Sociology Foundation 1.

0 (2024-25)
Handout - 06

2. SOCIOLOGY AS SCIENCE
(a) Science, scientific method and critique.

In a traditional village in Latin America, a Sociologist observed an unusual practice. After

planting seeds, the farmers lay a dead fish on top of the soil. When asked about it, they explained
that the fish is a gift to the god of harvest. They believe that the harvest was poor one year when
no fish were offered.

From that society’s perspective, it makes sense. But with scientific training in agriculture, one
may say: the decomposing fish fertilize the ground, producing a better crop.

Science is a body of knowledge based on systematic & testable observation. It has 3 goals:
 To explain why things happen
 To make generalization, that is, to go beyond individual cases and make statements that apply
to a collectivity.
 To predict or specify what will happen in future in the light of available stock of knowledge.

Features of Science:
1. Empirical: Scientific knowledge is based on information verifiable by our senses and
reasoning, & not on supernatural/speculative revelations or faith.
2. Provisional:
3. Testable: Since scientific knowledge is closely tied to empiricism, it is easily testable and may
even be falsified in the event of contradiction. That way, scientific knowledge/theory is always
provisional. Science advances not by proving theories true, but by proving them false and
revising them.
a. Germ theory of disease: the theory that microorganisms like bacteria & viruses are the
cause of many diseases. This is testable through microbiological techniques,
epidemiological studies.
b. Geocentric Theory: The ancient belief that the Earth was the center of the universe
(Ptolemaic model) was revised by the Heliocentric Theory proposed by Copernicus,
which placed the Sun at the center of the solar system. Further testing by Galileo and
Kepler helped solidify this revision.
c. Continental Drift Theory: Proposed by Alfred Wegener, this theory was initially
rejected but later revised and accepted as Plate Tectonics after testing provided
geological evidence supporting the movement of Earth's plates.

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 d. Plate Tectonics: This theory says that Earth’s lithosphere is divided into several plates
that move & interact with each other, causing geological phenomena like earthquakes
and volcanoes. It is testable through GPS measurements, geological mapping, and
studying magnetic anomalies on ocean floor.
e. Einstein’s theory of Relativity: Einstein described gravity is the curvature of spacetime
caused by mass & energy. It is testable through astronomical observation like
i. bending of light around massive objects like starts and
ii. observation of gravitational waves
4. Cumulative: knowledge evolves and is built upon previous knowledge/ theories. E.g. Galileo
performed an experiment to establish Copernicus theory.
5. Objective knowledge: The idea of scientific research is to acquire objective knowledge, free
of bias, prejudice, or opinions of the researcher.
6. Replicability: If other researchers repeat a study & obtain the same results using the same
procedures, it increases the odds that the results are accurate (both reliable & valid).
7. Theoretical: Science gives systematic explanation about how things work or gives a
generalised model of how some aspects of the world work. These theories are developed
through observation, experiments, and reasoning, and help scientists understand a
phenomenon.

H.M. Johnson in his book ‘Sociology: A systematic introduction’ argues that Sociology, to
some extent, share the above characteristics of science.

Robert K Merton talks about norms governing scientific communities

(CUDOS)
 Communalism: refers to common ownership of scientific
discoveries, and scientists may give up ownership in exchange for
recognition and esteem
o Jonas Salk chose not to patent his 1955 polio vaccine, making
it affordable for millions of people in need of it.
 Universalism: claims to truth are measured by universal criteria, not
on the basis of the particulars like race, class, gender etc.
 Disinterestedness: means Scientists shouldn’t act for personal gains, rather they should act
for benefit of scientific community and society.
 Original: Scientific claim must contribute to something new.
 Skepticism: Means scientific claims must be exposed to testing & critical scrutiny before
being accepted.

The above 6 features + CUDOS forms the 7 important features of Science.

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SCIENTIFIC METHOD
It is simply a logical approach to explore the world through experiments and observations rather than
through abstract/metaphysical reasoning. Francis Bacon believed that true knowledge could be gained
only be observation, data collection, and experimentation (empiricism). This was in opposition
to the dogmatic teachings of church (since the church considered religious teachings as true).

The scientific method consists of set of systematized steps to acquire knowledge, analyze data, and
develop/test hypothesis to produce theory.

Basic postulates of Classical Scientific Method (driven by inductivism):

 Observation/description: of a phenomenon or a group of phenomena. E.g. 100 swans were
observed, and all were white
 Formulation of Hypothesis: to explain the phenomenon. E.g. with inductive reasoning, the
hypothesis ‘all swans are white’ is formulated.
 Experimental tests: for testing hypothesis. E.g. Now if all the swans are found to be white,
then all swans are white.
 Refutation or acceptance of hypothesis: If experiment supports hypothesis, it is law of
nature. If experiment does not support hypothesis, then the hypothesis is nullified.

Problems of inductivism:
 The basic issue is that we tend to make a universal claim based on a finite number of
observations.
 In Science, it is a belief that theories cannot be proved in an absolute sense, but only disproved.
There is always a possibility that new findings may conflict with a long-standing theory.
 Popper rejected classical inductivist views on scientific method, in favor of deductive
reasoning & falsification.
 We tend to ignore data that do not support hypothesis.

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Steps of the Scientific method

1. Select a topic: First, the researcher

must choose the topic for research.
Let’s choose DINK family.
2. define the research problem or
narrow it down to a specific
question: The research question
could be, ‘why do we see rise of dual
income, no kids family in contemporary
society.’
3. Review the literature: It means the
researcher must review the existing
literature on the given topic to find
out what has been published on the problem & underline the research gap. Doing so will
prevent a researcher from duplicating work that has already been done and may also provide
the background upon which to conduct new research.

In this case, The sociologist reviews existing studies on family structures. Research might suggest factors like increased
cost of living, career prioritization, financial independence, or shifting cultural norms about family life as reasons for this
trend.
4. Formulate the hypothesis & operationalize the variables (if necessary): Based on the
literature, the sociologist might form a hypothesis.

Hypothesis is a conjectural statement or an educated guess that explains the relationship

between two the variables.

a. Hypothesis: It could be something like “The rise of DINK families is due to economic
conditions and increased gender equality,”.
b. Variables: The variables in this hypothesis are DINK, economic condition, and gender
equality.

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 c. Operationalization of variables: The researcher needs to operationalize variables like
DINK, economic condition and gender equality. It means that the researcher must
give a precise operational definition to the variable so that they can measure the
variables accurately.
i. DINK- those who choose not to have baby permanently.
ii. Economic condition- cost of living & income level
iii. Gender equality- education
5. Choosing a research method & sample: In this step, the researcher choose the research
method & sample to collect data in order to conduct study on DINKs.
a. Research method: The technique by which you collect your data is called a research
method. Research methods could be survey, interview, laboratory experiment or case
study etc or even a combination of many. In this case, Survey is apt.
b. Sampling: The researcher selects a ‘representative sample’ of couples (DINK) to find
pattern.
6. Collecting the data: The sociologist survey couples who identify as DINKs, and collect data
on their cost of living, education, occupation type, and household income level.
7. Analyze the data The sociologist analyzes the collected data to see if there are common
reasons why couples choose the DINK lifestyle.
a. Statistical tool (SPSS): the researcher could use statistical software to analyse data to
determine if there is a significant relationship between income levels and the decision
to remain childless. Based on the data analysis, the researcher either accepts or rejects
the hypotheses.
b. Generalize Findings: The results are used to make broader generalizations about the
rise of DINK families in the population.
8. Conclusion & Publication of the results: To wrap up your research, you will write a report
to share your findings with the scientific community (either through presentations at
professional meetings, through publications, or in the classroom). The findings might
contribute to theories on family structure, demographic change, or societal norms.

