Symbolic Interactionism Sociology

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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 an organism, an organ is an elementary unit of analysis and each one performs different functions e.g. In human beings, heart pumps blood; the stomach, small and large intestines help in digestion of food. All these organs work together in harmony with each other for the smooth functioning of the body and for the survival of the organism as a whole. Similarly, if we relate this concept to the society, there are different parts of a society which are social practices and institutions (people, education, law and order, family etc.), which are an integral part of the society. All of these elements have certain responsibilities and functions, like the organs do. Thus, they work together to maintain a proper balance in the society. Thus, functionalism, describes that, various elements in the society work together to create the social stability for the greatest number of people. According to the functionalists, the socialization process makes

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