Durkheim's functionalist theory Flashcards
What do functionalism see society as based on?
Value consensus.
What is value consensus?
Members of society sharing a common culture.
What does sharing the same culture produce?
Social solidarity, it bind’s individuals together, telling them what to strive for and how to conduct themselves.
What are the two mechanisms that achieves solidarity?
Socialisation and social control.
What does socialisation do?
Instils the shared culture into its members. This helps to ensure that individuals internalise the same norms and values, and they feel it right to act in the way that society requires.
What do social control mechanisms do?
Rewards for conformity and punishments for deviance helps to ensure that individuals behave in the way society society expects.
What is the first reason why crime and deviance is found in all societies?
Not everyone is equally effectively socialised into the shared norms and values, so some individuals will be prone to deviate.
What is the second reason why crime and deviance is found in all societies?
In complex modern societies, there is a diversity of lifestyles and values. Different groups develop their own subcultures with distinctive norms and values, and what the members of subculture regard as normal, mainstream culture may see as deviant.
Why are modern societies tending towards anomie?
Modern societies have a complex, specialised division of labour, which leads to individuals becoming increasingly different from one another. This weakens the collective conscience and results in higher levels of deviance. E.g. Durkheim sees anomie as a cause of suicide.
