Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective

DENNIS L. PECK & CLIFTON D. BRYANT

The sociological perspective A commonly accepted definition of sociology as a special science is that it is the study of social aggregates and groups in their institutional organization, of institutions and their organization, and of the causes and consequences of changes in institutions and social organization. (Albert J. Reiss, Jr. 1968:1) Within the contemporary context, sociologists are interested in human social interaction as people take one another into account as each behaves toward the other. Sociologists also take into analytical consideration the systemic units of interaction within social groups, social relations, and social organizations. As stated by Reiss (1968), the purview of sociology extends to Governments, corporations, and school systems to such territorial organizations as communities or to the schools, factories, and churches…that are components of communities…. are also concerned with social aggregates, or populations, in their institutional organization. (P. 1) Sociology is, as Touraine (1990) suggests, an interpretation of ...

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