As countries reach a certain degree of economic development, fertility rates begin dropping fast.
Generally, as countries become richer, female labor force participation rate & opportunity increase,
women tend to have fewer babies.

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In conclusion, research on this topic would involve hypothesizing causes, collecting and analyzing
measurable data, and aiming to discover generalizable patterns or causal relationships. While not all
sociologists follow these eight steps in lock-step order, the scientific method provides a general
overview of the research process. Scientific method needs to be objective, and there is no place for
prejudice, personal values, beliefs or emotions.

Critique of the scientific method/science/application of scientific

method in social science:

Social reality is very different, and it is not possible to apply the classical scientific method
without modification for its study due to the following reasons:
 Oversimplification of human behavior: research tends to reduce complex social
phenomena, like the decision to remain child-free, to measurable variables like income,
education. People’s motivations behind this very private decision are likely to be complex,
which could involve personal fulfilment, freedom to travel, climate change, career ambition
that are harder to quantify.
 Validity & Reliability: Researcher may not get honest responses, sample may not be
representative enough (may not include rural or lower income families)
 Plurality of causes and Intermixture of cause-effects: Not only do we have multiple causes
behind a phenomenon, sometimes it is difficult to differentiate between cause and effect only.
E.g. Why do we have poverty? Illiteracy, unemployment, poor identification of beneficiaries,
lack of welfare schemes (this shows multiple causes). Were these the causes or effect of
poverty? economic stability may be the result of not having children and not the cause for not
having them), or different researchers may get different responses.
 Difficulty in measurement & quantification: Due to heterogeneity of social data, it cannot
be quantitatively measured. E.g. You may calculate mass, gravity, current, but can you quantify
urbanization or nationalism?
 Subjectivity of the researcher and objectivity of the research: since subject and object of
research are human beings only, the issue of researcher’s bias and objectivity also arises. Bias
may come at any stage like data collection, classification, or theorisation.

Therefore, to make the classical scientific method more amenable to the study of human
behaviour and society, objectivity is complemented with inter-subjectivity and interpretation, and
laboratory experiments replaced with other data collection methods like interview, questionnaires, and
field observation.

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Karl Popper Karl Popper is not a critique of science itself, but he
does critique the way science was traditionally understood, especially the
notion of how scientific knowledge grows and progresses.
 Traditional scientific method is based on inductive
reasoning and verifiability approach, whereas Popper
proposed deductive reasoning and falsifiability approach.
 It is easy to obtain confirmations, or verifications, for nearly
every theory--if we look for confirmations.
 Scientific knowledge is always provisional/temporary.
 Demarcation principle: What distinguishes science from non-
science is that scientific claims are falsifiable (meaning they
could be proven wrong), whereas pseudo-science is not
falsifiable, meaning it cant be proven wrong. For example,
o A statement like “All swans are white” can be proven
wrong by observing just a single black swan. Therefore, the statement “All swans are
white”, in this case, is scientific.
o This statement is falsifiable because we could potentially observe a country or a group
of people where economic growth and female labor participation increase, but
the fertility rate does not decline (or even increases). If such cases are found, it
would disprove the statement, making it falsifiable.
o Astrologer’s claim that positions & movement of stars can affect our personalities
cannot be proven wrong/falsified. There is simply no test available to reject this
statement.
o A famous psychologist Sigmund Freud divided human consciousness into three
levels of awareness: the conscious (ego), preconscious (superego), and
unconscious (id). The existence of these highly abstract notions cannot be
meaningfully tested: whatever is observed can be interpreted as evidence in its favor.
These are unfalsifiable claims.
 The unconscious mind consists of all our unacceptable thoughts, memories,
sexual urges, phobias, suppressed feelings etc.
o Marx & Engels claimed that a fully developed capitalist society like Europe will
experience communist revolution and will turn egalitarian. This is a falsifiable
statement.
 Class inequality in European society is increasing which means that Marxist
claim is falsified. However, Marxism is still called pseudo-scientific because
some Marxists claim that revolution did not come due to false consciousness
of the working class. Unlike the previous statement, this statement is not
falsifiable.

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Paul Feyerabend He is regarded as the worst enemy of scientific
method.
 The notion of universal scientific method is unrealistic
because there are multiple methods followed by scientists
(methodological pluralism).
 They go by intuition, mystical ideas, dream experience, they
play hunches, create myths, use induction, use conjectural
approach. Scientists go by ‘anything goes’. The ‘anything goes’ view is formally known
as epistemological anarchism.
 That way Science is just another ideology in society like religion or magic. Therefore,
the dominance of science would be authoritarian and unjustified.
 Therefore, demarcating science om pseudoscience is difficult since science go by just any
method. E.g. Kevin Durbar estimates that 30-40% of scientific discoveries were serendipitous.
Newton & gravity, Nobel & blasting gelatin, & Louis Pasteur (chicken cholera vaccine).

Thomas Kuhn science is characterized by

revolution wherein one dominant paradigm is
replaced by another. Basically, scientific
revolution is characterized by paradigm shift.

Science goes through 4 stagees:

 Pre-Science: characterised by lack of
dominant perspective.
 Normal Science during this period
scientists work within the dominant
paradigm without questioning it even in
the face of conflicting evidence. This
shows how normal science can be
conservative. E.g. Student of physics
wouldn’t find any reason to entertain any other competing theory.
 Scientific Crisis: characterised by arguments between those who adhere to old paradigm and
those who advocate the new one.
 Paradigm shift/Scientific Revolution: happens when old paradigm is discarded and new
one is accepted.
 Aristotelian physics(material has innate capacity to go downwards) replaced by
Newtonian physics(material go downwards because of external force gravity) which
also got replaced by Einstein’s theory of relativity in the early 20th century (gravity
is not a force, it is a consequence of the warping or bending of space and time)
 Lamarckism’s mechanism for evolution replaced by Darwin’s theory of natural
selection.

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Basically, what is dominant paradigm/acceptable one is decided by scientific community. Therefore, science is a
social process. Similarly, Events like the introduction of high-definition TVs, or the acceptance of
gay marriage, might be described as involving a paradigm shift.
A student of sociology is likely to be aware of multiple, competing, and even incommensurable
approaches like Marxist approach, Weberian Approach, Durkheimian Approach.
There is no single paradigm which is universally accepted, hence Kuhn calls Sociology pre-scientific.
Sociology may become Scientific when all sociologists agree upon a single perspective as dominant
paradigm.

