What is social perspective?

Sociological PERSPECTIVE: How we view social phenomena. Several sociological perspectives exist. A few examples.

When I think of sociological perspective, C. Wright Mills comes to mind first. The "Sociological Imagination" describes a sociological mindset in regards to being able to connect individual experiences and societal relationships.

Emile Durkheim believed that individuals influence our behavior. His "Suicide" studies showed suicide as a functional part of societal integration.

Groups take on characteristics independent of their members (the whole is greater than the sum of its parts).

Sociologists also focus on behavioral patterns of groups (difference based on race, sex, age, class, etc.).

There's also Cooley's "Looking glass self" in which an individual gains identity through how they are perceived by society.

Your sociological perspective is generally tied to one of the main PARADIGMS of Sociology.

1. Conflict

2. Functionalism

3. Symbolic Internationalism