Introduction To Sociological Theories

INTRODUCTION TO
SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES
INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGICAL
PERSPECTIVES
 THE SCIENCE OF SOCIOLOGY
 WHAT IS A SOCIETY?
 WHY DO WE NEED SOCIOLOGY?
 SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES
 Functionalism
 Marxism
 Micro Theories/ Symbolic Interactionism
THE SCIENCE OF SOCIOLOGY
 Sociology is a Science, more specifically a social science.

 Sociology is the scientific study of human activity in the society.
 A social science studies human behaviour, institutions, or functions of human society in a
scientific manner.
 Other social sciences include:
 Anthropology
 Psychology
 Economics
 Political Science
 History
The belief that sociology is a science is called
positivism.
 It is important to note that sociology is extremely complex because social life is complex.
 So although traditional sociologists may have applied the characteristics of a science, it is
not as simple as a conventional science to investigate.
 People are very complex creatures.
What makes sociology a science?
 Empirical – observable facts

 Theoretical – a set of ideas used to explain a phenomenon
 Cumulative – builds on previous knowledge
 Objective – bias-free, not influenced by personal opinion
 Value-free – free from criteria
WHAT IS A SOCIETY?
What is a society?
 A society is any set of people living together in a group comprising of a single community
and whose members are interdependent (Mustapha 2009, 23).
 Sociology = Studies human society and social behaviour in a scientific manner.
Society is divided into:
 Social interactions – how people relate to one another and how they influence each others
behaviour.
 Social Institutions – a group of people banded together for a common purpose.
 Social Phenomena – observable facts or events that occur in human society.
SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS
 In the social sciences, institutions are the structures and mechanisms of social order and
cooperation governing the behavior of a set of individuals within a given human
collectivity.
 Institutions include the family, religion, education, peer group, economic systems, legal
systems, penal systems, political systems, and the media.
SOCIAL PHENOMENA
 There are many issues and phenomena that are addressed in sociology. These include:
 Crime
 Stratification
 Poverty
 Technology
 Racism
 Social Media
 Inequality
 Population
 Illiteracy
 Corruption
 Underdevelopment
 Sexuality
WHY IS SOCIOLOGY IMPORTANT?
 Understand how behaviour is influenced by social factors.

 Learn how to view the world through other’s eyes (sociological perspective).
 Attempt to connect the larger world with personal life (sociological imagination).Find your
place both within society and history.
SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES
 A theory is a set of ideas that seeks to explain how something works.

 A sociological theory seeks to explain how society or aspects of society work.
 Most “facts” as we understand it in today’s society are based on theory.
Theories are extremely selective and as such
varying perspectives have its own priorities.
 Thus, only a partial or one-sided view of reality is presented.
Structural (Macro) Theory
 Analyses society as a whole and how it functions.

 Human behaviour is affected or influenced by the institutions, structures and society as a
whole.
 Society  Human Behaviour (interaction)
Life, interactions and social behaviour are all determined by the institutions (school,
religion, government) and structures (norms, values, customs, traditions) of society.
 One such Macro theory is Functionalism.
FUNCTIONALISM
(MACRO THEORIES)
INSTITUTIONS BEHAVIOUR
 FUNCTIONALISM
 Emile Durkheim
 One of the first sociological theories to evolve.
 Became most dominant social theory in the 1940s & 50s, especially in the USA
 Society can be compared to a living organism – INSTITUTIONS resemble ORGANS
 Functionalism investigates the impact society and institutions have on the individual and
behaviour.
THINKING ACTIVITY
 Imagine your municipality.

 Describe the different parts of your Barangay
 Why is this part
 How do they function individually?
 How does these parts contribute to the entire community?
FUNCTIONALISM Three Major
Assumptions:
 View society as a system of highly interrelated parts that function together harmoniously.
 Although societies differ and culture is relative, Functionalists believe in a general
consensus (agreement) in society.
 Society seeks stability and the status quo and avoids conflict. Conflict is dysfunctional or
pathological.
Functionalist perspective
 FUNCTIONALIST PERSPECTIVE -is primarily concern with why a society assumes a

