Socialogy

Charles Horton Cooley was a symbolic interactionist. He is known for his concept of the looking glass self. He said that a persons’ self is developed through interactions and perceptions of others. Looking glass self concept contains three elements: We imagine how we appear to those around us; We interpret others’ reactions; We develop a self-concept. Another symbolic interactionist was George Herbert Mead. Mead analyzed that role playing is an essential part of learning. There are three stages we go through as we learn to take the role of the other person. We go through imitation, play, and team games. Functional analysis is that society is a whole unit made up of interrelated parts that work together. Robert Merton was a major proponent of functionalism. Conflict theorists believe that society is composed of competing groups that struggle for scarce resources. Karl Max was the founder of conflict theory. (16-21)

Sociologists use macro and micro levels of analysis when conducting sociological research. At the macro level, they examine large scale patterns of society. Whereas micro examines the small scale patterns of society. The focus at the micro level focuses more on face to face interaction and how people use symbols to create social life. At the macro level, it focuses more on the relationships among the parts of the society. Functionalists and conflict theorists focus on the macro level. Symbolic interactionists focus on the micro level.

The seven components of nonmaterial culture are gestures, norms, values, language, mores, folkways, and sanctions. Gestures are movements of the body to communicate with others. An example would be waving hello or frowning. Folkways are norms that are not strictly enforced. Cultural forms of dress or food habits are examples of folkways. Language is a system of symbols that can be combined in an infinite number of ways to represent not only objects but also abstract thought. An example would be speaking or