Four Major Sociological Perspectives

According to Kendall (2012), sociology is “the systematic study of human society and social interaction.” (p.5). It is the study of societies with emphasis on modern and complex societies. Sociology is also the study of the development and structure of the human society. It is concerned with group activities such as how people interact with each other and their behavior during the interaction. Sociology includes four major sociological perspectives: functionalism, conflict theory, symbolic interactionism, and post-modernism. All of these theories in sociology equip us with different perspectives with which to view the social world. Each of the four major theoretical perspectives offers a range of explanations about the human behavior and social
It is based on the works of George Herbert Mead and Herbert Blumer. Symbolic interactionism tends to view things by paying full attention to the micro level. According to Kendall (2012), symbolic interactionist perspectives is where society is the sum of the interactions of individuals and groups” (p.19) People uses the symbolic interactionist perspective focus on the process of interaction and the part that symbols play in giving meaning to human conversation. According to Kendall (2012), a symbol is “anything that meaningfully represents something else. Some examples of symbols include signs, gestures, written language, and shared values” (p.20). Basically, this particular perspective centers on the relationship between interactions and symbols. Symbols are very essential in this perspective because the use of symbols helps people assign meanings to people and things. For people to be able to understand human behavior , people have to be able to know the meaning of a certain behavior for a person. Through interactions with others, meaning is created in the interactions we have with one another in sharing our interpretations of symbols. For example, a ring on the left ring finger indicates a couple’s engagement or marriage. Symbolic interaction may take the form of facial gestures, tone of voice, gestures, and posture. People
Some people view the society as a stable and ongoing entity; others see it in terms of many social groups competing for scarce resources. There are still others who describe society based on the daily, routine interactions among individuals. Each of the perspectives represents a method of studying the same phenomena because each of the four sociological perspectives involves a different assumption. The four theoretical perspectives also leads people to ask different questions and to view the social world differently. For example, functionalism stresses social order and cohesion. On the other hand, the symbolic interactionist perspective studies people’s communication and shared meanings in everyday life through symbols, gestures, and values. The postmodernism tests all of the other perspectives and belief systems in society. The functionalist and conflict perspectives are able to look at large-scale social change and stability which is known as the macro-level. On the other side, the symbolic interactionist perspective is able to look at smaller-scale interactions between individuals, such as conversations. The postmodern perspective is the only perspective that can look at sociology at the macro-level and micro level. After