Preview

Compare And Contrast The Four Sociological Theories

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
583 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Compare And Contrast The Four Sociological Theories
In sociology there are four major theoretical traditions that sociologists and students study. The four theories are Functionalism, Conflict Theory, Symbolic Interactionism, and Feminism. This essay will discuss what those theories really mean and the scientists who study them.
The first theory is Functionalism. Functionalism is the theory that human behaviour is influenced by social structure and is based on shared values. It is in the macro-level of society. The theorists who are involved with Functionalism are Talcott Parsons, a sociologist who believes that society’s social structures are connected and rely on each other, and Robert Merton, another sociologist who stated that social structures can only be examined by both stability and change.
The second theory is the Conflict Theory. It is also on the macro-level of society. It focuses on the different social classes and
…show more content…
Feminism is the one most present in our society today. It is on both the micro and macro-levels of society. Feminism focuses on the elimination of gender inequalities in our society. Feminists fight for equal rights between men and women. A lot of people get confused and think that Feminism is the belief that women are dominant over men but that is not the case. The person associated with Feminism is Harriet Martineau. Martineau is often referred to as the first woman sociologist as well as one of the first feminists. She fought for equal rights between the sexes.
This essay outlines the different theories that are studied in sociology classes all around the world. In sociology there are many theories to study and many experiments to learn from but the four main theories that are studied are Functionalism, Conflict Theory, Symbolic Interactionism, and Feminism. All of those theories have key points and different views yet still are tied together in sociology classes because they help students learn about all angles of

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Three theoretical perspectives are functionalism, conflict theory, and the insurrectionist perspective, which help serve as a means of helping frame research. Functionalism, also known as structural functionalism, sees society as a complex network working together in balance. Those who study functionalism examin society by contemplating what each separate part of the network does to help society work in harmony. Functionalist view society as a well-functioning self-sufficient machine. The functionalism theory is very broad in that it tries to explain all the parts of human society . Functionalism serves a very important part in sociology because most sections of society have a purpose in the network. The explanation for social change is challenging for functionalist because of “The assumption…

    • 503 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Sociological perspectives are used to understand and describe the way societies function and the different behaviours of individuals within these societies. These perspectives can be used to explain the organisation of different areas of society, including social stratification, social mobility, social diversity, socialisation, and social institutions as well as the way each element fits into society. In this assignment I will be focusing on explaining each of the main sociological perspectives in society. The perspectives that I will be focusing on in this assignment are: Functionalism, Marxism, Marxism, Feminism, the New Right, Collectivism, and Postmodernism.…

    • 2733 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The major theoretical perspective are known as Functionalist perspective, Conflict perspective, and Interactionist perspective. These three views are the ones most widely used by sociologists, which altogether will approach and provide an introductory look at the discipline. Some iconic sociologists such as Emile Durkheim, Max Weber, Karl Marx, W.E.B. DuBois and many others are major contributors to sociology. Functionalist perspective emphasizes the way in which the parts of a society are structured to maintain its stability. The functionalist perspective sees stability and agreement while the conflict sociologist sees the world as a continual struggle. Conflict perspective assumes that social behavior is best understood in terms of tension between groups over power or the allocation of resources, including housing, money, access to services, and political representation.…

    • 319 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    There are many different frameworks study around the world and they are called Paradigms. Dr. Carl said that another goal of his is to help his students discover what paradigm they fall under. The three types of paradigms, which are the main basis of sociology, are Functionalism, Conflict theory, and Symbolic Interactionism. Functionalist believe that everything in the social world exists because it has an intended outcome and unintended outcome. Conflict Theorists believe that inequality exists because of differences between groups with wealth and power. Lastly, Symbolic Interactionism believe that labels are attached to certain individuals. All of these paradigms are mentioned all throughout the text. For instance, when talking about racism one may discuss a functionalist point of view against a symbolic interactionists perspective. Dr. Carl also brought to light that one may be a functionalist when it comes to gender equality but a Conflict Theorists when it comes to dealing with someone’s beliefs regarding overpopulation and such. As one can see there are a tremendous amount of view points in the world of sociology because it is studying the world as a…

    • 1270 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Explain the similarities and differences between the three major sociological perspectives of functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism. Identify which perspectives use a macrolevel or a microlevel of analysis.…

    • 1762 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Is a science of society really possible? What examples suggest that we can apply the same scientific principles to understand society that we do to understand nature?…

    • 2582 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Functionalist, conflict, and interactionist perspectives are all similar in the fact that they are different ways of analyzing sociology. The functionalist perspective is a positive method of analyzing a society and the individuals that work together in order for the society to fucntion properly. For example, a person has multiple body systems and each system must work together in order for the body to function properly. On the other hand, the conflict perspective focuses on individual's behaviors and the factors that may contribute to their behaviors or actions. Conflict focuses on the different classes in a society and the struggles the society may face. I feel that the functionalist and conflict theories are very different in the aspect that one view focuses on a society functioning properly and the other focuses on the differences and struggles of the society. I feel that the interactionist theory fits in the middle of the functionalist and conflict theory. This is due to the fact that the interactionist perspective focuses on the individuals and the individual's understanding or rationalization of certain categories. I feel that the interactionist theory does not label, it is a way of learning and understanding individuals based on their definition of things. Overall, all three views focus on analyzing socioloigy, but i feel that each theory is very different in the approaches and methods that are…

