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Sociological Perspective A Breakdown of Functionalism, Conflict Theory and Symbolic Interactionism Comparing the Theoretical Perspectives Functionalism Conflict Theory Symbolic Interactionlism Level of Analysis Macro Macro Micro Core Questions •What keeps society functioning smoothly? •What are the parts of society & how do they relate? •What are the intended and unintended outcomes of an event? •How are wealth and power distributed in society? •How do people with wealth and power keep them? •Are there groups that get ahead and why? •How are society’s resources and opportunities •How do people cocreate the society? •How does social interaction influence, create, and sustain human relationships? •Do people change behavior from on setting to another? If so why? Functionalism Theoretical Paradigm #1 Components & Theorists Functionalism • Functionalism views society as a system of interrelated parts • It is a macro (large scale) orientation because it studies how social structures affect how a society works Functionalist Theorists • Auguste Comte • Herbert Spencer • Emile Durkheim Comte & Functionalism • Although few sociologists use Comte’s original theories today, his basic ideas are the groundwork on which functionalism is based. What is Functionalism? • According to functionalists, society is relatively stable, which means that things occur in society for a specific function and those functions help maintain stability. – Social institutions such as the family, economy, educational system, and political system are critical for society to function properly. • Functionalism suggests that a society’s values and norms provide the foundation for the rules and laws that it creates. • These norms regulate the relationships between social institutions. • Functionalists, however, have differing views about how these structures cooperate with one another. • Some compare society to a living, breathing organism; others analyze the expected and unexpected outcomes of a social event; while still others wonder what exactly it is that holds a society together. Solidarity • Solidarity integrates, or holds society together because people see themselves as unified. • He points out that the type of society influences the type of solidarity. Mechanical & Organic • Solidarity divided into two categories: – Mechanical solidarity refers to the state of community bonding in traditional societies in which people share beliefs and values and perform common activities. – Organic solidarity occurs when people live in a society with a diverse division of labor, this forces people to depend on one another for survival. Merton’s Functions • One of Merton’s greatest contributions to functionalism was the understanding that social realities have both intended and unintended functions. – Social factors that affect people in society. Manifest & Latent • Merton identified two types of functions: – Manifest functions are factors that lead to an accepted consequence or outcome. – Latent functions are factors that lead to an unforeseen or unexpected consequence. • Merton suggested that when looking at any social event, sociologists should ask the question, “For whom is this functional?” – By doing this, we’ll do a complete analysis because we’ll consider both manifest and latent functions Criticisms of Functionalism • Critics of functionalism sometimes claim that this paradigm does not take into account the influence of wealth and power on the formation of society. • Functionalists are accused of supporting the status quo, even when it may be harmful to do so. • Functionalists may argue that society works for the greatest number of people. • Change will arise when problems become “big enough”. • However, critics would argue that this belief results in many minorities being ignored. • Functionalist perspective often fails to recognize how inequalities in social class, race, and gender perpetuate imbalance in our society. Conflict Theorists Theoretical Paradigm #2 Components & Theorists Conflict Theorists • Karl Marx • Harriet Martineau • W.E.B. du Bois Conflict Theorist’s Worldview • Conflict theory is a theoretical framework that views society in a struggle for scarce resources. • Studies issues such as race, gender, social class, criminal justice, and international relations. • Two main concerns for conflict theorists are economic wealth and power. • In either case, conflict theory suggests that we’re all struggling for more “stuff”, whether that “stuff” is power in a marriage or wealth in the world. • In general, the essence of conflict theory suggests that a pyramid structure of power an wealth exists in society. • The elite at the top of the pyramid determine the rules for those below. • The study of inequality in sociology always involves a consideration of conflict theory. • Therefore, the paradigm applies to social class, race, gender, marriage, religion, population, environment, and a host of other social phenomena. • If you believe that discrimination, ageism, sexism, racism, and classism occur in society because some people have the power to promote their desires over