Theories - D
Sociological Theories
Sociological Theories
Introduction
Sociological theories are a key aspect of sociology. If you know and understand
the theories of sociology then you will provide yourself with a solid basis for
being successful on the sociology course.
What is a theory?
A theory is a set of ideas that attempts to explain how something works. In
sociology a theory is a set of ideas that attempts to explain how society and
various aspects of society work.
There are various ways in which sociological theories can be separated. The
first division is between the structural view and the social action view:
• The structural view – theories here see us as being shaped by the society
in which we live. We behave according to the norms and expectations of
society and our behaviour is determined by society, we are puppets of
society.
• The social action view – theories here see us as having free will and
choice. The argument being that individuals create society not the other
way around. These theories look at the small scale interactions between
individuals.
In addition to the above division, the structural theories can be divided into two
more board categories; consensus and conflict:
• Consensus theories – consensus theories see society as based on a shared
set of norms and values and highlight the importance of concepts such as
solidarity and value consensus. This is not say that conflict does not
occur, consensus theories accept that conflict can occur in society but
they argue that it is only every temporary and is usually corrected quickly
by society. An example of a consensus theory is functionalism.
• Conflict theories – conflict theories see society as based on fundamental
differences of interest between social groups. They argue that these
differences mean that conflict in common and persistent in society. Some
examples of conflict in society are between class and gender. An
example of a conflict theory is Marxism.
• Functionalism
Functionalism is a structural, consensus theory that has been
one of the most important theories in sociology. Functionalism
first emerged in the 19th century in Europe and was based on the
ideas of French sociologists Emile Durkheim.
Possibly one of the easiest ways to understand the
functionalist view of society is to draw
comparisons with biology. If a biologist is going
to have a full understanding of the human body they need to
understand how all the organs work together to maintain the
body, if they look at each organ in isolation they would not
understand how the body works and is maintained.
Functionalism sees society in a similar fashion. In order to understand how
society works you need to understand that all parts of society are interrelated
and need to be taken together to understand how society works.
Some of the key concepts that functionalists look at are: structure, function,
value consensus and social order.
• Structure: Functionalism starts from the basis that behaviour in society is
structured. They believe that the relationships between members of
society are organized based on a set of rules that stipulate how people are
expected to behave. These rules can be formal (laws) or informal
(norms)
• Functions: Once the functionalists had established that society is based on
structure, their analysis turns to how the structure works. In order to
understand this, functionalists examine the relationships between
different parts of society and society as a whole. This examination
reveals functions of individual institutions, for example a major function
of the family is to socialise the next generation which helps to maintain
order in society.
• Value consensus: Functionalists argue that if society is to work effectively
there needs to be some level of integration between parts of society. For
functionalists this integration is based on value consensus. Value
consensus is the agreement about the values of society by the members of
society. The idea is that if the major values are expressed in the various
parts of society then those parts will be integrated.
• Social order: Functionalism assumes that there is a degree of order and
stability required for the survival of society. The functionalists argue that
the key to this social order is value consensus. It is value consensus that
provides the basis for social solidarity and cooperation and helps to
maintain social order. For functionalists a key process in society is
socialisation which is how members learn the norms and values of society
thus allowing new generations to maintain these norms and values and
bring those who deviate back in line.
Marxism
1)Like functionalism, Marxism is also a structural theory but it
is not a consensus theory it is a conflict theory. Although
Marxism started in late 19th century it did not become an
influential theory in sociology until the 1970s.
2)Marxism starts from the idea that we are all social creatures. In
order to survive we have to produce food and goods and in doing this we are
entering into social relationships with other humans. These social relationships
and the forces of production (technical knowledge and equipment money –
human labour) taken together form what Marxism terms the infrastructure or
economic basis of society. According to Marxism, everything else in society is
termed the superstructure and is shaped by the infrastructure. In other
words Marxism is arguing that politics, education, the family etc are all shaped
by economic factors.
3)As a result of the relationship between the infrastructure and
superstructure Marx sees conflict in all societies because for one social group
to be successful another needs to be exploited. For example in a capitalist
society it is the employers (ruling class/bourgeoisie) exploiting the employees
(working class/proletariat). This exploitation creates the conflict in society
which, according to Marx, must be resolved because a social system containing
conflicts of this sort cannot survive unchanged.
4)By studying history, Marx was able to predict the development and, as he
believed, the eventual downfall of capitalism. Marx saw history as divided into
various time periods each characterized by a mode of production and each
change in history comes about as a result of changes in the forces of production
e.g. the move to industrial forces gave rise to capitalism. Marx argued that
each system would eventually reach a point when the forces of production
would change and a new economic system would be entered, for Marx the
final change would be from capitalism to a communist society. Marx
believed that in a communist society the collective production would remain by
collective ownership would also exists thus removing the conflict from society
causing, as Marx termed it, the ‘end of history’.
5)The final are to understand in the basics of Marxism is how
Marx explained the survival of these societies despite the
conflict and contradictions that exist, capitalism, for example,
has survived for over 150 years. In Marx’s view the survival of
these systems is explained by the nature of the superstructure.
In all societies the superstructure is shaped by the
infrastructure and the relationship between them is reflected in the institutions
of society. This allows the dominant group in society to control the ideas of
society and therefore protect their interests. Marx argued that this was ruling
class ideology and it blinds members of society to the conflict that is occurring,
the acceptance of this situation is termed false consciousness and helps to
maintain the system. Marx believed that the ruling class ideology could only
ever delay the disintegration of the system.
Feminism
Feminism, like both Marxism and functionalism, is largely a
structural theory and, like Marxism, it is a conflict theory.
