Sociology the Difference Between Micro and Macro

Sociology

The difference between micro and macro perspectives in sociology is that the latter looks into the role of social institutions in influencing social life and interaction, while the former is centered on studying social interaction itself, which happens between individuals or people who are also members of the society.

The distinction between the two perspectives become easier to understand when applied in the context of a particular social phenomenon, such as the proliferation of gang membership among members of minority communities such as Latinos, Asians, and other marginalized sectors in American society. Looking at this social phenomenon in a micro perspective, gang membership is analyzed and interpreted as one way for people to seek companionship and feel belonged to a group, having lived in a society where sometimes, racial or cultural differences are not tolerated. Gang membership at the micro perspective is considered an individual's way of creating an identity for himself/herself through the image of the gang or group he/she belongs to.

At the macro-level perspective, gangs continue to emerge and gang behavior perpetuate in the society because of the social institutions that tolerate a system that seeks to further marginalize these minorities who are members of criminal gangs. The prison system is an example of a social institution that reinforces criminal behavior among gang members: the portrayal of the prison system as an institution that promotes punishment and social exclusion instead of rehabilitation results to people resorting once again to gang membership because their social system cannot support their need for belongingness and acceptance in their community/society. This example illustrates how micro and macro perspectives differ, yet complement each other in discussing social phenomena in human society.

2. A correlational relationship is an empirically measured relationship between variables in which the variables are found to change together. This may be differentiated with causal relationships, which are empirically measured relationships between two variables in which a change in one variable causes a change in a second variable.

An example of a correlational relationship is when looking at the relationship between two variables, such as religious belief and political participation. In a correlation, religious variable is observed to change with political participation -- that is, people with perceptions that they have a high religious belief tend to be more active in participating in politics. This example indicates a positive direction of the correlation: when the independent variable increases, the dependent variable also increases; similarly, it may be posited that in a correlation, a lower religious belief may result to higher political participation, which is a variation of a negatively-directed correlation.

In a causal relationship, meanwhile, two variables are considered affective of each other -- that is, one variable causes the other. In the previous example, using again the variables religious belief and political participation, a causal relationship posits that religious belief affects political participation. The causal relationship may also be positive or negative: a positive causal relationship illustrates that high/low religious belief results to high/low political participation, while a negative causal relationship shows that high/low religious belief results to low/high political participation.

3. The emergence and development of sociology as a field of study in the social sciences demonstrate how understanding of human society is generated from studying the collective interactions of and meanings given by people within a particular social structure. From these factors, sociologists are able to determine how these factors influence people's actions, behavior, and thinking in society.

It is vital to distinguish sociology from biological-psychological explanations of human behavior, since the latter is most concerned and focused in determining human thinking per se, without looking primarily at the influence of social institutions to the individual. In psychology, human behavior and thinking is believed to develop inherently -- that is, individually -- within the individual. Any changes in the mental and emotional development of the individual can be attributed directly to physical changes occurring within the individual.

As opposed to this belief in psychology, sociology considers the importance of social institutions and determinants primarily, bringing into its study the processes involved when an individual interacts with another individual or a group. Though it also looks into individual motivations and needs for social interaction, sociology downplays this factor over the influence of social institutions such as religion, education, politics, economics, among others. These institutions are considered far more influential than physical, mental, and emotional changes in the individual, for these changes would not occur had these social institutions and interactions with people in the society failed to influence the individual's behavior and the way s/he interpret his/her realities in life.

4. Childhood, in sociology, is considered more than a stage in an individual's biological development, but is also considered a stage wherein "cultural invention" takes place. By "cultural invention," sociologists mean to illustrate the process that children goes through as they are introduced to various facets of culture or ways of life by the people the child often interacts with. During the childhood stage, a child learns to adopt the first element crucial to and characteristic of human culture -- that is, mastering the language and communication of humans. From there, as children learn to communicate and interact with other people, they began to learn lifeways that are distinct for each individual's culture that the child interacts with. The lifeways of a child's mother may be different from his/her father; similarly, the lifeways of a child's life at home is radically different from his/her realities at school. Thus, during childhood, invention takes place as the child absorbs all these lifeways and chooses among these the most appropriate culture for his/her personality and belief as an individual.

5. Ethnocentrism and androcentrism are attitudes developed by individuals or groups that manifest the unilateral view of the world, where unchallenged traditions and systems perpetuate and continuously tolerate these attitudes. Ethnocentrism is an attitude that one's own culture is superior to others. Androcentrism, meanwhile, is an attitude that is male-centered -- that is, males are superior than females.

These attitudes are similar in that both present a prejudiced view of social realities in the society: ethnocentrism creates a divide between (what are perceived to be) low- and high-cultures, while androcentrism creates a distinction between males and females in the society. However, both attitudes differ from each other because ethnocentrism centers primarily on ethnic and racial differences, while androcentrism looks at the gender differences between males and females.