Major Theoretical

I. Theory
• It refers to a set of interrelated concepts, definitions, and propositions that explain, describes, or predicts events or situations by specifying relations
among variables. Theories by their nature are abstract or general ideas which have been conceptually developed and tested.

A theory is needed for various reasons:

• Understand the theory to be used to assess a societal issue, problem, or phenomenon gives one the advantage of knowing the specific study components
as well as measures to be used.
• Knowledge of many theories or having several constructs will allow the researcher to choose or be given option to select the appropriate theory to be used
by looking at the strengths and weaknesses of each theory.
• One could also compare two (2) or more theories for one to study, which could give a broader perspective or seeing things from various facets and
assumptions.
• Knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of a theory paves the way in the creation of a new one.

II. Structural-Functionalism (Functionalism)

• The functionalist perspective views society as a living organism in which each part contributes to its
overall survival
• any aspect of society that persists over time does so because it serves some purpose and, in some
way, contributes to its livelihood.
• Even something such as crime or poverty may persist as long as it serves some purpose or “function”.

Structural-Functionalism i
• the perspective that describes the society as a social system that has a social structure of its
Perspectives
• own, made up of different parts interconnected that work together in harmony to achieve balance or social
equilibrium.
• all of them are needed and interconnected to achieve social order or equilibrium to survive.
• The social institutions are the pillars of the human society.
• These are the government, economy, education, religion, and family.
• most important element of the human society.

• Structuralism believes that human “MUST” be part of a big structure.

• Humans should be interrelated with other individuals.
• The saying “No man is an island” greatly describes what structuralism is.
• Herbert Spencer conceptualized the idea of “social equilibrium.” He believed that there is an inclination in
society towards equilibrium.
• For example, after the Martilyo Gang’s robbery of jewelry inside a shopping mall, the government was quick to
implement a policy banning people from bringing hammers upon entering malls to avoid such incidents. This
kind of reaction by the government somehow gives the impression that it was doing its job in restoring peace
and order, thus giving the community a sense of protection from bad elements of society, restoring
equilibrium after an unfortunate event.
• to describe the effects of societal elements, the terms functional and dysfunctional are used.
• FUNCTIONAL – social institutions do their job
• DYSFUNCTIONAL – social institutions failed to do their job
• social functions refer to the results or effects of the operation of society in general, whereas dysfunctions have
negative effects on society
American sociologist Robert Merton emphasized that social functions may be intended or unintended consequences,
thus they can be classified into manifest and latent functions.
• MANIFEST FUNCTION are those that are intentional or known, referring to functions that people suppose and
anticipate to be fulfilled by the institutions.
• LATENT FUNCTION are the unexpected effects of institutions.
 Marxism
• It is a perspective the world is full of conflict
• This perspective is from Karl Marx’s classical works
• it states that society is composed of different groups with their own interest to protect
• each group is competing for power and resources
• conflict that promote social inequality

Marx uses materialist interpretation of historical development and dialectical view of social transformation and social
change.
Dialectics is composed of the thesis, and the corresponding antithesis leads to a higher synthesis. It talks about the
old mode of production (thesis), change (antithesis), which means a better life, and synthesis is a new mode of
production (synthesis), and it would become the new thesis
According to Karl Marx, the final synthesis is Communism, where the proletariat must revolt against the capitalist order
to have the utopian society. In Communism, everyone has equal access to resources. This would be the result of a
classless society. Hence, inequality would cease to exist.

Karl Marx was a German philosopher, economist, and political thinker considered as the Father of Marxism, the 20th
century communism. His most important works include the Capital and the Communist Manifesto, which he wrote with
Friedrich Engels who served as his closest collaborator. Engels edited the second and third volumes of the said book
after Marx’s death

Marxism, as a political ideology, only came into existence after Karl Marx’s death in 1883 and was primarily the product
of the attempt by Friedrich Engels and other followers of Marx to condense his ideas into a comprehensive worldview.
Karl Marx was able to develop a scientific brand of socialism that was concerned
primarily with divulging the nature of social and historical development. Over
time, there emerged different types of Marxism: Classical, Orthodox, And
Neo-Marxism.

• Classical Marxism refers to a philosophy of history that explains why

Socialism is meant to take the place of Capitalism
• Marx was able to explain how society evolved from Primitive
Communalism to Capitalism, and how it has to pass through Socialism
before reaching the final stage of Communism.
An updated form of Marxism was developed, which rejects determinism and emphasizes the importance of
economics and the privileged status of the proletariat. This is known as Modern or NeoMarxism. It rejected the idea
that class struggle is the beginning and end of class analysis .
Strengths Weaknesses

Societies are always in conflict over power to In the past, the focus of the perspective was
control the norms, values, and resources of based largely on class inequality.
a society. This control in power is There is little focus on social stability and
characterized by a group called the “power shared value. For Marx, social order is an
elite.” illusion and seldom seen in human history.
Conflict and power differentials are always There is a claim that this perspective has lost
present in society as groups pursue their scientific objectivity because in most cases,
interests. It looks to investigate social sociologists are encouraged to be activists of
inequality as it related to class, gender, race, social change for those issues that they are
or ethicality. studying.
Conflict is a major contribution to societal
transformation and social change.
It uses macro-level analysis in examining
issues or social problems in society.

