1.1: Making Sense of Abstract Theories

Sociological theories are the core and underlying strength of the discipline. They guide researchers in their studies; they also guide practitioners in their intervention strategies. And they will provide you with a basic understanding of how to see the larger social picture in your own personal life. A theory is a set of interrelated concepts used to describe, explain, and predict how society and its parts are related to each other. Let’s use binoculars as a metaphor to illustrate the usefulness of a theory. Binoculars serve to magnify, enlarge, clarify, and expand our view of the thing we are looking at. Unlike binoculars, you can’t see or touch a theory, but it is a framework to help you “see” the world sociologically. Some things you want to look at need 20x80 strength binoculars while you might see other things better with 8x40 or 10x30 lenses. It’s the same with society. Some things need the lens of Conflict Theory, while others need a Structural Functional or Symbolic Interactionist lens. Some social phenomena can be viewed using each of the three frameworks, although each will give you a slightly different view of the topic under investigation.

Theories are sets of interrelated concepts and ideas that have been scientifically tested and combined to magnify, enlarge, clarify, and expand our understanding of people, their behaviors, and their societies. Without theories, science would be a futile exercise in statistics. In the diagram below you can see the process by which a theory leads sociologists to perform a certain type of study with certain types of questions that can test the assumptions of the theory. Once the study is administered, the findings and generalizations can be considered to see if they support the theory. If they do, similar studies will be performed to repeat and fine-tune the process. If the findings and generalizations do not support the theory, the sociologist rethinks and revisits the assumptions s/he made.

Here’s a real-life scientific example: In the 1960s two researchers named Cumming and Henry studied the processes of aging. They devised a theory on aging that had assumptions built into it. These were, simply put, that all elderly people realize the inevitability of death and begin to systematically disengage from their previous youthful roles while at the same time society prepares to disengage from them.1 Cumming and Henry tested their theory on a large number of elderly persons. Findings and generalization consistently yielded a “no” in terms of support for this theory. For all intents and purposes this theory was abandoned and is only used in references such as these. Theories have to be supported by research and they also provide a framework for how specific research should be conducted.

Theories can be used to study society--millions of people in a state, country, or even at the world level. When theories are used at this level they are referred to as macro theories, theories which best fit the study of massive numbers of people (typically Conflict and Functional theories). When theories are used to study small groups or individuals, say a couple, family, or team, they are referred to as being micro theories, theories which best fit the study of small groups and their members (typically Symbolic Interactionism). In many cases, any of the three main theories can be applied at either the macro or micro levels. Let’s consider the three major theoretical perspectives one at a time.

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Footnotes

1. Maddox et al. (1987). The Encyclopedia of Aging. New York: Springer.