Three Major Perspectives in Sociology Essay

Three Major Perspectives in SociologySociologists analyze sociable pheno manpowera at different levels and from different posts. From concrete interpretations to sweeping generalizations of rules of separate and loving behavior, sociologists larn every occasion from specific events (the microlevel of analysis of sm any affable patterns) to the prodigious picture (the macro instruction level of analysis of large mixer patterns).The pioneering European sociologists, however, in addition twisted a broad conceptualization of the fundamentals of guild and its workings. Their take ups form the buttocks for immediatelys theoretical perspectives, or paradigms, which provide sociologists with an orienting frameworka philosophical positionfor asking certain(a) kinds of top dogs about corporation and its mint. Sociologists today employ three primary theoretical perspectives the typic interactionist perspective, the functionalist perspective, and the departure perspective. These perspectives offer sociologists theoretical paradigms for explaining how fellowship influences tribe, and vice versa. Each perspective uniquely conceptualizes ordering, genial forces, and human behavior (see Table 1).Read more Functionalist Conflict and Interactionist PerspectivesThe symbolic interactionist perspectiveThe symbolic interactionist perspective, also known as symbolic interactionism, directs sociologists to see to it the symbols and details of everyday vivification, what these symbols mean, and how people interact with each early(a). Although symbolic interactionism traces its origins to easy lay Webers assertion that individuals act according to their interpretation of the message of their introduction, the American philosopher George H. Mead (18631931) introduced this perspective to American sociology in the 1920s.According to the symbolic interactionist perspective, people attach meanings to symbols, and then they act according to their subjective int erpretation of these symbols. communicative conversations, in which spoken words serve as the predominant symbols, b early(a)wise this subjective interpretation especially evident. The words build a certain meaning for the sender, and, during effective communication, they hopefully have the alike meaning for the receiver. In other(a) terms, words ar not static things they require target and interpretation. Conversation is an interaction of symbols betwixt individuals who constantly interpret the world virtually them.Of course, anything can serve as a symbol as capacious as it refers to something beyond it self. Written music serves as an example. The blackened dots and lines stick more than mere marks on the page they refer to notes make in such a way as to make melodious sense. Thus, symbolic interactionists give serious thought to how people act, and then explore to determine what meanings individuals assign to their own actions and symbols, as well as to those of others. film applying symbolic interactionism to the American institution of marriage. Symbols whitethorn include get hitched with bands, vows of lifelong commitment, a white bridal dress, a wedding cake, a Church ceremony, and flowers and music. American society attaches general meanings to these symbols, but individuals also throw their own perceptions of what these and other symbols mean.For example, one of the spouses may see their circular wedding rings as symbolizing never ending love, while the other may see them as a mere financial expense. more than faulty communication can result from deflexions in the perception of the same events and symbols. Critics learn that symbolic interactionism neglects the macro level of social interpretationthe big picture. In other words, symbolic interactionists may miss the larger issues of society by foc utilise too closely on the trees (for example, the size of the originationball field in the wedding ring) rather than the forest (f or example, the quality of the marriage). The perspective also receives criticism for slighting the influence of social forces and institutions on individual interactions. The functionalist perspectiveAccording to the functionalist perspective, also called functionalism, each aspect of society is interdependent and contributes to societys functioning as a whole. The government, or state, provides education for the fryren of the family, which in turn pays taxes on which the state depends to keep itself running. That is, the family is dependent upon the school to dish children grow up to have good jobs so that they can urge on and support their own families. In the act, the children become lawabiding, taxpaying citizens, who in turn support the state. If all goes well, the separate of society produce order, stability, and productivity. If all does not go well, the parts of society then must fit to recapture a new order, stability, and productivity. For example, during a financial recession with its senior high rates of unemployment and inflation, social programs ar trimmed or cut. Schools offer few programs.Families tighten their budgets. And a new social order, stability, and productivity occur. Functionalists believe that society is held together by social consensus, or tackiness, in