The founders of sociology have established theoretical traditions that ask basic questions about society and inform sociological research. The idea of theory may seem dry to you because it connotes something that is only hypothetical and divorced from “real life.” Sociological theory though is one of the tools that sociologists use to interpret real life. Sociologists use theory to organize their observations and apply them to the broad questions sociologists ask, such as:
- How are individuals related to society?
- How is social order maintained?
- Why is there inequality in society?
- How does social change occur?
Different theoretical frameworks within sociology make different assumptions and provide different insights about the nature of society. In the realm of macrosociology are theories that strive to understand society as a whole. Durkheim, Marx, and Weber were macro sociological theorists. Theoretical frameworks that center on face-to-face social interaction are known as microsociology. Some of the work derived from the Chicago School—research that studies individuals and group processes in society—is microsociological. Although sociologists draw from diverse theoretical perspectives to understand society, four theoretical traditions form the major theoretical perspectives: functionalism, conflict theory, symbolic interaction, and, more recently, feminist theory.