Feminist critique of Scientific method:

 Objectivity does not exist: Much of the knowledge produced is gendered knowledge.
There are androcentric and sexist biases in the practice of sciences. E.g.
o Researchers studying family defines man as the head of the household and treat him
as important, paying little attention to a woman whom the researcher assumes simply
plays a supporting role.
o Researchers studying occupations focused on the paid work of men and overlooked
the housework and child care traditionally performed by women.
o Researchers act as if only men’s activities are important, ignoring what women do.
 Overgeneralization: This problem occurs when researchers use data drawn from people of
only one sex to support conclusions about humanity or society. Gathering information by
talking to only male students and then drawing conclusions about an entire campus would be
an example of overgeneralizing.
 In The Descent of Man, Darwin argued that evolution made man “superior” to woman.
Spencer echoed Darwin’s sentiments that women must devote their lives to reproduction for
human race to flourish. Antoinette Brown Blackwell became the first published feminist
critique of Darwin, and called his claims unscientific.

b) Major Theoretical Strands of Research Methodology

Any sociological research has two main components:
 Research methods: refers to tools to collect data. E.g. survey, questionnaire, ethnography
etc.
 Research methodology: refers to theoretical framework and methods to explain the social
world. It is a body of methods, rules and beliefs involved in the research.

Doing Sociology means learning about the social world. There is more than one way to do this. The
following sections describe three frameworks to do research.

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  Positivist sociology: This methodology is based on the idea that the social world can be
studied in the same way as the natural world, using objective, scientific methods like
experiments and surveys. It emphasizes observation, measurement, and the use of statistics to
discover patterns and laws.
 Interpretive Sociology: This methodology focuses on understanding the meanings and
experiences of individuals in social contexts. It believes that reality is subjective and best
understood through methods like interviews and case studies, where researchers can interpret
social actions and interactions from the participant's perspective.
o If positivists study crime rates (quantifiable data), interpretivists would study the
meanings and social contexts behind individuals' involvement in or perceptions of
crime.
 Critical Sociology: This methodology seeks to uncover power dynamics and inequalities in
society. It’s concerned with social justice and aims to challenge the status quo. Researchers
using this approach often combine both qualitative and quantitative methods to highlight
issues like exploitation, gender inequality, or racism.

Let us briefly mention the major theoretical strands of research methodology:

Positivist Sociology Interpretive Sociology Critical Sociology
Founder: Auguste Comte Founder: Max Weber Founder: Karl Marx
They argue that society They argue that social world is They argue that society does
exists as a natural system the making of conscious not exist out there naturally,
“out there” independently of individuals whose experiences rather it’s the making of few
individuals are highly subjective and powerful groups who
culture specific. dominate others. For
example, Industrialists
dominate workers & men
dominate women etc.
Positivist sociology focuses Interpretive Sociology does not Critical Sociology has activist
on what people do and just observe what people do orientation, focuses on
suggests that their behavior but also tries to understand bringing about social change,

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is static, continuous, & why they do it (the intentions typically change towards a
patterned behind actions) society with greater equality.
It ties knowledge to action.
Social world can be studied The methods of natural science Both quantitative and
scientifically the way nature cannot be used to study social qualitative methods can be
is studied. world. used.
Positivist Sociology favors Interpretive Sociology favors Researchers using a critical
objective, measurable/ qualitative data (feelings and approach collects both
quantitative data- on human experiences)- how people quantitative and qualitative
behavior, functions of view their everyday lives which data on income inequality,
institutions, patterns like is usually dismissed by gender inequality
inequality - to develop broad positivist because they are emphasizing power structures.
generalizations or patterns. difficult to measure.
Example of quantitative Examples of qualitative data : Examples of data:
data:
Experience of education, Interviews with factory
Human behavior- voting workplace, and what counts as workers or poor to know lived
behavior, consumer habits, satisfaction, experience of experiences, quantitative
crime rate, suicide rate, years criminals, reasons for high reports from World Bank,
of education, mortality rate, birth or low birth rate etc Oxfam, IMF , analyzing media
fertility rate, satisfaction & social media to understand
ratings, how stereotypes are created
and how narratives reinforce
Social institutions- how they inequalities.
function can be quantified.
E.g. Family, education,
religion can be quantified
through indicators like
number of members,
divorce rate, married/non
married, educational

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attainment, religious
attendance.
They collect data on human They collect data on human They collect data on inequality
behavior through official behavior through deep from official sources,
statistics, survey and engagement (interviews or marginalized voices, historical
experiment. participant observation) documents that highlights
issues of domination and
resistance.
Positivists use terms like Interpretivists, however, argue Critical thinkers argue that
cause, law, or fact more that humans are different from individuals live in false
often. This conveys the idea inanimate objects because they consciousness since they are
that human behavior is have consciousness- the ability manipulated by dominant
governed by forces external to think, reflect, act, rather than ideologies in society.
to actors. simply react, makes people very
different from inanimate
objects.
Positivist Sociologists object The detachment is a crucial Critical Sociology encourage
to taking sides in research element of science that sets it value loaded research taking
due to emphasis on apart from politics. stands for the weaker. Their
objectivity. They emphasise value neutral work appeals to those whose
They emphasise value free in research. politics range from liberal to
research making their radical left.
research nonpolitical or
conservative or pro-
establishment.
Positivist investigators They prefer personal Instead of developing
conduct the laboratory interview or fieldwork in generalizations, they focus on
experiment & surveys (by natural setting to develop exposing dominant ideologies,
counting, measuring & generalizations limited to inequalities, and advocate for
rating) to discover patterns specific historical & cultural social change.
or broad general laws. context.

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 Example: Example: Example:
Inequality as a measurable, Rather than seeking to quantify Inequality is not just a natural
natural phenomenon and inequality or identify universal occurrence or a subjective
focus on finding patterns patterns, interpretivists aim experience but a product of
through quantitative data, seek to understand the subjective oppressive systems, and power
meanings individuals attach to relations.
inequality. Its not a personal issue, rather
For instance, how do people it’s a systematic issue.
attribute their social or
economic disadvantages—do
they blame personal failings,
systemic structures, or
historical factors?

Research Orientations and Theory

Is there a link between research orientations and sociological theory? There is no precise connection,
but each of the three research orientations does stand closer to one of the theoretical approaches.

Research orientation Theory Concern

Positivism Structural Functionalism Both are concerned with
understanding society as it
is.
Interpretive Sociology Symbolic Interactionism Both are concerned with
meanings people attach to
their social world.
Critical Sociology Conflict theory Both are concerned with
reducing social inequality.

Many Sociologists favor one orientation over another; however, because each provides useful insights,
it is a good idea to become familiar with all three.

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Structural Functionalism (refer class notes): a theory that explain society consisting of parts, each
part playing important function, dependent on other parts, to produce social order and stability.

Social system: various parts of society work together in harmony, such that each part is dependent on
other parts of the system. This is expressed through Organismic analogy.
 Family: regulates reproduction, socialize and protect children
 Religion: transmits values and ethics, resolves meaning of life and death, suffering and loss,
brings everyone together, gives them identity.
 Education: Transmits knowledge & skills across generations.
 Economy: produces and distributes foods & services.
 Politics: allocates power, determines authority, and prevents chaos,
 Law: maintains social order, enforce norms.
 Military: Protects from enemy, enforce national interests,
 Media: Disseminate information, report events, makes us informed citizens.

