Examples Of Structural Functionalism

Conflict Theory American society today is made up of all three of the theories. In my opinion, these theories all thrive off each other as a whole. I feel that the chain is something like this, Symbolic Interactionism, as well as Functionalism, lead into Conflict Theory. However, I feel that Conflict Theory is by far the largest component American society is made from, here is why! First I would like to touch on Symbolic Interactionism, symbols we attach value or meaning.

In many national or even local events theoretical perspectives can be seen. The perspectives are structured functionalism, social conflict, and symbolic interactionalism. Each of these theoretical perspectives are the things that shape how societies and the world function. While watching the “State of the Union Address” given by President Donald Trump, the perspective become prevalent and can be easily observed. The first of the three theoretical perspectives are structured functionalism.

Functionalism Functionalism is one of the main theoretical perspectives in sociology. Functionalism sees society as a system them interconnects with each other in different ways in order to form or maintain a stable and balanced society. Everyone plays a role in society which makes it a whole. It sees the social structure and organisation of society as more important than an individual. One example is that education offers ways to develop the skills and knowledge of a person whereas politics governs the way people are in society.

The conflict standpoint, the basic form of interface in society is not collaboration, but competition, and this leads to struggle. Since the groups of society participate for gain, there is continuously conflict for change. Society may view conflict theory as passive, but it interprets society as a scuffle for power among groups in conflict for partial possessions. Functionalism claims that our society operates on several organizations that works together as in the educational boards and or the government. Functionalist holds a neutral view of authenticity, troubled with clearing up how these group establishments and society preserves the

Assignment No. 1: Response Paper 1 Question 2: There are various perspectives which can be useful in building hypotheses and theories to describe different aspects of the society. The most popular theoretical perspectives are functionalism, conflict theory and symbolic interactionism. Amongst these, functionalism and conflict theory are the macro-approaches to describe a society, whereas, symbolic interationism is the micro-approach, which deals with an individual. Most of the functionalists relate the society to a living organism.

In this paper I am going to present a debate between two approaches developed in the course of the 90s: structural-functionalism and practice theory. What I am trying to grasp is whether these two approaches are similar and/or different, but especially understanding how they both address the study of socio-cultural systems as a whole on one hand, and the study of individual subjectivities on the other.

Looking at society as a whole with individual units that work together to make society function efficiently is the structural functionalism concept. Each unit has a part and is describe as institutions such as family, religion, education, politics, economy and inequality. Because structural functionalism looks at social structure and patterns of behavior it is able to create values for society. As well as, distinguish between visible and suppressed problems within the social structures that may need to be addressed. For instance, homelessness is indication of dysfunction in structural functionalism system.

As for symbolic interactionism, a social problem is created through social interaction from definitions and labels individuals place on particular things. The three theories that compose symbolic interactionism is the making and the action of social problems in society. These two perspectives are different from one another because, symbolic interactionism is the birth of a social problem as for conflict theory this is the result of a social problem effecting society. One illustration that will reflect on both perspectives is inequality in the work place between male and female. Symbolic interactionism starts by the males talking about how male is better than women in the workplace, which leads to other males being influenced by the spark of the problem.

Structure functional theory views society as a whole, a complex system of integrated, interrelated parts working together to keep society balanced. Each section of society has a certain task to fulfill in order to meet the needs of society. Therefore, functionalists stress order and stability. If a part of society is dysfunctional the peace is disturbed and the system is weakened. Each social institution plays a major role to the function of society, family provides an environment of reproducing, nurturing, and entertaining the children, education paves a way to pass on knowledge and values to one’s child while, politics provide means of leading members of society.

In the 1940s and the 1950s the conflict theory was ignored because sociologist thought it was solely economic. Today, sociologists see that conflict is found between many different groups in society. (Crossman) According to the conflict theory, inequality is the result of those who are wealthy, typically those in the upper one percent, which impose their mode of social order on the rest of the general society. In result, society is constantly competing for limited resources.

It has its origins in the works of Emile Durkheim, who was especially interested in how social order is possible or how society remains relatively stable. As such, it is a theory that focuses on the macro-level of social structure, rather than the micro-level of everyday life. Notable theorists include Herbert Spencer, Talcott Parsons, and Robert K. Merton. Functionalism interprets each part of society in terms of how it contributes to the stability of the whole

As mentioned, structural functionalism is how members in a team are given specific roles and tasks to perform in order to work well as a team; Social conflict on the other hand is how team members will disagree at some points or on certain decisions which might include electing a new captain for the team. In relation to sports and to both theories mentioned, Symbolic Interactionist could be manifested through the symbol of what a captain represents and how it affects a team. A captain is generally there to lead the team, encourage, organize and remind them of their respective roles within the team. The role of a captain directly affects how the team will function and perform through interaction such as their communication skills and their ability to lead a team. Another is how the members of the team give meaning to and identify the authority of a captain and how they respond to it.

I didn’t think that symbolic interaction applied here because it is more of a micro analysis, and structural-functionalism is about how aspects of society are functional and work in harmony, which also does not apply to this topic. This approach is about analyzing the inequalities of aspects in the social world such as race, age, gender, religion, sexual orientation etc., and the issues that stem from them. I believe that in the realm of racial inequality, this perspective ties in with it the most due to the nature of “conflict” that is deeply embedded in its foundation. Racial inequality is an example of social conflict because of the divide that is caused between various races. In this case specifically, the divide between white America and the rest of the minority groups comprising America.

The conflict theory is a macro-level theory where theorists look at the unequal distribution of resources such as money, power, education, and social prestige. Those who are wealthier and more educated than others in the society hold more power over those who are not wealthy or as educated. Conflict theorists see this a lot in the educational system, where inequality is shown through the materials in the school, teachers in the classrooms, and topics being taught. This type of inequality leads to learning differences that emphasizes social inequalities. Macro-level sociology is looking at the bigger picture of the social process, such as stability and change throughout society.

Introduction The Structural-functional approach is an outline for building theory which sees society as a complex system, whose parts collaborate to promote solidarity and stability. The Structural functional approach consists of the social structure, which is the organized pattern of social relationships, and social functions, which reveal the consequences of patterns, and operates the society. For a society to work, different components work together to achieve this feat. Such components include primary producers, family, schools, professionals and government.