However while Marxism sees the main conflict in society as
being between classes, feminism sees the main conflict in society
as being between genders. Feminists see society as based on
exploitation, the exploitation of women by men. The majority of
feminists see contemporary societies as patriarchal, they are
dominated by men. Examples feminists use to demonstrate this point are men
having more power in the family, men having better paid and higher status jobs,
and the male domination of the political system.
The ultimate aim for the majority of feminists is to remove the male domination
of society and rid society of the exploitation of women. Feminists who fit this
idea all believe they can explain the development of a male dominated society
and that, through various means, an improved future is possible. Some
examples of feminist movements who see society in this way are liberal, radical
and Marxist feminists who all see women as being oppressed but differ on the
reasons for oppression and ways to solve oppression.
A different approach to the oppression of women is held by difference
feminists. Difference feminists argue that it is important to understand that
there are different problems and experiences faced by different groups of
women and therefore different solutions might be required. You have to take
into account many different social aspects such as class, wealth and ethnicity to
understand the oppression suffered by different women. An example of this
would be the argument that a wealthy abled body woman in capitalist America
is in a very different position to a poor disabled women living in impoverished
slums of America
When it comes to sociology, feminists tend to agree that until the
1970s it was dominated by men. They argue that it was written by
men about men and there was very little research into women and
their concerns. Feminists believe that more sympathetic
approaches to sociology should be used by working with those
being studied instead of treating them only as sources of data.
Some key feminists you may come across are Ann Oakley,
Germaine Greer, and Kat Millet. Another key feminist is Betty Friedan who is
seen as the mother of modern feminism.
Interactionism ( or social action theory)
Functionalism and Marxism are very different theories but
they do share some common features. Firstly they are both
trying to explain society as a whole, secondly they see
society as a system, and thirdly they tend to see human
behaviour as shaped by the system. Some versions of
feminism also share these characteristics.
Interactionism differs from functionalism, Marxism, and
most feminism. It is a social action theory not a structural theory. Instead of
looking at the large scale, whole society approach, interactionism concentrates
on small scale interactions. Interactionism usually rejects the concept of social
system and does not view human behaviour as a response to the system.
Interactionists believe it is possible to analyse society systematically and to
improve society. These improvements have to be made on a smaller scale than
implies by the system theories.
Interactionism is concerned with interaction – the action between individuals.
Interactionists seek to understand this process and start from the basis that the
action is meaningful to those involved. In order to understand the action taking
place we need to understand the meaning that the actors (individuals) place on
their activities. It is important to remember that meanings are not fixed entities;
they depend on the context of the interaction and can be created, developed,
modified and changed during the process of interaction.
Self-concept is an important aspect of human interaction according to
interactionists. A self-concept is the picture an individual forms of them self
and this picture has an important influence on the individual’s actions. Actors
tend to act in terms of their self-concept.
Interactionists highlight the process in which, definitions of the self as well as
other definitions, are constructed. In order to understand these definitions,
interactionist look into the construction of meanings in the interaction process.
Meanings are constructed based upon preconceptions which actors bring to the
situation, and a process of negotiation that occurs during the interaction
situation. For example the police will not automatically define black juveniles
involved in a fight as delinquent or white juveniles in the same situation as non-
delinquent; there will be a process of negotiation that takes place through which
the definition emerges. Often this negotiation will reinforce the preconception
but there is a possibility that the preconception can be changed.
The final basic area to be aware of is the roles actors play in society.
Interactionists agree with the functionalists that we have roles to
play in society. The difference is that while the functionalists
believe individuals perform their roles like reading a script,
interactionists believe rolls are vague and unclear. Roles are open to
negotiation, improvisation and creative action, most roles are only a guideline
for action and what matters is how these roles are employed in interactions.
A key interactionist is Mead.
Postmodernism
Postmodern ideas have become more important and
influential in sociology since the 1980s. There are a
number of versions of postmodernism ranging from those
that seek to explain changes in society through to the more
radical forms that are a major challenge to the other
perspectives looked at in this booklet.
Some more moderate postmodernists are content with
describing and explaining what they see as crucial changes in society. The still
retain elements of conventional theories, they believe that human behaviour and
the ways society change can be explained. They stick to the belief that changes
in society can be explained through sociological theories.
The more radical postmodernists argue that conventional sociological
approaches must be abandoned. They believe that we have moved from a
‘modern’ era in to a ‘postmodern’ era and therefore new theories are required.
They support this idea in 2 ways:
• First they argue that social behaviour is no longer shaped by people’s
background and their socialization. People are free to make many more
choices than ever before. With boundaries between social groups
breaking down, you can no longer predict the lifestyle someone will have.
With so much choice available, many aspects of life studied by
conventional sociologists are no longer important and their studies are no
longer useful.
• Secondly some postmodernists question the belief that there is any solid
foundation for producing knowledge about society. They believe that
modern sociologists were wrong to believe that sociology could discover
the truth about society. Postmodernists argue that all knowledge is based
on language and since language can never describe the external world
perfectly, knowledge is essentially subjective.
Postmodernists also argue that it is becoming increasingly difficult to separate
media images from anything even approximating to reality. Society has become
so saturated with media images that people now sometimes confuse media
characters with real life.
Some postmodernists also argue that any attempt to set up a general theory on
how society works is doomed to failure. It is not possible to explain something
as complex as the social world. General theories are simply used by people to
try and impose their ideas on other people, this make them dangerous and
therefore they should always be rejected. The theories of modern sociology fall
into this category.
6 | Introduction to sociological theories
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