Marxism (refer class notes): a theory that explains parts of society working in favor of rich and
powerful minority. Societies are stable because of the ability of powerful groups to impose their ideas
on other groups (the powerless). Unlike functionalism who see society as being broadly beneficial to
the majority of its members, Marxist argue some groups benefit far more than others and there is
conflict between these two groups.

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 Macro Sociology POSITIVISM
(Study of social (Society shapes
institutions and individuals). FUNCTIONALISM
their impact on STRUCTURAL
individuals) APPAROCH
Theoretical
Strands of
Reseach
1.PHENOMENOLOGY
Methods
Micro Sociology NON-POSITIVISM/
2. SYMBOLIC
INTERACTIONISM(
(Study of actors INTERPRETATIVE MEAD and BLUMER)
actively SOCIOLOGY 3. DRAMATURGY
constructing their 4.
world) ETHNOMETHODOLO
GY

(C) Positivism and its critique

AUGUSTE COMTE (1798-1857)
Origin: Positivism developed in reaction to negative force of Enlightenment.
Enlightenment was seen as a negative force by Comte since it had
disturbed the social order of the then European society.

Why did he develop Positivism?

Since he had firm belief in science, scientific method, he believed that just like
natural world is governed by a universal law, social world is also invariably
governed by a law. Positivism, he believed, can help him study the social world in scientific
fashion, find the laws governing society and predict the social order and disorder in society.

What are the basic arguments of Positivism?

 Positivism, just like natural sciences, holds that reality is “out there” or society exists as a
‘natural system’ & the researcher’s task is to study the social world in the same way as the
natural world and document how society works.
 Study society scientifically based on the systematic observation of social behavior (avoid
participation & study of individual behavior).
 The social world consists of objective data/hard facts which can be collected & classified
without researcher’s own biases, the structures governing patterned behavior of the individuals
can be observed, causal analysis, correlation, and the Law of human
behavior/generalization can be developed thereafter.

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 Let’s imagine that society consists of rich and poor people ‘naturally’ or the
inequality is ‘out there’ naturally.

A positivist sociologists must simply observe the inequality through data

collection.

To collect the data on inequality, a sociologist may have to use variable and
measurements. E.g. A variable like “social class” is used to describe people’s
standing like upper, middle or lower class. This variable can be measured on the
basis of income, occupation and education. This is called operationalization of
variable.

During pandemic, it was observed that the lower-class bracket expanded, and
the upper-class bracket had shrunk. A law can be developed that during
economic recession, there is expansion of lower class and shrinkage of
upper-class.

Similar generalizations have been developed

 The higher the technological growth, the higher the unemployment rate.
 With the increase in unemployment, the crime rate increases.
 With economic hardship, Suicide rate increases.
 Degree of Religiosity is inversely proportional to economic security.

Comte believed Sociology can help us

 understand these general laws of society governing the order of society & behavior of people
in society
 gain reliable/scientific knowledge of the social world.
 Find patterns of social order and disorder through branches of social statics & social
dynamics and
 Accordingly, on the bases of a pattern, one can predict the forces that can disturb the order,
and once the prediction is done,
 intervene and shape social life in progressive ways (Social engineering).

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 Social Dynamics: Study of the
Social Statics: study of the forces that lead to social
forces that maintain social change/breakdown of order.
order. The Pre-French French revolution happened being
Revolution society was in an due to social, political, or economic
order due to church, factors.
monarchy & patriarchy. Social Dynamics deal with Laws of
Social statics deal with Laws succession or patterns of social
of co-existence: looks at change. Such an evolution of
the relationship between society like Old
parts of society and how it Order(statics)change(dynamics)
contributes to maintenance new order (New order) can be
of system. explained through these laws that
govern the society.

LAW OF THREE STAGES

It states that society develops through three mentally conceived stages.

 How would Comte explain French Revolution? People rejected religious explanations to
governance and adopted a scientific form of governance called as Constitutional monarchy.
 He was more interested in making predictions of such revolutions possible. This is why he
wanted to understand the laws governing the society.
 Positivism argues that scientific method in the study of society should be concerned only with
observable entities that are known directly to experience.
 Comte was confident that scientific knowledge could be used to improve human
existence so that society could run rationally, without religion or superstition getting in the
way of progress.
 Comte’s version of sociology as a predictive science is the one which can predict
increasing poverty rate or unemployment in future, and on the bases of this prediction,
intervene and shape social life (Social welfare schemes, education, financial inclusion, Jan
Dhan Yojna, & JAM Trinity) in progressive ways.

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CENTRAL FEATURES OF POSITIVISM (V.Important)
POSITIVISM rests on the principle that society is an orderly system & there is an objective
reality out there.
 Relationship between Society and individual: Positivists would argue that individual’s
behavior or lifestyle is guided by structures like caste, religion, sexuality, customs, rule of law,
and class position etc. Since individuals are just governed by external forces, a pattern can be
found in their behavior, their behavior can be objectively measured, correlation and causal
relationship can be produced
 Unity of Method: Sociology is not different from natural sciences as far as utility of Scientific
method is concerned. Using scientific orientation, the researcher carefully observes behavior
as a neutral observer, gathers empirical and quantitative data. Positivists would just
emphasize the observable facts and exclude intentions, meanings and purpose of an
individual.
 Focus of Social Research: Human behavior is observable, static, patterned, continuous
and therefore generalizable & law of human behavior can be developed. Discovery of
such laws of the social world is the main task of positivism.
 Social transformation: Scientific knowledge of society can be used for social engineering
(predict a social hazard and act accordingly).

Interpretative methodology (Max Weber):

 Sociology should not model itself on the natural sciences.
Science as it is used to study the natural world misses a vital part
of the social world: intentions & reasons of the individuals.
 As humans, we do not simply act; we act for a reason. We
attach meanings to our actions which is not easy to observe
directly.
 Different people in different situations understand or interpret
the social world in different ways. As a result, sociologists can
only describe reality from the viewpoint of those who create the
reality.
 Interpretative sociology is the study of meanings, reasons,
or motivations people attach to their social world.
 The interpretative sociologist does not just observe what
people do but also tries to understand why they do it. The thoughts and feelings of
subjects- which scientists tend to dismiss because they are difficult to measure- are the focus
of the interpretative sociologist’s attention.
 A sociologist can understand them only by putting himself into the shoes of the actor
who performed this action. Such an approach is called Verstehen in Sociology.
 To Interpretive Sociology, every structure (marriage, family, Bureaucracy, religion,
capitalism, slavery etc.) is a product of action directed by certain meanings that individuals

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 attach to that action. Weber acknowledged the existence of social structures, but he
held that these were created through the actions of individuals.
 There cannot be monocausal explanations, objective facts, empirical observation or
theorization of internal meanings. Therefore, the positivist approach is unsuited to
individuals since it assumes individuals as atoms.

Imagine the response of early humans to fire caused by volcanoes or spontaneous combustion. They
simply did not react in a uniform manner to the experience of fire (external stimuli). They attached
a range of meanings to it and these meanings directed their actions.

