functionalism

Question 1

what does durkheim argue

Answer 1

all societies are characterised by ‘social order’

Question 2

what is value consensus

Answer 2

an agreement about the values within society to make social order (predictable, ordered patterns of behaviour)

Question 3

what does parsons argue

Answer 3

the system has 2 mechanisms of ensuring that individuals conform which are socialisation and social control

Question 4

what is socialisation

Answer 4

teaches individuals to internalise the system’s norms and values so that society becomes part of their personality

different agents of socialisation all contribute to this process

the outcome is that an individual’s identity is caused by the structure and the needs of the system

Question 5

what is social control

Answer 5

used positively to reward conformity and negatively to punish deviance whereby the individual maybe stigmatised for their actions

Question 6

how would interactionists evaluate the consensus approach

Answer 6

society is not governed by a structure and argue that we individuals actively attach meanings to situations which can constantly change

argue that individuals are most passively consuming values in society but actively constructing them

Question 7

how would marxists evaluate the consensus approach

Answer 7

agree that society is based on a structure

disagree that this structure is an agreement to the values of society

argue that society is based on a class conflict where the ruling class impose an ideology on the working class for their own benefit

Question 8

how would radical feminists evaluate the consensus approach

Answer 8

disagree that there is an agreement to the values in society

argue that society is based on patriarchal values where men systematically exploit and oppress women

Question 9

how would postmodernists evaluate the consensus approach

Answer 9

disagree that society can be understood through a structural approach

believe that society has moved away from groups of people agreeing to a set of agreed values and fragmented into individuals living life based on their own values based on their own choices

Question 10

what does Durkheim argue about the organic analogy

Answer 10

society is built up with functions like a human body

Question 11

what are functional prerequisites

Answer 11

the basic needs that need to be met by society if it is to survive

in functionalism - the institutions work together to ensure that we meet society’s basic needs

Question 12

what do functionalists argue about the organic ideology

Answer 12

the social institutions meet the functional prerequisites - maintaining the social system and social order and stability

key function of society is to instil essential similarities - value consensus

Question 13

what does parsons argue about the role of the family

Answer 13

primary socialisation - crucial for an individual to adapt to the society that they live in

family - ‘personality factory’ - child is seen as a blank state and the function of parents is to train and mould the passive child into the image of society

learn cultural norms and values so the child subscribes to value consensus

children are taught ‘particularistic values’ - specific to their child’s personality - these values change when they interact with others

Question 14

how would the new right evaluate the role of the family

Answer 14

they support the functionalist view on the importance of primary socialisation, but they highlight the impact of the breakdown of the nuclear family (such as a single parent family) and the negative impact that this can have on the primary socialisation of a child

Question 15

how would interactionists evaluate the role of the family

Answer 15

functionalist views on primary socialisation imply that it is a passive process where the individual’s socialisation is governed by the structure of society (value consensus)

they argue that this process is much more negotiated and that it is an active process

Question 16

how would marxists evaluate the role of the family

Answer 16

they argue that the role of primary socialisation is not to learn common values to create social solidarity

Zaretksy - argues that the family contains a capitalist ideology whereby the working class are socialised into accepting the values of the ruling class

Question 17

how would radical feminists evaluate the role of the family

Answer 17

they do not share functionalism’s ‘positive function’ of the family

argue that primary socialisation is the starting point whereby patriarchal gender identities are taught and reinforced

Question 18

how would liberal feminist ann oakley evaluate the role of the family

Answer 18

disagrees with parsons as she does not accept any natural or inevitable division of labour or allocation of social roles based on sex

Question 19

what does Durkheim argue about the role of education

Answer 19

transmits shared cultural values which create conformity and consensus

values - idea that education is important, working with others is important

believe that subjects eg History and Religious Education - connect individual to society - past and present

creates sense of pride of historic achievements which then reinforces a sense of belonging and strengthens social solidarity

