SOCIAL SCIENCES 11
FUNCTIONALISM
presented by: nicole & jade maico
functionism
According to Vincent, 2001, Functionalism, also
called structural. functional theory, sees society
as a structure with interrelated parts designed
to meet the biological and social needs of the
individuals in that society. Functionalist
sociologists like Parsons and Durkheim have
been concerned with the search for functions
that institutions may have in society. An
example of a function which helps maintain
society is the family, its function is to ensure the
continuity of society by reproducing and
socializing new members.
Concepts Description
They believe that value consensus forms the basic integrating principle in
Collective society. And if members of society have shared values, they therefore also
have similar identities, this helps cooperation and avoids conflict. Value
Conscience and consensus also ensures that people have shared: Goals, Roles and Norms.
Value Consensus Norms can be described as specific guidelines of appropriate behavior, for
example, queuing when buying
Functionalists believe that there are four main basic needs that an individual requires in
order to exist in society.
Social Order They also believe that these four basic needs are essential for maintaining social order.
They are: food, shelter, money and clothing
Parsons (1961) believes that education leads to universalistic values and that education
Functionalism performs a link between family and the wider society which in turn leads to secondary
and Education socialization. Education also allows people to train for their future roles in society.
Education helps match people with jobs suited to them.
The family is the primary point of socialization in that it provides children with
Functionalism
values and norms. Family also stabilizes adult personalities.
and Family A family unit provides emotional security for each person in the relationship.
The media operate in the public interest by reflecting the interests of the audience. It
Functionalism
portrays public opinion. The media understands that society has a wide diversity of
and Media culture and this is shown by the different amounts of stories it covers.
Crime and deviance are socially constructed they are not natural, obvious, or theologically inspired
Functionalism and categories. They are concepts that were brought into the world solely by humankind. Moreover, Durkheim
Crime and Deviance goes beyond this and shows us how socially constructed definitions of crime and deviance are linked into a
wider social structure.
MARXISM
According to Quexbook, 2018, Marxism is a
social, political, and economic philosophy
named after Karl Marx, which examines the
effect of capitalism on labor, productivity, and
economic development and argues for a
worker revolution to overturn capitalism in favor
of communism. Marxism posits that the struggle
between social classes, specifically between
the bourgeoisie, or capitalists, and the
proletariat, or workers, defines economic
relations in a capitalist economy and will
inevitably lead to revolutionary communism.
Concepts of Marxim:
•Marxism believes that capitalism can only thrive on the
exploitation of the working class Marxism believes that there
was a real contradiction between human nature and the way
that we must work in a capitalist society.
•Capitalism largely shapes the educational system; without
the education system the economy would become a
massive failure as without education we are without jobs and
employment which is what keeps society moving.
•Marxism believes that capitalism is not only an
economic system but is also a political system.
•Neo-Marxists- believe that the economic system creates a
wealthy class of owners and a poor class of workers. They also
believe that certain social institutions such as churches, prisons
and schools have been created to maintain the division between
the powerful and the powerless.
Symbolic Interactionism:
This perspective relies
on the symbolic
meaning that people
develop and build upon
in the process of social
interaction.
Concept of Symbolic Interactionism;
The most important conceptual building block on which symbolic
interactionists have based their analysis of human conduct is the
concept of the symbol, or, as Mead called it, the significant symbol.
Symbol is a vocal or other kind of gesture that has the same meaning
and solicits the same reaction between to whom it is directed.
Table 2: Principles of
Structural - Functionalism
(Trueman, 2015)
Social Science Theory: Principles:
The functionalists are less interested in the history of a society, but
Structural more concerned with social interaction.
• Societies should be examined holistically in an interrelated system
Functionalism framework
.
In capitalist economy there is a division of labor which means that a labor produces
a single or small part of an article. The capitalist system has introduced this division
of labor to have better results. But its harmful consequence is with the passing away
Marxism of time man is gradually alienated from the whole production system and finally the
society. The general meaning of alienation is that it is the "subjugation of man by his
own work, which has assumed the guise of independent things". The entire
economic process including production and distribution is beyond the control of
workers. They work just like machine.
Thank
you!
