Functioning is all a part of life but, can it work in a sociologist standpoint? According to the You May Ask Yourself by Dalton Conley its possible. Throughout Colney’s works in chapter one he explains three major theories. Including the Functionalist theory, conflict theory, and Symbolic Interaction. In the position as a student of sociology, I believe the Functionalist theory best describes society.
Functionalism, Marxism and Feminism are common theories. Using the family and education system as examples, evaluate their effectiveness in explaining the social system. In this assignment, I am going to explain the theories of Functionalism, Marxism and Feminism. I will give examples that expand the definitions and show that such ideologies still have an impact on the society we live in. Functionalism is a macro theory, which looks at society as a whole rather than focuses on each individual.
What is psychosocial studies? How can this type of approach help us to a better understanding of the self and society? Psychosocial studies is a combination between psychology and sociology. By putting psychology and sociology together we get two slightly different viewpoints and understandings about the self and society. In psychology people such as Freud, Maslow and Rogers play an important role in understanding the self, whereas society can be explained by sociological figures such as Durkheim in sociology.
Giddens (2009 p.6) defined sociology as ‘‘the scientific study of human life, social groups, whole societies and the human world as such’’. He argued further about sociology by suggesting that, ‘‘it is a dazzling and compelling enterprise, as its subject matter is our own behaviour as social beings’’. Hence, it is opined that sociology is an academic tool that broadly looks at human organisms’ lives in order to explain why they act the way they do. Black (1979 p.18) defines common sense as ‘‘the style of discourse by which people understand reality in everyday life”. Sociology is in one way or another related to science and common sense but it is also in many ways distinct from the two.
SOCIOLOGY A First Look at Sociology What is Sociology? Sociology is the scientific study of human behaviour in groups and of the social forces that influence that behaviour. Sociology focuses on the belief that a scientific analysis of the factors in the social world is one of the most effective and interesting ways to understand human behaviour. Sociology can examine any social issues involving groups of all sizes as well as all phases of people’s lives. Sociologists do not simply declare their beliefs indisputable truths – they do research to determine whether those beliefs are correct.
Sociology differs from social psychology because sociology specifically looks at the different social behaviors and the surrounding influences at more of a broader view. Sociologists look at and their interests are with the institution and also the different cultures that influence how people behave. Psychologists or researchers use many different scientific methods to conduct their research in social psychology. Some examples of these methods are; descriptive research- shows what may already exist within a group.
Berger and Luckmann (1967:15-22) argue that social relativity is inherent in reality and knowledge, hence, its collection is defined by social contexts imperative for sociological analysis. They contend that analysis should be conscious of varieties of knowledge in human societies to maintain their position on the social construction of reality. For them, there is a relationship between human thoughts, history and social context. They draw on Mannheim’s work that society is imperative for the content of human ideas to argue that knowledge is always from a particular position. The influence of ideology can only be mitigated by the analysis of diverse socially
Social Psychology Definition Paper Tony D. Roberson PSY 400 January 3, 2014 Dawn Oliwa Social Psychology Definition Paper Social psychology is a descendent of sociology although it is easy to get the two terms confused they approach the world of socialism in different perspectives. Sociology studies the effects of a culture on human behavior. Social psychology focuses on the individual and the certain variables placed around him or her that contribute to his or her attitude and behavior. There have been many enthusiast who have studied social psychology such as Allport’s social facilitation, Bandura’s social learning theory, Festinger’s cognitive dissonance, Tajfel’s social identity theory, and Weiner’s attribution theory all played instrumental roles in developing the science of social psychology. This science has allowed for collected data and theories to be tested and proven on the effects of exterior motives that implement individual behavior.
Theoretical Perspectives These theories in sociology help distinguish with different sociological perspectives in which we view the social world. A theory is a set of interrelated propositions or principles designed to answer a question or explain something in society. Sociology includes three major theoretical perspectives: the structural-functionalist perspective, the conflict perspective, and the symbolic interactionist perspective. Each of these will be discussed in this essay and will include a wide variety of explanations to what causes and possible solutions in the social world. Structural-Functionalist Theories of Social Problems: Social Pathology- According to certain Social Models, social problems are said to come from some sort of sickness.
Emile Durkheim is one of the most influential sociologists in the early stages of functionalism. He believed that within society there’s institutes that bind us together and make us have a collective conscience. He also that there’s a value consensus within society and people have a common set of rules which they follow, from this the organic analogy evolved. This is the comparison between the biological matters of the organs in the body playing a vital part in order for the body to survive. Likewise, society would cease to exist if it didn’t have vital institutes such as the family and education even crime and deviance to a certain extent.