Some saw fire as a means of warmth and used it to heat their dwellings; some saw it as a means of
defense and used it to ward off wild animals; some others used it for cooking and for hardening the
points of wooden spears. Humans do not just react to fire; they act upon it in terms of the
meanings they give to it. Hence, Sociologists cannot simply observe action from the outside and
impose an external logic upon it. They must interpret the internal logic that directs the actions
of the actor.

Critical Theory (Marx, Adorno & Horkheimer)

 Positivism holds that reality is “out there” and

the researcher’s task is to study and document
this reality.
 Critical Sociology rejected this idea that society
exists as a “natural” system with a fixed order. To
assume that society exists as a natural system is
to support status-quo and to say that society
cannot be changed.
 Adorno argues that Positivism is pro-
establishment, maintains status-quo, and we need a social science that could emancipate
weaker sections from social institutions that oppress them & empower them to question the
establishment.
 Rather than asking scientific questions like “how does society work?”, critical
sociologists ask moral and political questions like “should society exist in its present
form?”. Basically, the researcher does not try to be objective or limit his work to studying the
status-quo.
 The primary goal of Critical theory is to emancipate people from social structures which
dominate and oppress them. However, Cultural Industry (media and art forms like films,
music, radio, magazines, advertisement) function to secure the continuing ideological

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 domination of capitalism. Newspapers, for example, can offer opportunities for reasoned
dialogue between private individuals, but if the press is controlled by large corporations, such
opportunities may easily diminish. Instead of asking substantial questions and making
government accountable (question on poverty, unemployment & safety for women), people
gossip about celebrities & inculcate the desire for false needs.
 Cultural industry (media) works to create false needs and exclude politically
oppositional ways of thinking and acting. We are transformed from critical, rational agents
into mindless consumers, and conformity replaces consciousness. This is the darkness
of the twentieth century which Adorno called as ‘dialectic of enlightenment’.

Post-positivism (Karl Popper & Thomas Kuhn)

Post-positivism is not a rejection of the scientific method, but rather a reformation of positivism to
meet the critiques of Positivism. It reintroduces the basic assumptions of positivism: the possibility
and desirability of objective truth, and the use of experimental methodology. However, with certain
amendments.

Important Scholars in Post-Positivist tradition: Kuhn, Popper & Lakatos

Positivism How Post-Positivism refines Positivism?

They claim that researcher is value They claim that researcher’s biases (social & political
free and they aim for total position) does influence the research & complete
objectivity. objectivity is impossible. Though, Efforts must be
made to minimize these biases.

Rely on quantitative methods like Rely on both quantitative & qualitative methods (mixed
experiment, survey and statistics method) to ensure near objectivity & validity of
findings. This is referred to as triangulation.

Knowledge/finding is absolute, They emphasise that any knowledge is provisional,

certain, and verifiable falsifiable and subject to revision. Popper criticized the
reliance on verification. He argued that no amount of
evidence can fully prove a theory correct because future
observations might contradict it. Instead, he proposed
that scientific theories should be judged by their ability
to be falsified

Emphasise clear cause-effect Recognise probabilistic causality (multiple factors may

relationship influence outcomes)

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 Reality is reduced to reality is not easily reduced to simple laws or patterns.
laws/generalisations. There may be hidden or unobservable aspects of social
phenomena that require a more interpretive approach,
combining quantitative and qualitative methods.

Example: Example:

To assess the Impact of education Post positivist will be cautious about claiming absolute
on performance of students, the causality. He may recognise that other qualitative
positivist will collect test score and factors (teacher’s label and socioeconomic background)
conclude with certainty that could influence the outcome
education does impact
performance.

Scientific law to explain the social There are multiple laws to explain the social world.
world could be formulated. Until we have one dominant paradigm/law, the social
world can’t be studied objectively.

In conclusion, human behavior is too complex to be subject to positivist investigation.

d) FACTS, VALUES AND OBJECTIVITY

Fact: anything that’s observable and verifiable through evidences is a fact.

Objectivity: refers to a scientist’s personal neutrality in conducting research. It means that researchers
carefully hold on to scientific procedures and do not let their own attitudes and beliefs influence the
results. If a researcher is objective, then he should be able to distinguish facts from his feelings or
opinion.

 This ideal may be desirable, but can facts really speak for themselves? Can we discover the
facts without somehow involving ourselves in them?

Every Science is expected to be objective & to produce unbiased knowledge based on facts. The
question is can we maintain objectivity in social sciences research? Well, let’s first understand the role
of objectivity in sociology.

Role of objectivity in sociology

 research produced is impartial, unbiased, not influenced by the personal opinions, beliefs, or
experiences of the researcher.

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  Objectivity allows for broader generalizations from specific case studies or observations,
leading to a more scientific understanding of society.
 To ensure that research is based on rigorous and systematic methods.
 To impart reliability & validity to research.
 It helps in enhancing credibility of researcher & research.
 Researchers remain ethically responsible by minimizing personal biases and respecting the
diversity of human experience.

Values: refers to collective ideas about what’s important, desirable, and what is right or wrong, good
or bad etc. Freedom & democracies, for example, are set of values held to be important in our country.

Whether or not values can be separated from research is a topic of great debate, which began
with the founders of Sociology.

Sociology is completely value-free

Early Positivists like Comte and Durkheim believed that sociology can be value-free if researchers try
to uncover objective scientific laws of society based on facts without biases, perceptions or values.
The laws of social world exist independently of the researchers observing them. All the researcher is
doing is uncovering them.

Such a value-free sociology is possible if we adopt the methods of natural sciences and maintain
separation from the respondents.

Positivists argue that sociology should be value free at all stages of the process: choice of topic,
research design, research method, analysis and presentation of results.

Values are inevitable to some extent but research process must be kept Value-
free.
Values inevitably enter into research in at least 2 stages:

 Choosing topic of research: Weber believed that values play a role in topic selection
(researchers select topic relevant to their values) & the definitional problems. He called
this value relevance. E.g. feminists value gender equality, and this leads them to study women’s
oppression and research patriarchy.
 Interpretation of data: While interpreting data, our values may play a role, but this should be
clearly stated by the researcher.

Despite this, Weber believed objectivity or value freedom in social science research can be maintained
through following methods:

This can be done in four ways:

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  In his Essay, ‘Science as a vocation’, he suggests that a sociologist should work
independently of his political beliefs, exclude value judgements and policy
recommendations.
 Verstehen (empathetic understanding of individual experiences): sociologists should
recognise that their subjects have values and should seek out the subjective views of their
subjects. At the same time, it is the duty of sociologists to maintain iron will (control one’s
personal feelings), analyze the feelings of individuals without value judgement. Detachment
or value neutrality, for weber, is a crucial element of science that sets it apart from
politics.
 Sociologists must take moral responsibility for their research. They must clarify the reasons
for stating whatever they state in research.
 Causal probabilism: Weber did not believe in absolute cause-and-effect laws in social
sciences. Instead, he proposed causal probabilism, which means that social phenomena can
only be explained in terms of probabilities rather than certainties.

Although most sociologists have agreed with this ideal of keeping fact and their values separate, some
have challenged the notion of value-free sociology.

