Functionalism Flashcards
What is the functionalist belief of society?
The functionalist belief of society is that it is a system of interconnected parts that work together in harmony to maintain a state of balance and social equilibrium for the whole. For example, each of the social institutions contributes important functions for society: family, education, politics, economics, and religion.
What do these social institutions provide?
Family provides a context for reproducing, nurturing, and socialising children; education offers a way to transmit a society’s skill, knowledge, and culture to its youth; politics provides a means of governing members of society; economics provides for the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services; and religion provides moral guidance.
What is the structuralist approach concerned about?
Structuralism is the theory concerned with the overall social structure of society, and the way social institutions, like the family, the education system, the media and the economy, act as a constraint on, or limit and control, individual behaviour.
What do Structuralist approaches feature?
- The behaviour and values of individual human beings.
- The main purpose of sociology is to study to overall structure of society.
- Positivism is the main methodological approach.
What does 1. The behaviour and values of individual human beings tell us about structuralism?
The behaviour and values of individual human beings, and the formation of their identities, are seen as being a result of social forces which are external to the individual. Individuals are determined, or moulded, shaped and constrained, by social forces acting upon them, like socialisation, positive and negative sanctions, and material resources like income and jobs. They have little control of choice in how they behave. According to the structuralist approach, the individual is like a puppet, whose strings are pulled by social institutions like the family, the education system, the media and the workplace.
What does 2. The main purpose of sociology is to study the overall structure of society tell us about structuralism?
The main purpose of sociology is to study the overall structure of society, the social institutions which make up this structure, and the relationships between these social institutions, such as the links between the workplace and the economy, the economy and the political system, the family and the education system, and so on. The focus of sociology is on the study of social institutions and and the social structure as a whole, not on the individual. This focus on large scale social structure is sometimes referred to as a macro approach.
What does 3. Positivism is the main methodological approach tell us about structuralism?
Positivism is the main methodological approach, using quantitative research methods, as individual behaviour is seen as a response to measurable social forces outside individuals, acting upon them to control their behaviour. The focus of sociological research should then be on these social forces. The individual states of mind and meanings of individuals are seen as a reflection of these external sources, and so are not seen as worth studying in their own right.
What are the two main varieties of structuralism?
- Functionalism (consensus structuralism)
- Marxism (conflict structuralism)
What is the Consensus Theory?
The Consensus Theory is the idea that there is agreement (also known as consensus) on what is right and wrong, and this is the basis of social life. Without Consensus, society would collapse into chaos where no one would be able to agree on how people should conduct themselves. Consensus and having shared values enables us to cooperate with each other and this provides unity. Having Consensus provides harmony. Society is a social system based on Value Consensus (shared values). Society has basic needs that must be met to survive. People need to be socialised into a culture’s particular norms and values.
What did Durkheim believe?
Collective conscience. Durkheim believed in order for society to survive there must be social order. He sees social order existing because humans share the same core moral values, which he termed as the collective conscience (or value consensus). Therefore, for social order to be maintained, the collective conscience (the agreed set of values and norms) must be developed; without the collective conscience, society would collapse. Durkheim, in his first major piece of work called the Division of Labour, shows a shift in societies from a simple society to one that is more complex can weaken moral regulations and social cohesion - and therefore weaken social order.
What does Durkheim mean by traditional society?
Durkheim argued in traditional societies social order was achieved by what he termed mechanical solidarity; a strong similarity between people. They were connected through work, where the division of labour is limited, and through sharing very similar values, religious beliefs, and backgrounds. Therefore, in traditional societies, the collective consciousness was strong and consequently social behaviour was well regulated.
What does Durkheim mean by modern societies?
In modern societies, mechanical solidarity is replaced by organic solidarity - based on differences. This arises because a modern industrial society is made up of specialised work - a high division of different labour, different beliefs, and backgrounds. This means the collective consciousness is weakened, which fragments social cohesion.
What does Durkheim mean by anomie?
As society becomes more complex and industrialised, this leads to further increase in the divisor of labour, divergent cultured, and greater expression of egoism (individualism). This means the ability of a single source of moral authority to regulate and influence people’s moral behaviour is weakened - individuals are therefore left without moral guidance. This, according to Durkheim, can lead to anomie. This refers to the condition or state in which there is a breakdown of social bond and guidance between an individual and society. As a result, people do not feel attached to the collective conscience which weakens social cohesion in society. According to Durkheim, anomie is also caused by the rapid social change from a traditional society to a modern society. Durkheim believes anomie must be regulated to prevent egotistic behaviour in people because this undermines social cohesion in society.
What does Durkheim mean by social facts?
Durkheim sees society as as a separate entity existing over and above people. He believes what influences and constrains our behaviour to serve the needs of society are ‘things’ that are external to us, known as social facts, as opposed to those internal influences such as the way we think, act and feel. Social facts are derived and produced by social institutions (family, education, religion, law, and culture, etc.) which shape our collective conscience and behaviour (e.g. having the same values and norms). People believe they choose to act in certain ways; in reality, their choices have already been made for them by these external social facts (e.g, religion and culture).
How did Durkheim measure suicide rates and what patterns did he find?
Durkheim used quantitative data from official statistics and analysed the suicide rates for various European countries over a period of several decades in the 19th century. He noted four regular patterns:
- Suicide rates for any given society remained more or less constant over time.
- When the rates did change, this coincided with other changes. For example, the rates fell during wartime, while they rose at times of economic depression and -perhaps surprisingly - times of rising prosperity.
- Different societies have different rates.
- Within a society, the rates verified considerably between different social groups. For example, Catholics had lower rates than Protestants, married people with children had lower rates than the single, widowed or childless, and rural dwellers had lower rates than city dwellers.
