The Sociological Perspective and Research Process His name was Josh Evans. He was 16 years old. And he was hot. “Mom! Mom! Mom! Look at him!” Tina Meier recalls her daughter saying. Josh had contacted Megan Meier through her MySpace page and wanted to be added as a friend. “Yes, he’s cute,” Tina Meier told her daughter. “Do you know who he is?” Not “No, but look at him! He’s hot! Please, please, can I add him?” Mom said yes. And for six weeks Megan and Josh—under Tina’s watchful eye—became Foracquainted in the virtual world of MySpace. Josh said he was born in Florida and recently had moved to O’Fallon [Missouri]. He was homeschooled. He played the guitar and drums. Sale As for 13-year-old Megan . [she] loved swimming, boating, fi shing, dogs, rap music and boys. But her life had not always been easy, her mother says. She was heavy and for years had tried to lose weight. She had attention defi cit disorder and battled depression. But things © AP Images/Tom Gannam © AP Images/Tom ▲ Tina Meier, the mother of Megan Meier, were going exceptionally well. She had shed displays photographs of her daughter, who committed suicide at the age of thirteen after 20 pounds, getting down to 175. She was 5 reacting to fake MySpace postings by the foot 5½ inches tall. mother of one of her former friends. Studying sociology provides us with new insights on Part of the reason for Megan’s rosy outlook problems such as suicide by making us aware that much more goes on in social life than we was Josh, Tina says. After school Megan would initially observe. 2 ch001.indd 2 24/09/10 5:11 PM rush to the computer. It did seem odd, Tina says, that Josh never asked for Megan’s phone number. And when Megan asked for his, she says, Josh said he didn’t have a cell and his mother did not yet have a landline. And then on Sunday, Oct. 15, 2006, Megan received a puzzling and disturbing message from Josh. Tina recalls that it said, “I don’t know if I want to be friends with you anymore because I’ve heard that you are not very nice to your friends.” Frantic, Megan shot back: “What are you talking about?” (Pokin, 2007) This and other hostile instant message exchanges set into In this chapter motion the fi nal, disturbing episode in the life of Megan Meier, ● Putting Social Life into Not Perspective as she was suddenly confronted with not only the anger and ● The Development of cynicism of a young man she thought she knew and trusted but Sociological Thinking ● Contemporary Theoretical also the bullying of other young people gathered on the social Perspectives ● The Sociological Research networking site MySpace who also sent a barrage of hate-fi lled Process For ● Research Methods messages that called Megan a liar and much worse. ● Ethical Issues in Sociological “Mom, they’re being Horrible!” Megan said, sobbing into Research the phone when her mother called. After an hour, Megan ran into her bedroom and hanged herself with a belt. “She felt there was no way out,” Ms. MeierSale said. (Maag, 2007) —the parents of Megan Meier recalling the events leading up to her suicide at only thirteen years of age Chapter Focus Question How do sociological theory and research add to our knowledge of human societies and social issues such as suicide? 3 ch001.indd 3 24/09/10 5:11 PM 4 learly, the suicide of Megan deeply Why Study Sociology? touched her parents and friends while Sociology helps us gain a better understanding of raising many issues about the problem ourselves and our social world. It enables us to see of cyber-bullying. In the aft ermath of C how behavior is largely shaped by the groups to Megan’s tragic death, her parents tried to send an which we belong and the society in which we live. instant message to Josh Evans to inform him about A society is a large social grouping that shares the the destructive nature of his actions, only to learn same geographical territory and is subject to the that his MySpace account had been deleted. Six same political authority and dominant cultural weeks aft er Megan’s death, her parents learned that expectations, such as the United States, Mexico, Josh Evans never existed: His fake persona alleg- or Nigeria. Examining the world order helps us edly had been created by a mother whose daughter understand that each of us is aff ected by global was once Megan’s friend. According to some media interdependence—a relationship in which the lives reports, this parent created a fake MySpace account of all people are intertwined closely and any one LIFE SOCIETY SOCIAL AND STUDYING for “Josh Evans” so that she could fi nd out what | nation’s problems are part of a larger global problem. Megan would say about her daughter and other Environmental problems are an example: People people. Subsequently, other members gathered on PART 1 throughout the world share