functionalism Flashcards
20 mark essay structure
- social order (science/structural/consensus)
- value consensus, social equilibrium, social change
- organic analogy and functionalism pre-requisites
functionalism - basics
macro structural theory - focuses of society system as whole
consensus theory - society as based on basic agreement among its members about values and goals
modernist theory - sharing the goals of the enlightenment - knowledge used to improve society
society as a system - interconnected parts that form a whole - organic analogy (compare to living organism)
social facts and science
Durkheim - social fact is every way of acting, fixed or not
society has a reality of its own over and above the individuals who comprise it - beliefs and moral codes passed down
durkheim - cause and functions of acts need to be separate - origins / cause of christianity are different from the functions the religion has retained over thousands of years thus need different explanation
positivist methodology - clear social facts - suicide study
social order
Durkheim - emphasis on socialising people into a value consensus or collective conscience
collective conscious and moral force vital to ensure cooperation
- changes from industrialisation - changes in social solidarity and collective conscience
social change in modern world rapid - increasing divergent - subcultures - weakens moral regulations - anomie - education ect boost collective consciousness
key area 1 examples
dukheim - suicide study - suicide rates remained consistent over time but varied between countries - higher in protestant than catholics - rise and fall rates was due to social factors and rates varied between groups within same society
societies need - integration, regulation
- too little integration and regulation results in social disorder
value consensus, social equilibrium, social change - definitions
Parsons
- functional prerequisites - basic needs that must be met if society is to survive
- instrumental needs - setting and achieving basic social goods and needs
- expressive needs - expression or channelling of emotions, maintaining solidarity
- AGIL model - adaption, gal attainment, integration and latency
value consensus, social equilibrium, social change
value consensus - fundamental integrating principle in society - shared values leads to shared societal goals
we take up roles in society to translate values and goals into action - roles increasingly specialised
norms of behaviour shape the roles we perform through rights and obligations - norms ensure role behaviour is standardised, predictable and orderly
- state of social equilibrium where the various systems of society remain in balance
value consensus, social equilibrium, social change - equilibrium
Parsons - no society ever in perfect equilibrium - change in one part leads to adjustment in other parts
- society can be seen as being in a state of dynamic equilibrium allowing for social change
- structural differentiation - more specialised institutions develop to meet functional needs
value consensus, social equilibrium, social change - social change
parsons contrasted traditional and modern advanced society in terms of explaining and demonstrating social evolution
each type - own cultural patterns variables
- ascription, diffuseness, particularism, affectivity, collective orientation
- achievement, specificity, universalism, affective neutrality, self-orientation
key area 2 eval
interactionism - Wong - deterministic - individuals seen as puppets - passive products
conflict theories - overemphasises harmony and consensus
PM - against value consensus and argue that society is characterised by individuality, diversity and fragmentation
marxism - socialised into ideology
organic analogy and functional pre-requisites
parsons - society similar to biological organism
society must meet functionalism prerequisites - social institutions like family and education exist to satisfy these basic needs by socialising into value consensus
education - bridge
family - informal social control
merton’s criticisms of parsons
merton - neofunctionalist
it is possible that different forms of same institution might perform the same function - functional alternatives eg single parent families
complex modern societies made up of many parts - some operate independently - functional autonomy
some things function for some groups and dysfunctional for others - dysfunction
functionalism is not relevant
pm - metanarratives, value consensus is outdated - society has become too fragmented - assumption society is stable and orderly incorrect so functional prerequisites outdated eg diverse family
social structures serving interests of all groups - height during 1950s - now feminism and trade union disputes - challenge functionalist idea of stable society
impact of globalisation - impact ability to form value consensus and structural equilibrium
functionalism is relevant
modern functionalists - pms and other critics overemphasise the degree of fragmentation and instability - loss of influence of social institutions
political inheritors of functionalism - new right - acknowledge that society has become fragmented but do not believe its a positive development - desire is still social cohesion
