HSP Picture and Article Analysis

How to analyze a photo

The purpose of picture analysis is to get you thinking like a sociologist.

First : Ask yourself if the photo is ...

Psychology About people’s thoughts, feelings or behaviour

Sociology About the development, structure and functioning of society
Anthropolo About how the human species developed and the different cultures

that make up humanity.

gy

Don’t worry if the photo fits more than one category. Just pick the school you think fits
best.
Ex) I think the photo would interest a sociologist because it is about families.

Second : Imagine you are a sociologist and invent a question

you would want to ask or find out the people in the photo.

Ex) How is having a new baby going to affect this family?

Are they going to put their baby in day care?
Who is going to stay home with the baby? Mom or dad?

Finally: Choose one of your questions and decide which

specific school your question belongs to.

Psychoanalysis
Behavioural Psychology
Cognitive Psychology
Schools of Psychology
Analyze inner experiences How an individuals thought
and the mind processes function
Analyze principals of Why we act the way we do
behaviour
Analyze perceptions, How the brain functions
learning, memory, and
reasoning

Three Schools of Sociology

Functionalism (Macro) Analyzes large scale Ex) institutions used to organize
(Also used in patters of society; focus on the society. Government, education,
anthropology) relationships among parts of healthcare
society
The Conflict (Macro) Analyses large scale Ex) How social institutions
School patterns of society: focus on in create inequality.
(associated with equality and the struggles and Men make more money than
feminist theory) conflicts between social classes women for doing the same job
Symbolic (Micro) Analyses small scale Ex) How non verbal
Interactionism patterns of social interaction. communication creates cross-
Focus on the symbols people use cultural confusion
to create social life

Anthropology Schools
Cultural Anthropology Analyzes cultures of living peoples
Social Anthropology Analyzes social organization of living peoples
Physical Anthropology Analyses human evolutionary and genetic development
Linguistics Study of language

Example:
Discipline: I think the photo would interest a sociologist because it is
about families
Question: Who is going to stay home with the baby?
School: Conflict school because the person who stays home does not get
paid and has less economic power.