which members of the society adjudge upon, and work together to achieve, what is best for society as a whole. Emile Durkheim suggested that social consensus takes one of two forms Mechanical solidarity is a form of social cohesion that arises when people in a society obtain similar determine and beliefs and engage in similar types of work. Mechanical solidarity about commonly occurs in traditional, simple societies such as those in which everyone herds cattle or farms. Amish society exemplifies mechanical solidarity.In contrast, organic solidarity is a form of social cohesion that arises when the people in a society are interdependent, but admit to varying set and beliefs and engage in varying types of work. Organic solidarity most commonly occurs in industrialized, complex societies such those in large American cities like New York in the 2000s. The functionalist perspective achieved its greatest popularity among American sociologists in the forties and 1950s.While European functionalists originally focused on explaining the national workings of social order, American functionalists focused on discovering the functions of human behavior. Among these American functionalist sociologists is Robert Merton (b. 1910), who divides human functions into two types manifest functions are intentional and obvious, while possible functions are unintentional and not obvious. The manifest function of attending a church or synagogue, for instance, is to worship as part of a spectral community, but its latent function may be to help members make up ones mind to discern personal from institutional values. With common sense, manifest functions become slow apparent. Yet this is not necessarily the case for latent functions, which often supplicate a sociological speak to to be revealed.A sociological approach in functionalism is the consideration of the relationship between the functions of smaller parts and the functions of the whole. Functionalism has accredited criticism for neglecting the negative functions of an event such as divorce. Critics also claim that the perspective scarcelyifies the status quo and complacency on the part of societys members. Functionalism does not encourage people to take an active role in changing their social environment, even when such change may pull in them. Instead, functionalism sees active social change as undesirable because the various parts of society will compensate inbornly for any problems that may arise. The conflict perspectiveThe conflict perspective, which originated primarily out of Karl Marxs writings on class struggles, presents society in a different light than do the function alist and symbolic interactionist perspectives. While these latter perspectives focus on the positive aspects of society that contribute to its stability, the conflict perspectivefocuses on the negative, conflicted, and everchanging nature of society. impertinent functionalists who defend the status quo, avoid social change, and believe people abet to effect social order, conflict theorists challenge the status quo, encourage social change (even when this means social revolution), and believe rich and powerful people force social order on the poor and the weak. Conflict theorists, for example, may interpret an elite board of regents raising tuition to pay for cryptic new programs that raise the prestige of a local college as selfserving rather than as beneficial for students.Whereas American sociologists in the 1940s and 1950s generally ignored the conflict perspective in respect of the functionalist, the tumultuous 1960s saw American sociologists gain considerable stake in con flict theory. They also expanded Marxs idea that the fall upon conflict in society was strictly economic. Today, conflict theorists find social conflict between any groups in which the potential for contrast exists racial, grammatical gender, religious, political, economic, and so on. Conflict theorists note that uneven groups usually have conflicting values and agendas, causing them to compete against one another. This constant competition between groups forms the basis for the everchanging nature of society. Critics of the conflict perspective point to its to a fault negative view of society.The theory ultimately attributes humanitarian efforts, altruism, democracy, civil rights, and other positive aspects of society to capitalistic designs to control the masses, not to inherent interests in preserving society and social order. Feminist theory is one of the major contemporary sociological theories, which analyzes the status of women and men in society with the purpose of usin g that knowledge to better womens lives. Feminist theorists have also started to question the differences between women, including how race, class, ethnicity, and age intersect with gender. Feminist theory is most interested with giving a voice to women and highlighting the various ways women have contributed to society.There are four main types of feminist theory that move to explain the societal differences between men and women sexual activity Differences The gender difference perspective examines how womens location in, and experience of, social situations differ from mens. For example, cultural feminists look to the different