TEXT F Sociology is defined as
the study of human groups. In the broadest sense, sociology is concerned with
understanding patterns of human relationships, their causes and their effects.
Unlike psychology, sociology does not attempt to explain the behavior of a
particular individual under certain circumstances. Rather, sociology focuses on
social trends or other influences that affect whole groups or categories of
people. Thus, while a psychologist might counsel an individual who feels
worthless after retiring from a long and successful career, a sociologist would
be more likely to examine societal attitudes that may contribute to the loss of
self-esteem experienced by many retired persons in our society.
The emphasis that sociology places on human groups rather than individuals
stems directly from the work of Emile Durkheim, a pioneering sociologist of the
nineteenth century. Durkheim likened the nature of a social group to bronze, a
unique metal that is formed when the metals tin, copper, and lead are melted and
mixed together. Durkheim noted that bronze is much harder than any of its
component metals. In the same way, he reasoned, the characteristics of a social
group viewed as a whole cannot be determined simply by examining the
characteristics of its individual members. Nor can individuals be understood
strictly in terms of the individuals themselves; when people come together as
members of a particular group, the group exerts considerable pressure on the
individual to conform to what it considers acceptable ways of thinking, feeling,
and behaving. Besides developing a theoretical foundation for
the study of social groups, Durkheim also conducted research de- signed to
corroborate his theoretical work. Using landmark research methods, Durkheim
collected and analyzed data from a number of countries that kept records on
suicides. He wanted to show that social environment may have a profound effect
even on those behaviors we consider most personal. The results of his study
showed that suicide rates do indeed vary according to specific social
characteristics. For example, Durkheim found that members of religions with
strong prohibitions against suicide are less likely to commit suicide than are
members of religious groups with weaker prohibitions. He also found a lower
incidence of suicide among married persons than among persons who were single or
divorced. Taken together, the findings of Durkheim’ s study provided convincing
evidence that social groups do indeed exert pressures that control or regulate
the behavior of individuals, including deeply personal behaviors.
Durkheim’s rigorous research methods captured the attention of
sociologists around the world, and were perhaps even more important to the
future development of sociology than any specific research results could be.
Within a short time, his specific approach to formulating and testing social
theory became a model that guided the work of nearly all sociologists. This
assured Emile Durkheim a lasting place as one of the key figures in the history
of sociology. In comparing social groups to bronze, Durkheim wished to illustrate the idea that______.
A．a social group has characteristics that differ from those of its individual members B．social groups are made up of three major component parts acting together C．each social group is a unique entity that is unlike any other social group D．social groups are extremely difficult to break apart once they have been formed