    • 1399 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    • The Structural/Functional Perspective – Relationship between parts of society, i.e. how aspects of society are functional and adaptive. – Macro – all aspects of society contribute to the way society functions as a whole. For example the government pays for school teachers and schools and bin collection etc. and in return citizens pay tax. The country couldn’t run without the citizens paying tax. People who believe in this theory believe that member of society have to work together and agree on what will be best for society as a whole.…

    • 1045 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    This year in sociology we have learned a lot about different topics. Throughout the course, we have watched several films. The films that we have watched are: The Harvest, Wetback, The Real Slumdog, World’s Most Dangerous Gang, Libby Montana, China’s Lost Girls, and Food Inc. All of these films showed different sociologic perspectives. The three sociologic terms that I am going to cover for every film are symbolic interactionism, conflict theory, and functionalism. Symbolic interactionism is a theoretical perspective in which society is viewed as composed of symbols that people use to establish meaning, develop their views of the world, and communicate with one another. Conflict theory is a theoretical framework in which society is viewed…

    • 714 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Soci Review

    • 422 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Sociology, Social Imperative, Sociological Imagination, C. Wright Mills on the sociological imagination (connection between history and biography- meaning of each), Personal troubles vs. Social issues, Generalizations and Stereotypes, Critical thinking, Early history of understanding life and society, Roots of social theorizing (places), Most important historical event that created sociological thought and practice, Focus of early sociology, Importance of the “Age of Reason” & “The Enlightenment Period”, Auguste Comte/Importance to sociology, Positivism, Social statics/dynamics, Harriet Martineau and sociology, Herbert Spencer and sociology- The Organic Analogy- Social Darwinism, Karl Marx and the nature of society and action, Emile Durkheim and Social Order, Social Solidarity/Social integration, Mechanical and Organic Solidarity, Importance of the study on Suicide (findings), Max Weber’s ideas on social thought, The value free approach, Versthen, Ideal types, The rise of American Sociology, Lester Ward, The focus of Pure Sociology vs. Applied Sociology, Jane Adams contributions, Margret Sanger and Feminist Sociological thought, W.E.B Dubois a and social research, Relevance of the University of Chicago, Activist-Reformist Approach, Theory vs. Paradigm, (3) dominant theoretical perspectives, Symbolic Interactionism (major tenets), Microanalysis, the meaning of symbols, defining situations, the looking glass self, Dramaturgy, Labeling, Macroanalysis and Functionalism and Conflict theory, Functionalism, social structure, social equilibrium, manifest and latent functions, dysfunctions, Conflict theory and Karl Marx, Neo-conflict theory, C. Wright Mills and “The Power Elite”, Feminist/Integrated theory.…

    • 422 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Approaches in Sociology

    • 623 Words
    • 3 Pages

    * 1. Major TheoreticalPerspectives in Sociology GS 138:Introduction to Sociology New Life Theological Seminary Seth Allen…

    • 623 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Sociology Themes & Issues

    • 3263 Words
    • 14 Pages

    For sociologists the question is “What is Sociology?” Offering a short sentence such as Sociology is the study of human society and human social behavior. Sociologists may attempt to improve on this by detailing specific areas of behavior in which they are interested relating to how people behave in families, why some people are involved in crime, why some children perform better at school. This draws an indication about the essence of sociology. And it is necessary to emphasize on the importance of how sociology is studied & what is studied, as it is important to indicate the particular perspective of sociology and its own way of looking at the individual and society. Furthermore studying the perspective of sociology maintains the patterns of behavior of human beings linked to social forces or factors specifically they are the consequence and results of social relationships & experiences which creates human social living.…

    • 3263 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sociology Theory

    • 1010 Words
    • 5 Pages

    There are many theories people create and analyze on how we as a society would become obsolete. If we lived in a perfect world, there would probably be one solution or sociological theory that could solve all our problems. With all of the sociological theories created over centuries, I believe that the three main theories, structural functionalism, the conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism, are all important attributes to what make us successful as individuals and society, play an important part in what makes us fail and all consist in the United States today.…

    • 1010 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Three Sociological Perspectives . Compare the differences among the three major theoretical perspectives in sociology (structural-functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism). With which theory and theorist do you find that you share similar views with and why?…

    • 674 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The primary goal of this course is to introduce you to the sociological perspective, to have you – once the term is complete – thinking and reasoning like a sociologist. However, because sociologists tend to use a rather different logic of investigation and explanation, the achievement of this objective is more difficult than it may first appear.…

    • 743 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Powerful Essays