Human Society Flashcards
1
Q
What is society?
A
Society is a complex network of institutions e.g. Education, religion, politics etc.
2
Q
How do you identify a common sense explanation?
A
Common sense explanations:
- Subjective
- Personal beliefs
- Popular opinions
- Life experiences
- Unreliable
- Assumptions that are not backed up by evidence
- Can be either individualistic or naturalistic
3
Q
Describe the difference between individualistic and naturalistic explanations.
A
Individualistic and naturalistic explanations:
- Both are common sense
- Individualistic explanations are based on the behaviour of the individual (e.g. poverty is caused by laziness)
- Naturalistic explanations explain behaviours as being ‘natural’ (e.g. women are naturally more caring)
4
Q
How can you identify a sociological explanation?
A
Sociological explanations:
- Objective
- Evidence based
- Theories are supported with empirical evidence
- Looks at wider social forces, beyond the views of the individual
- Reliable
5
Q
Describe two types of theory.
A
Structural theories:
- (Macro)
- Examine society as a whole consisting of interdependent parts
- Focus on wider society
- Focuses on importance of social structures such as education, family, the media etc.
- Can be conflict or consensus
Action theories:
- (Micro)
- Examines small scale, everyday interactions
- Looks at small groups and individuals
- Interested in how people interpret their surroundings and interact with eachother
6
Q
Describe three key features of action theories.
A
Three key features of action theories:
- Examines behaviour of small groups and individuals in an everyday social situations
- Interested in how individuals interpret the world around them and how identities are formed
- Views the individual as important to the formation of society
- Assumes that individuals have free will and their actions are what shape large scale society
7
Q
Describe three key features of structural theories.
A
Three key features structural theories:
- Focussed on the wider institutions in society and society as a whole
- Interested in how social structures and institutions impact the behaviour of the individual
- Deterministic and believe that individuals are shaped by society rather than by their free will
- Looks to identify trends and patterns of social behaviour on a large scale
- Can be consensus or conflict
8
Q
What are the two types of structural theory?
A
Structural theories:
Consensus - States that society is maintained by a shared set of norms and values, and that the institutions in society have similar goals and thus work cooperatively.
Conflict - States that society is formed and maintained through a conflict over power. This approach believes that society is organised so that some groups do better than others.
9
Q
What are the key features of functionalism?
A
Functionalism:
- Structural (Macro) theory i.e. examines the way large-scale society impacts the individual
- Consensus i.e. believe that society is maintained through shared beliefs and common goals, working in a positive, productive manner
- State that different parts of society work together in harmony to make up a functioning whole
- The organic analogy compares society to a living organism, stating that the institutions in society work together like the organs in a body do
- Believe value consensus is essential for society to run smoothly i.e. that shared beliefs and norms make society stable
- State that socialisation introduces and reinforces the pre-existing values in society and this helps to ensure collective conscious
- Explains that the function of society is what guides our daily behaviour. Socialisation teaches us how to do this (Education and family) and the government reinforces it, punishing those who do not do so
10
Q
How do functionalists view social inequality?
A
Functionalism and inequality:
- Inequalities are fair and necessary for the function of society
- Believe society is meritocratic and people are ranked and awarded social positions based on their talents and abilities
- State that inequalities in society are fair as they reflect the inherent inequality in individual talents
- Rewards are used to push people towards the right group in society i.e. those who are naturally skilled or highly motivated will end up in high-pay work
11
Q
What are some strengths of functionalism?
A
Functionalism strengths:
- Explains how socialisation minimises the conflict in society
- Explains that persistence of social phenomena is encouraged in order to maintain value consensus
- Explains how different parts of society make up the whole
- Shows how all institutions operate in a complimentary way that ensures the stability of society
- Shows that shared culture is important for the maintenance of social order
12
Q
What are some weaknesses of functionalism?
A
Functionalism weaknesses:
- Does not consider individual or small-scale group interaction
- Cant explain why certain groups and individuals are exploited or treated unequally despite natural skill and ability e.g. cant explain racism
- Cant explain how the value system works if all institutions are vital for the functioning society
- Assumes that everyone is working together to contribute to society, thus cant explain why conflict occurs
- Assumes that value consensus occurs naturally; doesn’t consider that it may be imposed by those in power
13
Q
How do functionalists view education?
A
Functionalism and education:
- Education provides a service to the social system
- Education helps with role allocation, identifying the appropriate roles for pupils based on merit
- School is a “proving ground for ability” - creating an environment for students to discover and strengthen their skills
14
Q
What are the key features of Marxism?
A
Marxism:
- Structural (macro) i.e. examines large-scale society
- Conflict i.e. believe society is maintained through a constant power struggle and organised so that some groups are better off than others
- Marxists believe inequalities occur due to capitalism i.e. that everyone has different life chances depending on their social class
- Capitalism creates two key groups in society; the bourgeoisie (upper class), who own the means of production and the proletariat (lower/working class). The bourgeoisie exploit the proletariat in order to maintain their position at the top of society (this is done through profit maximisation)
- The economy is important because it affects everything in an individuals life e.g. class affects quality of education which affects mobility etc.
- The infrastructure (the base materials; “stuff” of life i.e. materials, forces, technical knowledge etc.) leads to the infrastructure (culture) and this in turn reinforces the activities of the infrastructure
- The bourgeoisie control the economy and thus shape the superstructure of society (e.g. the media which shapes the culture) and this then shapes the infrastructure, which follows the culture
- The relationship between infrastructure and superstructure creates ‘false consciousness’ in which the proletariat are unable to see that they are being treated unequally because they are socialised into viewing the system as normal or ok
- Marx theorised that the bourgeoises continuous exploitation of the proletariat eventually leads to revolution which results in pure communist society
15
Q
What are the strengths of Marxism?
A
Marxism strengths:
- Good at explaining why inequalities occur between groups (people are more interested in making profit than being equal)
- Gives a good overview of how society works (infrastructure and superstructure)
- Good at explaining conflict that occurs due to inequality and why revolutions occur