particular form. Emile Durkheim-a founder of sociology and is largely credited with
developing the functionalist perspective
 Key Principles of the functionalist perspective(Farley,1990)  1. Interdependency-is that
society is made up of interdependent parts. This means that every part of society is
dependent to some extent on other parts of society, so that what happens at one place in
society has important effects elsewhere.
 Think of your community.
 Functions of Social Structure and Culture-this principles is applied both social structure
and culture.
 Social structure refers to the organization of society, including its institutions, its social
positions, and its distribution of resources.
 Culture refers to a set of beliefs, language, rules, values, and knowledge held in common
by members of a society.
 Consensus and Cooperation- is that societies have a tendency toward consensus; that is to
have certain basic values that nearly everyone in the society agrees upon. For example, our
society agreed upon the principles of freedom and democracy in order to achieve
cooperation.
 Equilibrium-this view holds that, once a society has achieved the form that is best adapted
to its situation, it has reached a state of balance or equilibrium, and it will remain in that
condition until it is forced to change by some new.
 Social Structures provide present patterns which evolve to meet human needs Stability,
order, and harmony Maintenance of society The Structural-Function Model • The structural
functional model addresses the question of social organization and how it is maintained.
FUNCTIONALISM – Critique
 Functionalism has been critiqued over the years for the following reasons:Too
deterministic and ignores diversity
 Too ideal or perfect
 Too functional – minimizes conflict
 In the study of society, a sociologist with this perspective tries to identify the structures of
society and how they function, hence the name structural functio-nalism. •
 Functionalist maintain the social structures exist in society for the functions they have to
carry out. •
 Structural functionalism puts emphasis on social order and social stability. •
 Modern functionalist theories of education. From this perspective, schooling performs an
important function in the development and maintenance of modern, democratic society,
especially with regard to equality of opportunity for all citizens.
CONFLICT THEORY -
MARXISM
CONFLICT THEORY - MARXISM
 Like the Functionalists, conflict theory is a structural or Macro- sociological perspective.

 However, this is their ONLY similarity.
 Marxism offers a radical or revolutionary alternative to Functionalism.
 Their MAIN tenet is that society is in a perpetual state of conflict because there are
different groups with different needs and interests.
 According to Tischler (2007, 21), conflict theorists view society as constantly changing in
response to social inequality and social conflict.
MARXISM Conflict is normal and desirable
 Social equilibrium or order is the dominant or ruling class ploy of maintaining control
 According to Marxists, there are two groups in contemporary society:
 Ruling Class (BOURGEOISIE or Capitalists)
 Lower/Subordinate Class (PROLETARIAT or Working class)
 History always had two groups opposing each other with differing interests (dialectic
materialism)
MARXISM - Critique
 Conflict theory has been condemned by several critics:

 Too ideologically basedToo economically deterministic
 There are more than two classes (growing middle class)
INTERPRETIVE (MICRO)
THEORIES
SOCIAL ACTION
 While Functionalism and Marxism insist that the structure or institutions are responsible
for the manner in which individuals behave, social action or interpretive perspectives see
structure as being influenced by the action of individuals.
 Max Weber challenges the view that society exists outside or independently of the
individual.
SOCIAL ACTION Max Weber (1864-1920)
 Social Action or Individual Behaviour should be the focus of the study of society.
 THE PROTESTANT ETHIC AND THE SPIRIT OF CAPITALISM (1904)Social Action is
an action carried out by an individual to which a person attached meaning.
 It is as a result of conscious thought where an individual logically and rationally gives a
reason to an action in a public sphere.
 Verstehen – understanding of the meaning attached to an action.
SOCIAL ACTION Also remembered for his
work on Bureaucracies.
 A bureaucracy was the dominant institution on industrial society.
 It is a rational organization with a hierarchy of paid, full-time professionals who formed a
top-down chain of command.
 Bureaucracies are everywhere – government, church, schools.
 Humans rationally & logically think before they act.
 Saw three spheres that affect life – economic, political and cultural.
OTHER INTERPRETIVE
(MICRO) THEORIES
Symbolic Interactionism (by George H Mead)
 Society is the product of interaction between people which takes place through the use of
symbols which have meaning for the individuals involved.
Dramaturgy (by Erving Goffman)
 It is the belief that life is a stage and we are all players or actors. We are not our “real”
selves in public.
Ethnomethodology (by Harold Garfinkel)
 Society has a particular order in life based on certain rituals that people use in order to
make sense of their world.
Phenomenology (Alfred Schutz)
 How people make sense of their environment and surroundings by classifying objects
based on their understanding.

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INTRODUCTION TO

 Sociology is a Science, more specifically a social science.

 Empirical – observable facts

 Understand how behaviour is influenced by social factors.

 A theory is a set of ideas that seeks to explain how something works.

 Analyses society as a whole and how it functions.

 Imagine your municipality.

 FUNCTIONALIST PERSPECTIVE -is primarily concern with why a society assumes a

 Like the Functionalists, conflict theory is a structural or Macro- sociological perspective.

 Conflict theory has been condemned by several critics:

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