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Sociology
WEEK 3 – CONSENSUS THEORY – STATUS, ROLES, NORMS, VALUES,
SANCTIONS
Week 3 - Review
How do we become members of a particular society?
What do sociologists say are most important forces involved in this learning process?
What does structural theory state about the social world?
What is consensus theory?
What are the two key concepts in consensus theory?
Give a brief explanation of each concept.
Feedback on agencies of socialisation.
Status, Roles, Norms, Values, Sanctions
Consensus theory argues that:
Through socialisation and learning the rules that make up our culture we agree
about appropriate behaviour and belief.
We rarely have to puzzle out a meaning for an action in our normal social
encounters because we have learnt the rules by which others are playing the
‘game’.
We can predict what is going to happen because we expect that certain rules
will be followed.
Example: We would be surprised if a traffic warden did not book us for parking
on a yellow line!
Status and Role
We use our expectations about the way a an individual in a particular position
should behave regardless of whether we know that person.
Everyone knows how a traffic warden should behave even if they do not know a
traffic warden.
The social position a person occupies is called a status and the behaviour we
expect from a person who has that position we call a role.
Status and Role
People who occupy certain statuses in society are expected to behave in certain
predictable ways.
That person is entitled to expect others to behave towards her/him in certain
ways.
A social role involves certain mutual expectations. (GP)
Norms and Values
Ideas about what people ‘should’ do and what behaviour is ‘proper’ are called
norms and values.
Norms are expectations what a person who occupies a particular role should
ideally behave like – their actual behaviour may only come close to the ideal for
the role.
Values are rules which are not attached to particular roles but are more about
general standards of approved behaviour, for example, patriotism, respect for
human dignity, individuality, equality, democracy.
Michael Haralambos says “A value is a belief that something is good and
worthwhile. It defines what is worth having and worth striving for ”.
Consensus theory and Values
Consensus theorists allocate a very important role to values because even
though there may be differences in expected behaviour between different
groups within society they argue that there is consensus (agreement) on the
most significant values.
According to consensus theory these central values must exist for any society to
operate in a satisfactory way.
Sanctions
Even though we all know the rules - the standards required of us, we have the
choice of breaking them.
Choosing to break the rules and getting caught results in facing sanctions.
These can be negative – a threat of some sort, such as a speeding fine, being
gossiped about, or ‘sent to Coventry’
OR
They can be positive – rewarding us for ‘appropriate’ or ‘good’ behaviour.
Consensus theory - Functionalism
For consensus theorists socialisation into a consensus of norms and values is
vital for societal continuity – in other words individual people may come and go
but the society carries on continuously because it can shape incoming
individuals to fit the existing state of affairs.
This structural consensus theory is called Functionalism
Functionalism
For functionalist theorists societies have built-in tendencies towards self
regulation similar to biological organisms or machines. For example, the human
body is an integrated whole whose individual parts serve particular needs – the
heart pumps blood, the bowel collects and evacuates waste.
Therefore to understand the purpose of social institutions such as the family,
religion, education, etc. we need to understand the purpose of that institution in
meeting the ‘needs’ of the society as a whole.
Key theorists
Emile Durkheim (1858 – 1917)
Talcott Parsons (1902 – 1979)
Critique of functionalism
The functionalist perspective neglects change and conflict – people are not just
happy robots acting out roles in a static society.
The functionalist tends to ‘reify’ society – to treat it like a thing capable of
thought and purpose through its social structures when only human beings are
capable of this. Societies do not decide what they need.
Some sociologists argue that the functionalist perspective places too much
emphasis on the determining nature of socialisation which gives a false view of
human personality and human action.
These sociologists belong to the Social Action school of theories.
By Next Week
Research Social Action Theory and be prepared to feedback during a Class Seminar.
Key theorist
Max Weber (1864 – 1920)