The Sociological Perspective (Essay Sample)

The Sociological Perspective
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The Sociological Perspective
Introduction
The sociological perspective is an approach that enables us to understand human behaviour by putting it in its larger social context. According to C. Wright Mills, the sociological perspective is the connection of individual and history, which is the societal factors that influence those individuals (The Sociological Perspective, n.d.). The study of sociology provides an outlook and an understanding of the world. For example, we are opened to unfamiliar worlds through sociological perspective to a new look at familiar worlds. Sociologists believe there are more comprehensive social settings that inspire behaviour. For example, these comprise social groups that impact social behaviour and the society at large that categorizes it. This means that the sociological perspective enables us to observe society without basing on individual sentiments (RUTHU, n.d.). The sociology perspective includes seeing through the outer appearance of the actions of people and organizations. Sociologists do not focus on personal characteristics but aim at finding common features and attitudes and hidden patterns in those features and habits of multiple people. One of the key purposes of the sociological perspective is to discover and comprehend patterns behind recurrent aspects of social interaction.
Through my knowledge of sociological perspective, I have learned that to understand human behaviour, it is essential to clasp both social interactions (microsociology) and social structure (macro sociology). Together they enable me to appreciate social life because each enhances my knowledge of human experience. Macro-level sociology focuses on extensive societal progressions, such as social change and stability. Micro-level sociology focuses on small social interactions among persons, such as group dynamics and conversations. I have come to understand that people are inclined by the norms and beliefs of their cultures and society. This effect can take a more personal and intimate level or a more general and widespread level that impacts most persons. Macrosociology focuses on the wide-ranging features of social structure, and micro sociology focuses on face-to-face and small social interactions.
Microsociology
Social status, culture, roles, social class, social institutions, and groups all make up the major components of the social structure. These components guide people’s behaviours. For example, the place one lives and its location determine their social status and class, which defines their attitudes, behaviours, and perceptions. People grow these attitudes, perceptions, and behaviours based on their place and position in the social structure. The theory of social interaction explains all that is known about social interaction (Becker, 1974). Social interaction brings together theories from various schools of thought to create a more in-depth understanding of how human emotion and social organization are intimately linked. As humans and through the study of sociology, we should understand that we all conduct ourselves in a dissimilar manner when we are in groups. The time we are alone, we behave differently compared with when we are around others. Social groups have their own unique sets of behaviours and attitudes, and all this can be determined by our social class, status, culture, roles, and social institutions.
The position of each individual in society is a key feature of sociology. Your place in society, your social role, is a grouping of responsibilities, behaviour, beliefs, social norms, and rights. All these factors are responsible for creating a complex network of society. It has come to my understanding that where you fall within that network describes your social role. In some civilizations, social roles are considered strict, and differing from your role could have disciplinary consequences. For example, medieval societies had rules that labourers were required to lower their eyes to nobles because their role was to support and work for the lords. Every individual has a role in the social order, a position they are supposed to fill. Social interaction theory emphasizes more on the way that individuals respond to social groups. Microsociology processes of everyday life are also, in a way, impacted by macro-level phenomena such as gender inequality and cultural transformations in society. Our emotions have a social component because we are subject to having emotional reactions to other people, either positive or negative.
Macrosociology
The components of social structure work are collected to uphold social order by restraining, controlling, and shaping human behaviour. I have come to recognize that the way in which we interact with each other is organized or structured through a framework of social structure. In sociology, social structure is of the foundational concepts, which can be considered the societal patterns by which the social order is organized. Some people have been ranked to be of higher social class than others in the community. This indicates we live in a world where societies categorize the public hierarchically. For instance, in business and work societies worldwide, one’s position is formed by aspects such as ethnicity, gender, and class. Individual positions have incredible effects on how their lives and that of their families play out in terms of resources, opportunities, and behaviours. The statuses we hold in society play an integral part in how we form our identity. Statuses are ever-changing because as we experience societal transformations, some people may gain or lose their positions through their different phases in life.
The roles we hold in society dictate how we behave around people due to the expectations from society and some group members. This indicates that roles are accompanied by statuses directing individuals to perform their roles in a particular manner. There are socially arranged behaviour patterns and positions which vary from culture to culture. Roles are also based on gender and age. For example, the roles of adults cannot be compared to the roles of children. The same case to the roles of organization leaders cannot be compared to the roles of junior employees within the organizat