values associated with womanhood and femininity as a reason why men and women experience the social world differently.Other feminist theorists believe that the different roles assigned to women and men at heart institutions better explain gender difference, including the sexual member of labor in the household. Existential and phenomenological feminist s focus on how women have been marginalized and defined as the other in patriarchal societies. Women are thus seen as objects and are denied the hazard for self-realization.Gender Inequality Gender-inequality theories accredit that womens location in, and experience of, social situations are not only different but also unequal to mens. Liberal feminists argue that women have the same capacity as men for moral reasoning and agency, but that patriarchy, particularly the sexist patterning of the division of labor, has historically denied women the opportunity to express and practice this reasoning. Women have been isolated to the clannish sphere of the household and, thus, left without a voice in the ordinary sphere.Even after women enter the public sphere, they are still evaluate to manage the closed-door sphere and take care of household duties and child rearing. Liberal feminists point out that marriage is a site of gender inequality and that women do not benefit from being e spouse as men do. Indeed, married women have higher levels of stress than unmarried women and married men. According to liberal feminists, the sexual division of labor in two the public and private spheres needs to be altered in order for women to achieve equality. Gender Oppression Theories of gender oppression go advertise than theories of gender difference and gender inequality by arguing that not only are women different from or unequal to men, but that they are actively oppressed, subordinated, and even abused by men.Power is the key variable in the two main theories of gender oppression psychoanalytic feminism and radical feminism. Psychoanalytic feminists attempt to explain power relations between men and women by reformulating Freuds theories of the subconscious and unconscious, human emotions, and childhood development. They smell out that conscious calculation cannot fully explain the production and reproduction of patriarchy. radical feminists argue that being a wom an is a positive thing in and of itself, but that this is not acknowledged in patriarchal societies where women are oppressed. They identify physical violence as being at the base of patriarchy, but they think that patriarchy can be defeated if women recognize their own value and strength, establish a sisterhood of trust with other women, confront oppression critically, and form female separatist networks in the private and public spheres.Structural Oppression Structural oppression theories posit that womens oppression and inequality are a result of capitalism, patriarchy, and racism. Socialist feminists fit out with Karl Marx and Freidrich Engels that the working class is exploited as a consequence of the capitalist mode of production, but they seek to extend this exploitation not just to class but also to gender. Intersectionality theorists seek to explain oppression and inequality across a variety of variables, including class, gender, race, ethnicity, and age. They make the imp ortant insight that not all women experience oppression in the same way. White women and black women, for example, face different forms of discrimination in the workplace. Thus, different groups of women come to view the world through a shared standpoint of heterogeneous commonality.comparability the Four Sociological TheoriesIntroduction to Sociology 4 Basic TheoriesConflictFunctionalism symbolic InteractionismSocial ExchangeMacroMacroMicroMicro-Inequality lies at the core of society which leads to conflict -Resourcesare limited-Power is not evenly distributed-Competition is inevitable (winners & losers)-Negotiations based on influence, threats, promises, and consensus -Threats and coercion-Any resource can be used as tool of power or exploitation-War is natural-Haves and have nots-Privileges are protected by haves-Order is challenged by have nots-Examples ofGender & Feminist-Uses biological model (society is like a living organism)-Society has interrelated parts-What are function s or dysfunctions of parts-Society finds balance and is stable-Equilibrium-Society adjusts to maintain balance-How are parts integrated-Manifest functions-Latent functions and dysfunctions-Example of Systems Theory-Society is an ongoing process of many social interactions-Interactions based on symbolic context in which they occur-Subjective perceptions are critical to how symbols are interpreted -Communications-Meanings-Significant others-Roles-Relative deprivation-Self-Reality plastic in self and with others-Key IdeasSocial construction of realityThomas Theorem interpretation of situation-Example of theories of self-Society is an ongoing series of exchanges which occur during interactions -Interactions based on formula(Rewards- Costs)=OutcomesRewards-Costs-Profit/Loss-Comparisons-Limited resources-Power-Legitimacy-Equity-Negotiations-Tradeoffs-Example ofLevinger=s model on divorce (Attractions +/-Barriers)=/-(Alternative Attractions)