III. Symbolic Interactionism

• Symbolic Interactionism emphasizes that human behavior is influenced by definitions and meanings that are
created and maintained through symbolic interaction with others.
• In this perspective, acting people are the basic units of human society.
• George Herbert Meadbelieved that human beings do not react directly to events act based on their interpretation
of the meaning of events.
• Herbert Blumer did and coined the term Symbolic Interactionism and described as the peculiar and distinctive
character of interaction that takes place between human beings.
• The peculiarity comes from the fact that human beings interpret or define each other’s actions instead of merely
reacting to it. Their response is not made directly to the actions of one another but instead is based on the
meaning which they attach to such actions.
• human interaction is mediated by the use of symbols, by interpretation, or by ascertaining the meaning of one
another’s actions.
• For Blumer, society is characterized by patterns of joint action and interaction, where participants take account
of each other.
• The content of social encounter in different situations and context differs in the communication process within
the self and between selves with regard to selecting, checking, suspending, re-grouping, and transforming
meanings in terms of the social context and the individual’s intentions and interests
Symbolic Interactionism is anchored on three (3) premises:

Premises Explanation
Human beings act towards things The setting of the human interaction is the key as to how we make meaning or make sense of things, such as a knock at a
based on the meanings that things door or the color of the dress in an event. The things that may be disengaged from the setting may be gestures, sounds,
have for them. materials things, or what symbolic interactionist call symbols. The individual takes note of these, has an understanding of
them, notes them to him/herself, and makes decisions concerning how to proceed. That is, the individual interprets these
things as meaningful and uses the symbols in action according to the setting that they are in.

The meaning of things arises out of the Things do not have inherent or innate meaning in and of themselves, but the meaning is socially or communally created,
social interaction one has with one’s through experiences with these as one interacts with other individuals and groups in society. For example, hand gestures
fellows. and practices from other cultures such as religious symbols and rituals have no meaning for those not familiar with them.
However, practices, symbols, and gestures of the type commonly experienced normally have meaning for the individual.

The meaning of things is handled in and The Symbolic Interaction perspective considers the meaning to be much more elastic or flexible than in the structural or
modified through an interpretive Weberian approaches. That is, through interaction with others, the individual identities the common meaning linked or
process used by the person in dealing connected with the symbols, but may be modified or changed as time passes by. The same symbols may have different
with things s/he encounters. meanings in different settings, for different individuals, and depending on how the individual interprets the setting.

• In Charles Horton Cooley’s The Looking Glass Self theory

• he argued that the way we think about ourselves is particularly apt to reflect other people's appraisals or more
accurately, our imagination of other people's appraisals and that our self-concepts are built up in the intimate
groups that he called "primary groups.
• he believed that a person’s beliefs about how others perceive him/her shape his/her ideas about
himself/herself, regardless of whether those perceptions are true or not.
• There are three components in this theory: 1) We imagine how we appear to others; 2) We imagine the
judgment of that appearance; and 3) We develop ourselves (identity) through the judgments of others.
• For example, using computer technology, people can create an avatar, a customized symbol that represents
the computer user. In the virtual world, the “second life” of the computer-user, s/he can create a human-like
avatar that reflects him/her concerning race, age, physical makeup, status, and the like. By selecting certain
physical characteristics or symbols, the avatar reflects how the creator seeks to be perceived in the virtual
world and how the symbols used in the creation of the avatar influence others' actions toward the computer-
user.

In Erving Goffman’s Dramaturgical Perspective on Social Interaction theory, he compared a person’s social life to a
theater in which he subdivided his analysis into six (6) main concepts:
• Performance - refers to the activities an individual does in front of observers, or audience. In this stage,
the individual or actor gives meaning to themselves, to others, and to their situation. These performances deliver
impressions/messages to others, and information is exchanged to confirm identity.
 • Setting - refers to the place where interaction takes place, such as scenery, props, and location. Actors
must adapt to different settings, as different settings entail a different set of audience.
• Appearance - refers to the person’s portrayal of his/her role. Dresses and props are used to convey
gender, status, occupation, age, and personal commitments. This will tell the audience of the temporary status
of the person. For example, a person who wants to be viewed as an affluent figure would wear fancy clothes
and expensive jewelry to convince his/her audience of the role that s/he is playing.
• Manner - refers to the way an individual plays his/ her role. Manner functions to warn the audience of
how the performer will act or seek to act in the role. However, there are cases when the audience gets confused
because of contradiction and inconsistency between appearance and manner. For example, a military man is
perceived by the society to be tough and emotionless in behavior; however, when a veteran is diagnosed with a
chronic disease, their manner may be full of emotion and feelings of helplessness. In this case, his appearance
and manner are inconsistent and contradictory.
• Front - refers to the image or impression an individual is giving off to the audience. The actor’s front is
the part of the performance, which functions to define the situation for the other observers or audience. A front
can also be regarded as a script. Certain situations or scenarios have social scripts that suggest how the actor
should behave or interact in that situation.
• Front Stage and Back Stage - In the front stage, the actor knows that s/he is being watched. Hence, s/he will
act according to her/his role. While in the backstage, the individual can truly be himself/herself and get rid of the
role s/he is playing when in the front stage.
Strengths Weaknesses