the same biosphere— MySpace and—not knowing that Josh Evans did not the zone of the Earth’s surface and atmosphere that exist—jumped into the fray and began hurling accu- sustains life. When environmental degradation, sations at Megan and bullying her. A local ordinance such as removing natural resources or polluting the in Megan’s hometown now prohibits any harass- Not air and water, takes place in one region, it may have ment that uses the Internet, text messaging services, an adverse eff ect on people around the globe. or any other electronic medium. Individuals can make use of sociology on a more Although we will never know the full story of personal level. Sociology enables us to move beyond Megan’s life, this tragic occurrence brings us to a established ways of thinking, thus allowing us to larger sociological question: Why does anyone com- gain new insights into ourselves and to develop a mit suicide? Is suicide purely an individual phenom- greater awareness of the connection between our enon, or is it related to our social interactionsFor and own “world” and that of other people. According to the social environment and society in which we live? the sociologist Peter Berger (1963: 23), sociological In this chapter, we examine how sociological the- inquiry helps us see that “things are not what they ories and research can help us understand the seem- seem.” Sociology provides new ways of approaching ingly individualistic act of taking one’s own life. We problems and making decisions in everyday life. For will see how sociological theory and research meth- this reason, people with a knowledge of sociology ods might be used to answer complex questions, and are employed in a variety of fi elds that apply socio- we will wrestle with some of the diffi culties that soci- Sale logical insights to everyday life (see ▼ Figure 1.1). ologists experience as they study human behavior. Sociology promotes understanding and toler- ance by enabling each of us to look beyond intuition, Putting Social Life common sense, and our personal experiences. Many of us rely on intuition or common sense gained from into Perspective personal experience to help us understand our daily Sociology is the systematic study of human soci- lives and other people’s behavior. Commonsense ety and social interaction. It is a systematic study knowledge guides ordinary conduct in everyday life. because sociologists apply both theoretical perspec- However, many commonsense notions are actually tives and research methods (or orderly approaches) myths. A myth is a popular but false notion that to examinations of social behavior. Sociologists may be used, either intentionally or unintention- study human societies and their social interactions ally, to perpetuate certain beliefs or “theories” even in order to develop theories of how human behavior in the light of conclusive evidence to the contrary. is shaped by group life and how, in turn, group life is Before reading on, take the quiz in the Sociology and aff ected by individuals. Everyday Life box on page 6. ch001.indd 4 24/09/10 5:11 PM 5 Health and Human Services Business Communication Academia Law CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER Counseling Advertising Broadcasting Anthropology Law Education Labor Relations Public Relations Economics Criminal Justice Medicine Management Journalism Geography | Nursing Marketing History PROCESS PERSPECTIVERESEARCH AND SOCIOLOGICAL THE Social Work Information Studies Media Studies/ Communication Political Science Psychology Sociology ▲ FIGURE 1.1 FIELDS THAT USE SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH In many careers, including jobs in academia, business, communication, health and human services, and law, the ability to analyze social science research is an important asset. Source: Based on Katzer, Cook, and Crouch, 1991. By contrast, sociologists strive to use scientifi c distinguish between personal troubles and social (or standards, not popular myths or hearsay, in study- public) issues. Personal troubles are private problems ing society and socialNot interaction. Th ey use system- that aff ect individuals and the networks of people atic research techniques and are accountable to the with whom they associate regularly. As a result, those scientifi c community for their methods and the pre- problems must be solved by individuals within their sentation of their fi ndings. Whereas some sociolo- immediate social settings. For example, one person gists argue that sociology must be completely value being unemployed may be a personal trouble. Public free—free from distorting subjective (personal or issues are problems that aff ect large numbers of people emotional) bias—others do not think that total objec- and oft en require solutions at the societal level.