of explanation in sociology. Social class - a position people occupy in a hierarchy that is shaped by economic criteria, including wealth and income. Focuses on how large social structures produce social stability in some circumstances and social change in others (such as relations among classes) Theory - a conjecture about the way observed facts are related. Highlights tensions underlying existing social arrangements and the capacity of those tensions to burst into the open and cause social change.