others’; then you think like a conflict theorist. Criticism of Conflict Theory • Critics of conflict theory often accuse it of being too radical. • This paradigm often becomes synonymous with the idea that powerful people oppress the weak. • A simple reading of conflict theory can also seem to make the notion of conflict seem like a bad thing. • Doesn’t competition breed excellence? Symbolic Interactionism Theoretical Paradigm #3 Components & Theorists Symbolic Interactionists • • • • George Herbert Mead Herbert Blumer Erving Goffman Howard Becker Symbolic Interactionism • Symbolic Interactionism focuses on how communication influences the way people’s interactions with each other create the social world in which we live. • Symbolic Interactionists believe that the root of society comes from its symbols. • They suggest that the symbols we use are arbitrary, meaning that they vary from culture to culture. • Our definition of what has value depends on our understanding of it. • Context and setting affects our understanding of a social event. • Social order results when the members of society share common definitions of what is appropriate. • Disputes arise when we do not share the same definitions. • Symbolic interactionism is the most micro of sociological approaches, as it often studies the activities of individuals and then draws connections to larger society from these. • Studies of relationships, race, deviance, and even social movements can all use a symbolic interactionist approach. • Interactionists argue that individuals have the power to co-create the world, to make it what they want it to be. • People develop standards and norms through a process of interacting with others. • Symbolic Interactionism is a distinctly American way of looking at the world. George Herbert Mead • Symbolic Interactionism is the brainchild of George Herbert Mead. • In Mind, Self and Society, Mead suggests that the root of society is the symbols that teach us to understand the world. • We then use these symbols to develop a sense of self, or identity. • It is this identity that we then take into the world and interact with other identities to create society. • Thus, building blocks of society start with our minds, where we interpret symbols. • Mead suggests that we do this through micro interactions we have every day. • Mead argues that all these various symbols enter our minds, where their meaning is interpreted and we are told how to react. • Mead suggests that this process is neverending, therefore, we have a fluid sense of who we are. • Our selves can change, and they do change based on how we interpret the symbols thrown our way. • In this way, your self develops. • Self is your identity, it’s what makes you who you are and separates you from others. Self Evaluation • According to Mead, you couldn’t have a self without symbols or without someone to pass those symbols to you. • In other words, you learn who you are through others. Erving Goffman • Goffman developed a theory called dramaturgy, a theory of interaction in which all life is like acting. • Goffman uses this theory to compare daily social interactions to the gestures of actors on a stage. • People are constantly “acting” in order to convince people of the character they wish to portray to the outside world. • Not to say that people are faking it, but rather that people are concerned about what the rest of the world will think of them and they adjust their social interactions accordingly. Criticisms of Symbolic Interactionism • Critics of symbolic interactionism suggest that his perspective ignores the coercive effects of social structure, focusing too much on the power of the individual to cocreate his or her world. How are the three paradigms interrelated? • No single paradigm fits every situation. • To get a complete picture, many sociologists use all three paradigms. • In this way, the three paradigms are interrelated and work together to help us figure out why society is the way it is. Max Weber- The Conflict Theorist? • Max Weber is a special sociologist because he cannot be labeled under just one theory. • Because he wrote partly as a response to some of Karl Marx’s ideas, many consider him to be a conflict theorist. • Weber accepted that social classes influence our outcomes, however he felt Marx’s social class system was too simple. • Weber proposed that all people have economic, political and cultural conflicts that are related to their relative social position. Max Weber-The Functionalist? • In other ways, Weber appeared to take a more functional approach. • Weber proposed that rational and ideal bureaucracies naturally occur because we need them. • They provide clear lines of authority, divide tasks so workers can specialize, and clearly define rules and expectations. Max Weber-The Symbolic Interactionist? • Weber’s ideas seem to lay the foundation for the symbolic interactionist school of thought. • He pointed out how values influence our goals and affect our behavior. • In his book, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, Weber clearly linked a person’s religious value to the societal creation of a capitalist economy.