Sociology should not be Value-free.

Some sociologists argue that we should not try to remove values from sociology. Such
sociologists are called committed sociologists.

Marxist & feminist researchers conduct research for a reason and make value judgements about
society and suggest ways to improve society. They make their political opinions clear. Marx research
was value-laden when he critiqued capitalism, discussed strength of communism and termed it ideal
society.

Biases can infiltrate every part of the research process- from identifying a project to selecting a sample,
from the wording of questions to the analysis and write-up of the data.

Gouldner in ‘Anti-Minotour: the myth of value-free Sociology” suggests value-free research is

both impossible and undesirable. Since Sociologists have values, they should be open about them
so that others can decide for themselves to what degree values have influenced the research. This is
called Reflexive Sociology.

Gunnar Myrdal objectivity is an illusion, and all research is guided by viewpoints, personal
preferences and ideological position of researcher.

Howard Becker: It’s impossible to study anything without personal and political beliefs about it and
we may take sides in research, but question is whose side do we take? the task for the sociologist
is simply to take the side of the underdogs in society (the disadvantaged) like mentally ill,
homosexuals, poor, disabled etc.

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David Marsland suggests that sociology is not Value free, it is left wing propaganda, and indoctrinates
Marxism. Many Sociology textbooks ignore the central features of capitalist economies concentrating
on job dissatisfaction and alienation & underestimates the high levels of job satisfaction which
empirical research has consistently identified.

Gomm argues that ‘the very idea of value-free sociology is unsociological’ when the sociologist
attempts to divorce himself from his own values to be scientific, to become a ‘professional sociologist’
he is merely adopting another set of values (values of the establishment).

We can clearly highlight how values enter into research

 Choice of topic: Weber believed complete objectivity was not possible, and values may enter
at the very stage of topic selection itself.
o Marxists reveal their values when they focus on inequalities in wealth, income, and
stratification.
o Feminists reveal it when they focus on women issues like domestic violence, rape. The
selection directly reflects what aspects of society are considered important by the
researcher.
o Knowing that researchers select topics that are value-relevant, Weber cautioned
researchers to be Value-free in their investigations. This detachment, for Weber, is
a crucial element of science that sets it apart from politics. Politicians are
committed to particular outcomes; scientists try to maintain an open mind
about the results of their investigation.
 Funding: There are a wide range of potential sources of funding. Some research is funded by
charities, some by industry, and some by government. The organization which funds the
research is called gatekeeper, because it often has final say in the findings of research.
 Choosing techniques of research: When producing a questionnaire or planning an
interview, some questions must be chosen and others excluded. These choices will be
influenced by theories and hypothesis researcher think credible.
 Reactivity: respondents often react to being studied. Classic example is Hawthorne studies.
 Interpretation of data: Data does not speak for itself. Interpretation distorts reality. E.g.
o Development of cults and sects can be evidence for secularization or even against
secularization. Everything will then depend on the standpoint of the researcher.
o Feminists will always find patriarchal oppression. Marxists will find class exploitation,
critical gay sociologists will find homophobia, and anti-racists will find new forms of
racism.
 Recording of data and selecting what finding to include in report. All these values and
considerations make it very hard for a sociologist to remain objective.

Reflexivity is the act of a researcher constantly reflecting on the extent to which they themselves are
impacting their research and their findings. Some interpretivists and particularly postmodernists note

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that the researcher is not able to be genuinely objective because they are as much a part of the society
being studied as the subjects of the research.

Sociology as Science
Positivist sociologists like Auguste Comte and Emile Durkheim were firmly of the view that
Sociology is science because
 It adopts and applies scientific method: A social problem is identified, hypothesis is
formulated, rigorous methods are used to collect quantitative data, classify data, and to test
hypothesis.
 It can discover the laws that govern social behavior

Indeed, when Durkheim conducted his famous study Suicide he did so in part to establish how the
science of sociology could explain all human behaviour. Yet, the discipline of sociology is full of such
concepts (social cohesion, urbanization, religious beliefs) that are very difficult to be turned into
quantitative data, and yet any other measurement would be deemed unscientific.

Interpretative Sociologist like Weber too saw Sociology as science, but he argued that because the
subject matter of sociology (conscious human beings) differs from that of natural sciences, its research
methods should also differ. Thus, said Weber, sociology must go beyond the natural sciences model and
be an interpretative science —whose goals are understanding human behavior. This sort of research is
frequently called qualitative research which devotes more space to people’s descriptive accounts of
their own experiences than to numbers that quantify these experiences.

There are few problems which weakens its status as science

Karl Popper: positivist sociology generally failed to be as scientific as it intended because it used
inductive reasoning rather than deductive reasoning. In other words, instead of subjecting their
hypothesis to falsification, trying to find evidence to disprove it, they do the opposite: they try and
find evidence that supports their hypothesis. The flaw with this approach is often illustrated with
swans. If you had a hypothesis that "all swans are white", you would find more and more supporting
evidence with every white swan you found. But the critical evidence is the black swan that proves your
hypothesis incorrect. While inductive reasoning requires a researcher to look for evidence that
supports their hypothesis, true scientific method attempts to falsify the hypothesis. Popper calls
this falsification. Instead of searching for supportive evidence, the researcher should try and prove
that their hypothesis is untrue. If they are unable to do so, it remains the best explanation.

Thomas Kuhn: Sociology is not science since it does not possess a single dominant paradigm and
rather consists of multiple paradigms.

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Despite these limitations, sociology to some extent has several characteristics as a science. They are:
it is empirical, theoretical, cumulative, and non-technical, and progress is steadily made in these sectors
(Harry M. Johnson)

Robert Bierstedt in his book The Social Order clearly explains the nature of sociology in the
following way:

(1) Sociology is a generalizing science and not particularizing science.

(2) It is a general science and not specialized science like economics, political science, and biology
(3) It is a social science and not a natural science. Sociology deals with social universe and not
with the physical universe
(4) It is a pure science and not applied science.

Sayer argues that there are 2 types of sciences:

Science operating in closed system Science operating in open system

Where knowledge is collected in controlled where knowledge is collected in uncontrolled
environment with limited variables environment with multiple variables
It’s lab based. E.g. physics & chemistry Not lab based. E.g. Meterology & seismology,

Society, like weather, is too complex a system to lend itself to accurate predictions and experiments,
but that does not mean sociology is not a science. In fact, sociology isn’t the science they way physics
and chemistry are, it is science the way seismology and astrology are.

Summary

YES (Sociology is Science) Sociology is not a Science

Positivists see Sociology as Science. Non-positivists see human beings as conscious

actors- not governed by external forces.
They focus on Objectivity, Quantitative data, Hence, scientific method isn’t suitable.
Cause effect, and Generalisation (Law of Sociology is not and shouldn’t be Science.
Human behavior). Sociology deals with Social construction than
Weber(Non Positivism) believed Sociology is Social structures.
a science insofar it is concerned with study of
social action, its causes, and consequences in a
value neutral fashion.

Popper: Sociology can be scientific if it focuses Feminists: critical of scientific approach

on Falsification and deductive reasoning. because science is viewed as male stream
knowledge- based on male perception.