Question 20

what does parsons argue about the role of education

Answer 20

education acts as a ‘bridge’ between the home and society

‘focal socialising agency’

helps children to manage the transition between ‘particularistic values’ taught by family and ‘universalistic views’ where child will longer be judged according to who they are but now according to general social rules eg exam grades and laws

Question 21

how would the new right evaluate the role of education

Answer 21

agree that the role of education should be to socialise individuals into a set of shared cultural norms

Question 22

how would marxists evaluate the role of education

Answer 22

disagree that education socialises an individual into a common shared culture

Althusser - believes that the role of education is to pass down the dominant ideology which socialises the working class into accepting that social inequalities are natural

Question 23

how would interactionists evaluate the role of education

Answer 23

Dennis Wrong

socialisation through the education system is not ‘passive’ but actually a negotiated process whereby the individual actively engages in the process

Question 24

how would radical feminists evaluate the role of education

Answer 24

argue that socialisation process in education is not to bring about social solidarity but to reinforce patriarchal oppression

sites of oppression - hidden curriculum, school uniform, language differences from teachers, subject choice

Question 25

what do functionalists argue about the role of religion

Answer 25

religion benefits the whole of society by providing it with a set of moral values - become part of collective conscience

powerful - invested with a sacred moral code such as the 10 commandments

makes society more stable

rituals of religion act as social glue, reminding people of their common bonds and values

Question 26

what would durkheim argue about culture in pre-industrial societies

Answer 26

the role of social institutions in society is to socialise individuals into shared cultural values and to meet functional prerequisites

religion - extremely powerful cultural influences on values and behaviour

‘cultural conformity’ was more important than ‘individual identity’ - conformity to values was very high and conflicts were rare - social solidarity was high

Question 27

what would functionalists argue about culture in pre-industrial societies

Answer 27

the type of society characterised by ‘mechanical solidarity’ as many people were similar in terms of status and societies were very similar

didn’t have a specialised division of labour - only owners and workers

homogeneous society

Question 28

what would functionalists argue about culture in modern societies

Answer 28

industrial societies - more complex
industrialisation and urbanisation - catalyst for these changes
more choice in being an individual - becoming less similar

where the confusion about values and goals - conflict and creates anomie

Question 29

what does Durkheim argue about culture in modern societies

Answer 29

social order is still maintained - weaker than pre-industrial cultures

high value on competition, working hard and achievement - individuals become to understand where in the specialised division of labour they fit into

Question 30

what does the specialised division of labour do in modern societies

Answer 30

reinforces social order because it results in people being dependent upon each other to meet society’s functional prerequisites

Durkheim - ‘organic solidarity’ - people are bound together because of dependence on each other
- weaker than mechanical solidarity

Question 31

the weakening of social solidarity in modern societies

Answer 31

lead to people not being able to meet cultural goals through legitimate means

norms and values of society are abandoned and people start to look after their own interests at the expense of society

this produces anomie

demonstrated in riots and periods of great social change

Question 32

how would interactionists evaluation functionalism

Answer 32

Garfinkel

disagrees with the structural approach of functionalism

does not see individuals as passively accepting the cultural norms and values in society
disagreed that socialisation is a one-way process with little input from the individual
argued that individuals have choice, free will, they can challenge the rules, disobey social rules and they themselves have an important role in carving out their own identities

Question 33

how would radical feminists evaluate functionalism

Answer 33

argue that society is not based on a value consensus, but actually on a patriarchal set of values that systematically benefit men at the expense of women, such as gender roles

Question 34

how would marxists evaluate functionalism

Answer 34

society is not based on a value consensus and are much more critical of the role of culture in society

believe that society is organised based on conflict between the ruling class and the working class - not value consensus

socialised into norms and values but these are norms and values and the dominant ideology of the ruling class and the working class are brainwashed into accepting these which creates social inequalities

Question 35

positive evaluation of functionalism

Answer 35

this theory does have the ability to explain why shared cultures are important and also the mechanisms that prevent a society from breakdown or anarchy