The impact on the personality of the individual, it has the characteristics of participation in the life of the community. The variety of contacts, relationships and active participation in the life of the surrounding general give shape to the human personality. There are two types of social structure, macro and micro which allows the individual to notice, whatever man is constantly in contact, which affects the shape of humans’ personality. One of the most important perspectives of sociological theories is the distinction between structural and social action. Structural action, in other words structuralism, is a perspective which is concerned with the overall structure of society and sees individual behavior molded by social institutions like the family, the educations, the mass media and work.
Starting with the Functional Theory, this theory explains the every aspect of our society is interdependent and is necessary for our society to function as one or a whole. It also explains that our society is held together through social cohesion and consensus, where we as members of society work together and agree with each other to achieve what would benefit society the most and what would be our society’s best interest. Functionalism argues that if it is not a useful purpose in our society then it will be phased out from one generation to the next generation. This perspective would see that the purpose of social networking has and is every becoming useful in our society because it use and prevalence continues to increase, the Functional perspective see social networking as a way to enforce
Giddens believes that both human agency and social structure are interconnected and work with each other to form Structuration. His theoretical paradigm is structuration and how that affects society and its
[1] Society is made up of social institutions that together form the building blocks needed to create a culture, a belief system, a religious belief, a set of values, rules, laws, regulations, and how we're expected to behave and conduct ourselves. When we are born we are surrounded by social institutions that will impact our personality and lifestyle. These are: • the family • the education system • the income available • the environment • the political system • the culture or sub-culture • the religious beliefs • our peers These factors have a major influence on us as we grow and develop. This is also known as 'stratification'. Social class is the system of status layers.
Functionalists see society as a set of parts which work together to form a whole. Functionalism is also called a consensus theory. Marxism and functionalism are similar in that, they see the way society is structured as an important part in determining the way people have relationships and behave between themselves. This is known as structural perspective. Both functionalists and Marxists believe that people are portrayed as creature within the social system.
Culture is defined as the learned, shared behaviour of the members of a society including values, norms and meanings. It’s a focal point of our being and has the ability to unite or damage a society and furthermore a nation. There are many theories surrounding the importance and functionality of culture and in this essay, I will be assessing the Functionalists’ theories and contrasting it with alternative sociological points of view. Similar to their theory of socialization, Item A reveals the functionalist theory of everything in society performing a function in order to create a value consensus. Durkheim is a firm supporter of this theory and believes that social order is held together by attitudes of solidarity which play the role of ensuring the survival of a well integrated society in which everything and everybody is a piece of a jigsaw that fits together to create a bigger picture.
In the chapter, Individual Autonomy and Social Structure, by anthropologist, Dorothy Lee, she discussed how within a given society, there can be many different cultures. It is through culture that we define ourselves to our society, including our own rights and beliefs. With these different points of view and ways of life, there are many normality’s in regards to resolving a conflict, and understanding so. The reading gave outlook on to how different societies deal with their conflicts, and exactly how; “The principle of personal autonomy is supported by the cultural framework.” (Lee, 5) The key problem that is addressed in this reading is the conflict that takes place in between an individual’s autonomy and social structure. Although everyone has personal autonomy, there is always a limit to it, in our society.
My Culture and Identity The Identity concept is a complex sociological theory and covers a whole range of theories and quantitative research. Identity is not static, it evolves with every moment you have, a thought, an experience, an encounter; and these are all factors in the makeup of our Identity. Is it that we all possess innate characteristics that are the foundations of our identity but as we are subjects of various social interactions, such characteristics can be shadowed or heightened according to our understanding and judgement of ourselves or how the others see us. “My past is my last, my gain is my pain”. This line came to me while I thought about what or who it is that has made me who I am today.
Then there is the socialisation process. This is the process whereby individuals learn the norms and values of the groups they belong, so that they are ready for social interaction. (www.socialsciencedictionary.com). In other words, it means the process whereby culture is passed from one generation to another. Socialisation starts at birth and ends at death and is very powerful in shaping individuals.
Browne once said "sociological perspectives centre on how much freedom or control the individual had to influence society" He goes on to comment on the two main approaches "structuralism is concerned with the overall structure of society and the way social institutions act as a constraint, or limit and control individual behaviour". Structuralism offers a view of the individual being controlled by the society they live in, Marx and Durkheim are similar in that they can both be described as structuralists, however their individual ideas are somewhat different. Functionalism was developed by Emile Durkheim, he believed like Comte that sociology should be viewed as a precise science and that society should be studied objectively. Durkheim placed an enormous amount of emphasis on social facts which he saw as ways of acting, thinking or feeling that are external to individuals and have their own reality outside the lives and perceptions of individual people. This is known as the macro approach, which places a great emphasis on the structure of society and how an individual operates with that society.