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 Kuhn: Sociology can be scientific if one Sayer: sociology can be scientific in the way
paradigm is accepted by everyone meteorology is scientific, but not scientific in the
way physics or chemistry are.

Whether sociology is a science or not partly depends on the nature of the research
methods sociologists use, and partly on whether there is an agreed definition of science. To
conclude, we can say that Sociology is the most scientific of all humanities, and most humanistic of
all sciences.

(e) NON-POSITIVIST METHODOLOGIES

Non-positivist methodology in simple terms refers to ways of studying society that focus on
understanding people's experiences, thoughts, and meanings, rather than just relying on numbers and
facts. Instead of looking for general laws like in science, non-positivists explore how individuals
interpret their own reality. This approach often involves qualitative methods like interviews,
observations, and case studies, emphasizing subjectivity and human perspectives.

It contrasts with positivist methods, which seek objective and measurable data and therefore this
Includes critiques of positivism like

 Phenomenology
 Symbolic Interactionism
 Dramaturgy
 Ethnomethodology

PHENOMENOLOGY :.

Believe that society is not something objectively given, having a well-defined social order, but is instead
constructed through individual perceptions and interactions. In their view, what people consider to
be "social order" is just a shared understanding created by people as they interact with each other,
rather than an external, fixed reality.

Phenomenology is the study of rich lived/subjective experience of the ways participants create their
social world. This philosophy was subsequently introduced by Alfred Schutz into Sociology with his
book Phenomenology of the social world.

 It argues that there are no hard facts/objectivity in the social world. Even the official
statistics are simply the product of opinions of those who produce them. Hence this process
can’t be objective in nature.
 Typification/categorization of phenomenon: Typification is a process of relying on our
common sense to construct ideas about people and social world. We classify things into

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 normal/abnormal, good/bad, moral/immoral, & legal/illegal according to our common sense
(stock of knowledge).
 Indexicality: It means nothing has fixed meaning and the meaning depends on context.
Without shared typifications/fixed meaning, social order would be impossible. E.g
o “Take it to the next level” could have different meaning in Gym, video game
and business meetings.
 Social order is an illusion:
o Money: A piece of paper or a coin only has value because people collectively agree it
does. Without this shared belief, money would just be paper or metal with no inherent
worth.
o Education system: The idea that attending school leads to success is a socially
constructed belief. While schools are structured to promote learning, their status as
gateways to success is based on shared societal expectations, not a universal truth.
o Fashion norms: What is considered fashionable or appropriate clothing varies
between cultures and eras. A formal suit is only "formal" because society defines it
that way. In another context, it could be meaningless or inappropriate.
 Schutz acknowledged that everyone has a unique biography and interprets and experiences the
world in a slightly different way, but the existence of stock of common-sense knowledge
allows humans to believe that there are regular and ordered patterns in the world.
Otherwise, social order is an illusion. One may call “marital rape” as crime, another may not
call it as crime, but some actions would be universally accepted as crime.

 The task of phenomenological sociologist is not to understand statistics, patterns, trends and
external factors but to understand subjective meanings that are assigned to the phenomenon.

Phenomenological study of suicide would examine the meanings associated with the
suicide- using diaries, suicide note, biographies etc.
Suicide as revenge (the one to make other person guilty), suicide as atonement, suicide
as reunion, suicide as sacrifice (oblative suicide), as a means to rebirth, escape,

Examples: Centre in New IT rules 2021 made it mandatory for platforms such as WhatsApp
& telegram to help in identifying “unlawful” messages. This term is subject to interpretation.
What seems unlawful may be the expression of free speech.

statistics on COVID 19 mortality rates, crime & suicide tell us nothing more than the decisions
of officials to label certain cases as COVID 19 mortality rate, crime and suicide. Decisions are
based on common sense assumptions like suicide note and record of mental illness.

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ETHNOMETHODOLOGY
Harold Garfinkel tried to apply phenomenological ideas in carrying
out research to understand how social order is created by the members
of society.

Ethnomethodology: Ethno means “folk” or “people”; method means

how people do something; ology means “the study of”. Putting them
together, then, ethnomethodology means “the study of how people
use background assumptions/basic rules of everyday interaction to make sense of life.”

These assumptions, which lie at the root of everyday life, are so deeply embedded in our consciousness
that we are seldom aware of them, and most of us fulfill them unconsciously.

Basic Tenets of Ethnomethodology

 Begins with the assumption that everyday behavior rests on a number of socially
constructed ‘rules of everyday interaction’ or background assumptions.
 These rules are socially constructed & have no strong logic or grounds.
o There are rules regarding how close one can stand while talking.
o There are rules regarding what clothes to wear on parties, interview, classroom, and
burial ground.
o There are rules regarding tone & volume of voice in conversation with friends &
family.
 Stock of knowledge: All of us share these rules of everyday interaction. We have documents
of these rules in our minds. This document helps in making sense of everyday life.
 Social order is made objective by repetitive performance & observance of these rules by
individuals. Otherwise, social order is muddled & chaotic.

Garfinkel’s work differs considerably from Durkheim’s over the issue of social facts. Garfinkel
saying no and Durkheim saying yes to their sui generis objective reality. Ethnomethodology, rather,
sees the objective reality of social facts as an ongoing accomplishment of the activities of
everyday life.

 To describe how social order is an illusion, Garfinkel conducted Breaching experiments. To

breach is to disrupt the social setting & record the response of members to reveal the
desperate attempts of the members to restore the “normalcy” by themselves. Basically,
Garfinkel asked his students to act as though they did not understand the basic rules of social
life.
 Example,
o If you go to supermarket and start haggling over the price of goods (the way we
generally do in local markets), shopkeeper & other customers would desperately try to
make sense of your action, somehow, by believing that you are illiterate or ill.

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 o If we go back to our homes and start acting as if we are lodgers, the victims of these
experiments (your parents) would find it difficult to index such actions in the
situation.
o When a girl tries to be masculine or a boy acts feminine, somehow, we desperately try
to restore an order and ask them to be ‘normal’. It simply means actors are constantly
involved in making social order.
o This approach demonstrates individuals are desperate to make sense of society.
o This approach can help us understand that our gender, caste, language, rituals, actions and behavior
do not represent objective reality, but only social norms.

Why are we reading it?

 It shows individuals are skilled members who construct and accomplish their own social world
rather than being shaped by it.
 To show that actors are not really governed by external stimuli (as argued by Positivism).
Ethnomethodologists argue social world consists of nothing more than constructs,
interpretations, and accounts of its members. Social order is therefore an illusion(fiction) created
in one’s own mind using our common-sense procedures and culturally embedded assumptions. The
subject of Sociology, therefore, should be, to explain the methods employed by members of
society to construct their social world. Conventional Positivist sociologists have failed to explain
this.

SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM (Herbert Blumer and GH Mead)

It emphasizes that society is constructed through exchange & interpretations of symbols—language,
gestures, and other forms of communication—that people use to give meaning to their experiences

Basic Tenets of Symbolic Interactionism

 Human beings, unlike animals, are endowed with the capacity for thought.
 Capacity for thought is shaped by Social Interaction
 This Social interaction becomes possible with language & exchange of signs and symbols.
 These symbols refer not to the intrinsic nature of objects and events but to the ways in which
people perceive them. Coffee-Morning, productivity, status, healthy. The symbolic
meaning of coffee overrides the facts regarding caffeine and cancer.
 Meanings are created through language-both verbal and non-verbal. E.g. living-
together is converted into marriage as a result of people interacting through certain symbols
(ring, rituals, ceremony, & wedding card) which assign the meaning of marriage on the living
together status.
 The meaning of the symbols is modified in the course of interaction. We assign meaning
to unfurling of national flag (patriotism) and burning the flag becomes contempt. As socially
accepted definitions change, our behavior changes.

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  Social life can only proceed if members of society largely share the meanings of symbols.
If this were not the case, meaningful communication would be impossible. Same symbol can
convey different meanings, even in the same setting. A wedding ring may symbolize
commitment and loss of freedom both at the same time.
 Symbolic interactionism, therefore, rejects both societal and biological determinism (societal
determinism means society governing behavior, biological determinism means biological
drives governing behavior).

DRAMATURGY (Erving Goffman)

We confront drama enacted by individuals in our everyday lives. Have
you observed some of these?

I might have spent several hours preparing a lecture, but I may want to act as if I have
always known the material, or You may joke around with your friends in a club but
manifest a straight face when you confront your parents out of nowhere in the club….
We are actors, and life itself is a dramatically enacted thing…… 😊
 Goffman says humans are a little devious, that we want to
guide and control how other people see us. The actor’s acts
are not governed by external stimuli, rather it is determined by the
actor himself.
 If we imagine ourselves as directors observing what goes on the theatre of everyday life, we
are doing what Goffman called dramaturgical analysis, the study of social interaction in
terms of theatrical performance.
 Theatre is broken down into two different regions of life:
o The front stage: carefully crafted representation of the self to others—it is a
manipulation of the audience by the actor.
o The backstage: where we go to practice the techniques of impression management;
the actor relaxes here, and the mask is dropped, and we get to be our true authentic
self.
 We practice how to be social in the backstage.
 Dramaturgical analysis offers fresh look at the concepts of status and role.
o Status is like a part in a play
o Role serves as a script., supplying dialogue and action for characters.
 Goffman described each individual’s performance as the presentation of self, a person’s efforts
to create specific impressions in the minds of others. This process is called Impression
management: tool to make ourselves look more appealing to other people while we are on
the front stage.

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 Example:
Let’s take the case of an airline flight attendant who offers passengers a drink and a
smile. Although a smile may convey real pleasure at serving the customer,
Hochschild’s study points to a different conclusion: the smile is an emotional
script demanded by the airline as the right way to do the job. Therefore, we see that
the “presentation of self” described by Goffman can involve not just the surface
acting but also the deep acting of emotions. Basically, we socially construct our
emotions as part of everyday reality, a process called emotion management.

Remember : Unlike Macro sociology, the micro sociology sees society as being created by its
members and their meanings.

CHEAT SHEET
Positivism Interpretive theory Symbolic Phenomenology Ethnomethodology Dramaturgy
Interactionism

Scholars

Auguste Comte Mead and Alfred Schutz and

Max Weber Harold Garfinkel Erving Goffman
Blumer Husserl

Subject Study of Social Study of Social action, Study of Study of phenomenon and Study of people’s method Study of presentation of
matter (1) statics and Social its cause and Interaction working of human mind. to know how people are self
Dynamics consequence between engaged in making sense
Individuals of social life.

Major beliefs Structures exist Structures exist, but Reject existence Reject existence of Reject Structures. Reject structures.
(2) and individuals, individuals act upon of structures. structures. Individuals are active
just like natural those structures in Individuals actively beings who have
matter, simply terms of the Individuals are Individuals actively create construct their social knowledge about how to
react to it. meanings they give not reacting to their own meanings by world. act in a situation
to them. any structure, typification. depending on the roles
rather they act on they are performing.
the basis of
Members impose an
meanings they
To answer such As an extension of order on the events
give to objects
questions, Interactionism, it where no order was Society is like a theatre.
and events.
VERSTEHEN studies how do we assign present. It consists of actors who
approach would Meanings arise meaning to symbols perform their roles
argue that we need to from the process (signs, gestures,

Interpret meanings of interaction. expressions, language) Society consists of

This was shown by:
and motives of the and how do we typify Front stage, backstage
Documentary method,
actors in the context (good/bad etc.) and actors keep using
Accounting practices,
(West or east). impression
management to

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 Role taking: and the Victims of present the best of their
Breaching experiments. selves.
Meanings create It simply means classifying the behavior of
actions, and actions Meanings are the juveniles into the
create structures E.g. result of categories ‘delinquent’ and
Rational Social action Interpretative ‘non-delinquent’ largely
of large number of procedures depended on the
people in West led to employed by stereotype of the’ typical
Capitalism, actors within delinquents’ held by the
Bureaucracy etc. interaction officials.
contexts.

Typifications help us to
Hence, we can communicate with each
say meanings are other.
created,
modified, There is no real social

developed and order. Social life appears

changed within orderly only because

interaction members are actively

situation. engaged in making sense

of social life.

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Methodology QUANTITATIVE QUALITATIVE Qualitative Qualitative method: Qualitative method Qualitative method
(3): METHOD: METHOD. method:
Pthnomethodological Study of people’s method
Theoretical Positivist Interpretive/hermeu Interactionist method Impossible to
Strands in Methodology netical Methodology Methodology objectively measure and
Research classify the world.
Methodology Natural science Positivism looks at Can HB be
methods are structure as universal objectively Stereotypes(subjectivities)
applicable to the & hermeunetical measured? No and common sense enter
study of human approach considers (human beings into typifications
behavior. structure as context, act on the basis
history and culture of symbols
specific. which they use
Stats analysis: Statistics
in interactions)
Human behavior are reflection of opinions of
could be those who created it.
objectively Can human behavior Hence not objective. Hence
observed and be objectively Meanings of all crime stats are
classified: YES observed? NO.These those symbols subjective in nature and
subjective states aren’t should be depends on who produce
observable interpreted. the data. Thus, using
Meanings, official stats to reach the
Statistical Statistical analysis : obviously, can’t conclusions that being
analysis: YES no be objectively working class causes a
measured. person to commit crimes
would not be justified.
Stats analysis: Right?
CORRELATION: CORRELATION: YES
No way.
YES
CAUSATION: YES (he
Correlation and
CAUSATION: YES wanted to explain how
Causation: (Yes; CAUSAL explanation:
social action brings
MULTIVARIATE so long as impossible to find causal
structure, and how
ANALYSIS : YES understanding of explanation. What we can
social action in itself is
meanings formed do at max is to see how we
an effect of meanings
LAW OF HUMAN part of those define certain act as crime,
and motives of
BEHAVIOR: YES explanations) bad, impure, good,
individual.
beautiful etc.

Basic Check notes. 1+2+3 1+2+ 3 1+2+3 1+2 1+2

features/Post Discussed
ulates already.

1+2+3

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