Functionalism, Conflict Theory, And Symbolic Interaction

The Functionalist theory emphasizes the contributions (functions) that all parts of society (e.g., social institutions) make within society. This theory has contributed to sociology by providing a view “which emphasizes the way in which the parts of a society are structured to maintain stability.” (Schafer 2013, pg13)

Structural functionalism is a theory that views society as a complete unit (Ballantine & Roberts, 2007). Emile Durkheim is the father of Structural Functionalism. They look at society the same way as someone looks at a formula for a math equation. They view the equation as a whole before using the formula to play a role in the equation itself. In order for structural functionalism to work there needs to be an agreement on the norms, values, and beliefs for the better of society. If these objectives are not meant then Structural Functionalism will crumple before it builds its foundation.

Sociology is a social science that studies human societies, their reactions, and the processes that preserve and change them. Sociology also studies social status or stratification social movements, and social change, as well as societal disorder in the form of crime, deviance, and revolution. Its attention is mostly going to the collective aspects of human behavior. There are and have been a discipline in which there is a body of ideas that all accept are valid. It is about our own lives, our own behavior and is therefore complex and difficult to study. The practice of sociology involves the ability to think imaginatively and to detach oneself from any preconceived ideas about social life. It can also increase self-understanding and influence our own futures from what we learn. Sociology embraces a variety of theoretical views. The disagreement between theoretical viewpoints can occasionally be quite radical and these differences can occasionally produce complex issues die to the problem of subjecting our own behavior to study.

According to functionalism, the society is connected, and relates that the stability of society. The different parts of the society are collected of social practices, which help the different needs and problems in the society. (Crossman, 2018, para. 1). Like mentioned before, functionalism indicates the framework of the stability of the problem. One of the main reasons problems occur is that societies are always changing.

Sociology focuses on understanding the social and cultural aspects of human behavior as well as deducing how our lives are influenced by the social relationships around us. At the

In this paper, I will discuss three different schools of thought that, while they may seem to explain the inner workings of society, by themselves they fail to satisfy completely. For each theory, I will discuss the basics and cover the main tenants of each. Then, I will discuss the ambiguities, inadequacies and irrelevance to reality based on our current understanding of modern society.

Sociology is the study of society and how people interact with each other. Functionalism and Conflict are theoretical perspectives created by a sociologist. I can relate to these when it comes to my family. At times having a family and striving to improve your living is quite challenging. Due to our modern daily lifestyles, we find ourselves spending less time with our loved ones. Studying these will help understand the different areas of social life.

Sociology is the scientific study of human social life, groups and societies. Sociological studies are extremely wide based, looking at everything from how people create social connections with each other through interactions all the way to investigation of social processes. Sociology is not just a routine process of acquiring knowledge, it also requires breaking free from personal perspectives and seeing things in a wider aspect. Sociology demonstrates the need for a much broader view of our nature and our actions. Learning to think sociologically helps us develop a sociological Imagination. Sociological Imagination forces us to “think ourselves away” from our daily routines in order to look at the situation from another point of view.

Functionalism and conflict theory tries to explain the purpose for or why social stratification exists; however, symbolic interactionism discusses differences the social stratification creates in everyday life. Functionalism assumes that the structure of society and the processes exist because they both have an important for society’s stability and continuity. Functionalists assume that stratification exists because it also has important functions in society. Functionalist view provocatively argues that poverty exists because it serves certain positive functions for our society. According to the functionalist perspective, there are many functions of poverty such as (1) the poor folks will do unwanted jobs, (2) since the poor have to work at

Functionalism: religion gives us values and norms to follow, which in turn keeps us “in line” and ultimately serving the greater good of humanity. Conflict theory: there will never be only one religion, so there will always be religions constantly at war with each other, trying to obtain power over the others to become the “ultimate” religion. Symbolic interactionism: religion is something people attach themselves to. It’s a symbol we use to define who we are and what we believe. A lot of people view their religion as their master status.

Whichever groups have the power is a central concern of this theory. These Marxist statements are the central arguments of all conflict theorist's statements of truth. The second part of the conflict theorists assumptions is that the different parts of the social system as a whole are intertwined, not because of a shared value system, however, but because of the fact that one group is inherently dominant over the other. This dominance happens because one group, the dominant group, controls the resources. The third part of the assumptions of the conflict theorist is that society does not necessarily have needs, but individuals and groups do. Because the dominant group has the access to wealth, power and prestige, they have the ability to have their needs defined as "system needs." The fourth part of the conflict theorist's assumptions is the basic question of "Who benefits?" from the social arrangements of the day. On any issue in society, there are people who benefit and people who don't benefit. This conflict always gives the advantage to the stronger party. The fifth part of the conflict theorists system of assumptions is the conflict itself, which lends tension, hostility, competitions, disagreement over goals, and values, as well as violence. Not always are these issues negative, however. They can act as an adhesive to help join groups together in the pursuit of a positive goal. The sixth and final part of the

Social change is the transformation of behavior, culture, social structure and institutions over time. Factors like women education, infrastructures and technology have changed over time to a modern state. There are factors that affect modernization such as social bonds decreases as a society becomes modern; Cultural values and traditions that define a group is lost and the norms become weaker; People turn to think for themselves and begin to deviate from societal norms and might commit deviance.

Functionalisms reign was dominant through earl 1950s through late 1960s. August Comte, Herbert Spencer, and Emile Durkheim played important roles in the development of the theory. Talcott Parsons, another important writer of the functionalist theory, attempted to develop concepts that would help organize our perception of reality. He also developed a fourfold classification scheme, Adoption, Goal attainment, interagation, and latency. Adaptation refers to the idea that systems are embedded in environments to which they much adapt in order to survive. Goal attainment is described as the need in any system to define its primary goal and the methods used to obtain the goal. Interagation refers to the need to coordinate the component parts of the system so that they contribute to the maintenance of the whole. Latency is described as the structures that serve to maintain and revitalize the motivation of individuals to perform their roles according to social expectations (Farganis, 20111). Spencer compared society to the telegraph, with wires running to and from the central nervous system and it nerves, as well as a social organism. He viewed evolutionary schema based on social functions and survival of the fittest, relating to simple and complex societies. Knigsley Davis and Wilbert E Moore developed Some Principles of Stratification (1945) and described stratification as a functional necessity. They

Sociology is a very rewarding and interesting subject to delve into and I thoroughly enjoy all that it has to offer. Sociology helps us to look objectively at our society and other society’s, as well as to better understand individual interactions between other people. When first deciding to immerse yourself into sociology, I think that there are three sociological perspectives one must be familiar with to better his or her understanding of general sociology and to allow the learning process to progress naturally and in a more fluid manner. Symbolic interactionalism, which simply put, is the use of symbols and face to face interactions specifically involving linguistic or subjective communication. Another sociological perspective that I think is incredibly vital to learn is functionalism. Functionalism; briefly put, is the relationship between different parts of society and how those aspects function. Lastly, we have conflict theory. Conflict theory is simply the competition for scarce resources and how the elite controls the weaker groups. These are the three theoretical perspectives that I believe will immensely help your understanding of sociology, as they can be related to almost every concept in this field.

The conflict perspective views society less as a cohesive system and more as an arena of conflict and power struggles.