• People are symbol users; they acquire these symbols and their shared Due to its analysis on a micro level, critics have stated that it has limitations
meaning through social interaction with others. as it relates to the larger social issues imposing in a society that is beyond
the control of individuals such as class, race, gender, economy.
• People respond to others and to other’s actions based on their It overemphasizes the individuals’ social aspect and has little sense of
understanding of meaning in a particular situation – their definition of the social structure and social order. Thus, it does not explain how or why
situation. societies change and how do social structures affect the individual’s
• Society and social groups within it are a process whereby people have perceptions, meanings, and interpretations.
constructed meanings and have negotiated social interaction. Symbols may be interpreted incorrectly or differently among different
groups of people.
• It considers the social environment in which learning takes place.
It can be difficult to quantify things in Symbolic Interactionism because this
• It recognizes that perceptions of reality are variable and changing. theory deals with interpretations and is this subjective by nature.
It uses micro-level analysis in examining issues and problems in society by It overestimates the power of individuals to create their own realities,
giving insight into small- scale human interactions.
ignoring the extent to which humans inhabit a world, not of their own
• It underscores the relationship between the meaning of symbols and a making.
person’s behavior. In a way, certain behaviors may be predicted.
• It sees humans as active, creative participants who construct their social
world, not passive, conforming objects of socialization.

IV. Psychoanalysis

• Psychoanalysis refers to both a theory of how the mind works and a treatment of modality.
• As a treatment method, it helps people understand themselves, their relationships, and how they behave
in the world.
 • Psychoanalytic treatment is based on the idea that we are commonly motivated to act by impulses that
we don’t recognize because they originate in our unconscious.
• These unconscious conflicts can create negative feelings – emotions such as unhappiness, anxiety, or
depression – which can be expressed in many ways, including self- destructive behavior or difficulties with
personal relationships or work.

The founder of Psychoanalysis is Sigmund Freud. He was the first person to include the unconscious mind in a formal
psychological theory. Unconscious is the key to understanding our personality.

According to Freud, there are three (3) structures of personality:

1. Id – The Unconscious; it is the person’s drives and instincts; it operates on the pleasure principle.
The id says, “I want it now”.
2. Superego – Operates on moral principle; it strives for perfection and not pleasure; decides what is right or wrong.
The superego says, “Nice people, don’t do that”.
3. Ego – Mediator; operates on reality principle; resolves the conflict between id and superego. The ego says, “Maybe
I can find a compromise”.

• The structures of personality can be compared to an iceberg where the conscious (ego and superego)
can be seen mostly, but the larger part of the personality or unconscious (id) is hidden under.
• When the ego cannot manage or resolve the conflict between the id and superego, the person would use
defense mechanisms to deal with a problem/s in life to avoid pain.
• A defense mechanism is a coping technique that lessens anxiety or pain due to unacceptable or potentially
harmful impulses.
• The use of defense mechanism is unconsciously done and is most often learned behaviors, most of which
we learned during childhood. There are many types of defense mechanisms, some of which are the following:
•
Repression - Burying a painful feeling or thought from your awareness though it may resurface in symbolic form.
Sometimes considered a basis of other defense mechanisms
Denial – not accepting reality because it is too painful
Regression – Reverting to an older, less mature way of handling stresses and feeling
Projection – Attributing your own unacceptable thoughts or feelings to someone or something else
Splitting – Everything in the world is seen as all good or all bad with nothing in between
Isolation of Effect – Attempting to avoid a painful or thought or feeling by objectifying and emotionally detaching oneself
from the feeling
Displacement – Channeling a feeling or thought from its actual source to something or someone else
Reaction Formation – Adopting beliefs, attitudes, and feelings contrary to what you really believe
Rationalization – Justifying one’s behaviors and motivations by substituting good, acceptable reasons for these real
motivations
Altruism – Handling your own pain by helping others
Sublimation – Redirecting unacceptable, instinctual drives into personally and socially acceptable channels
Suppression – The effort to hide and control unacceptable thoughts or feelings