CONSENSUS THEORIES Flashcards
Parsons - organic society.
Uses the organic analogy to make clear the importance of society’s stability. Certain age groups could have norms and values that threaten social stability.
Eisenstadt.
Focused on youth being a time for individuals to grow up and learn their new adult roles, which are imperative for society’s stability.
Parsons - elderly.
Become less physically able to maintain their roles in society specifically in the world of work.
Cummings & Henry.
The disengagement theory. A person’s abilities are likely to deteriorate, which there is a mutual need for.
Cummings & Henry - disengagement.
A process of disengagement helps to manage that possible social instability.
Criticism - assumption.
Assumption of homogeneity when looking at society and inequality.
Criticism - disengagement theory.
Not all elderly people deteriorate at the same age, or at all.
Criticism - Eisenstadt.
Not all youth will be successfully guided by the agents of socialisation and may not leave their deviant behaviour behind.
Pilcher - Youth.
A stage of transition that connects dependency with independence. Age is an important mechanism of social integration.
Criticism - Pilcher
The social order may be disrupted by an extended transition to adulthood caused by economic factors.
What does Parsons focus on in terms of inequality?
How inequality can be the ‘victims fault’.
