Sociology of sports, also known as sports sociology, is a discipline that studies sports as a social phenomenon. It examines the functions and impacts of sports on various social aspects. Sports sociology emerged as a formal field in the 1960s as television began dedicating more time to sports and professional leagues grew in the US. There are four major sociological theories used in sports sociology - functionalist theory focuses on the positive social outcomes of sports; conflict theory examines how sports perpetuate elite power and privilege; interactionist theory analyzes how sports and culture shape identities; and feminist theory studies how sports influence gender roles and representation.

1. SOCIOLOGY OF
SPORTS
(SPORTS PSYCHOLOGY)
Srazan Shivhare 24
Yogesh Sharma 59
Prashant Sabharwal 37

2. WHAT IS SOCIOLOGY?
 Sociology is the study of social life, social change, and the social causes
and consequences of human behavior. Since all human behavior is social,
the subject matter of sociology ranges from the intimate family to the hostile
mob; from organized crime to religious cults; from the divisions of race,
gender and social class to the shared beliefs of a common culture; and from
the sociology of work to the sociology of sports.
 Sociology provides many distinctive perspectives on the world, generating
new ideas and critiquing the old. The field also offers a range of research
techniques that can be applied to virtually any aspect of social life: street
crime and delinquency, corporate downsizing, how people express
emotions, welfare or education reform, how families differ and flourish, or
problems of peace and war. Because sociology addresses the most
challenging issues of our time, it is a rapidly expanding field whose potential
is increasingly tapped by those who craft policies and create programs.

3. SOCIOLOGY OF SPORTS
 Sociology of sport, otherwise known as sports sociology, is a discipline
of sociology that studies sports as a social phenomenon.
 Sports sociologists critically examine the functions, impacts and roles
that sports may or may not have on different social phenomenons.

4. ORGIN OF SPORTS SOCIOLOGY.
 Sports sociology began to emerge as a formal discipline in the second
half of the 20th century.
 By the 1960s, television had started to dedicate copious amounts of
time to sports. Professional leagues for various sports such as baseball
and football began to emerge in the United States. This was
accompanied by the Olympics being a playground for the Cold War.
 During this period, many social scientists like David Reisman, Charles
Page and Erving Goffman published works related to sports.
 In 1978, the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport was
founded with the objective of exploring this field. A few years later,
their research outlet called the Sociology of Sport Journal was formed
in 1984 (“Sociology of Sport” 2018).

5. SOCIOLOGY THEORIES IN SPORTS.
 Four major sociological paradigms can be applied to the field of sports.
1. Functionalist theory
2. Conflict theory
3. Interactionist theory
4. Feminist theory.

6. FUNCTIONALIST THEORY
 The functionalist theory views each sport in terms of its contributions to
the whole world of sports.
 Sociological research using this theory focusses upon positive
outcomes of sports for both individuals and the society at large.
 Those who follow this theory emphasize the growth and development
of organized sports. But this theory has many weaknesses since it
overstates the positive impact that sports have on society by assuming
that all social groups benefit equally from them.
 Moreover, it also fails to recognize that sports are social constructions
that might be more accessible to few as compared to others (Coakley
2001).

7. CONFLICT THEORY
 The conflict theory asserts that society is shaped by economic forces
and that sports must be studied in terms of capitalist expansion and
economic exploitation.
 Sociologists often use this theory to throw light upon how sports
perpetuate the privilege and power of the existing elite group within
society.
 However, this theory is seldom used in mundane sports discourse since
it portrays sports as an opiate that deadens awareness of social issues.
 This theory also has one shortcoming since it only emphasizes the
economic determination of social life and fails to acknowledge that
participation in sports may also be a socially and personally
empowering experience

8. INTERACTIONIST THEORY
 The interactionist theory focusses on how people’s identities are
created and maintained due to participation and interaction with sports
and cultures.
 Sociologists studying sports through this perspective aim to make
sports associations less autocratic, more democratic and condemn the
hierarchical organization of sports.

9. FEMINIST THEORY
 Feminist research studies how sports reproduce gendered ideas and
practices related to sexuality, physicality and the body.
 Sociologists use this theory to study how different sports help produce
ideas of masculinity and femininity and how women are represented in
media sports coverage.
 Feminist theorists also take social action by challenging those aspects
of sports that systematically privilege men over women. They also
expose oppressive forms of homophobia and sexism in sports

10. REFERENCE
 Taken from an article by Arushi Chopra, published on the Sociology
Group webpage.
 https://www.sociologygroup.com/