Lastly, conclusions of the resulting observation. First Question: How Functionalism effects minorities in society? First understanding social stratification and functionalism. Functionalism makes the assumption that a society is based on the population taking on the roles necessary to balance the needs of the participants. In terms of social stratification, this suggests that there are various classes of people necessary to balance society (Giddens, 1990).
The Racial Identity Construction Theory One’s racial identity is created through a gradual process of learning. Exposure plays a crucial factor in learning one’s race, and the interplay between and among races, cultural practices and differences, and varied treatments from one race to another determine how a child perceives his own race to be. Chen et al. (462) define racial identity as a psychological construct, which determines how people internally process their racial experiences based on how they categorized as a race. This paper will discuss a social science theory of race called the racial identity construction theory.
Examine sociological explanations of the ways in which social class may shape social identity: • Identity is concerned with how individuals see and define themselves and how other people see and define them. • The identities that people adopt are formed within the cultures and subcultures to which they belong. One of the factors that have traditionally had major effect on people’s identity is their social class and the class subcultures into which they are socialised. • Ken brown breaks society up into different social classes, which all have the same norms and values. Which are: working class, middle class and upper class.
Assess the different sociological explanations for the formation of identity Identity is how you perceive yourself and how others perceive you. There are many different types of identity, personal identity is how you distinguish yourself, social identity is a person’s sense of who they are based on their group membership, A collective identity refers to individuals' sense of belonging to a group (the collective), stigmatised identity is the process by which the reaction of others spoils normal identity i.e. being disabled or having a criminal record. There are two main ways of looking at the formation of identity; macro and micro, macro such as Marxists, feminists and functionalists theorists look at it on a grand scale whereas micro theorists such as symbolic interactionism look at it from a small individual scale. Post modernists believe that some aspects of identity can bought, therefore changing how identity is formed.
Self and Individuality 2014 Sociology Term Paper Stratification systems are made up of social structures and cultural norms that create and maintain inequality by ranking people into a hierarchy of groups that receive unequal resources (Croteau and Hoynes 2013, p. 125). Stratification systems are the most consistent predictor of one’s behavior, attitudes, and life chances. Throughout life I have had many advantages and disadvantages that have influenced who and where I am today. In this essay I will look at my life through a sociological perspective. I will discuss two different sociological factors that have influenced who I am.
Identity, in terms of social science, is defined as the manner in which human beings associate and label themselves as part of a particular social group. People could categorize themselves into groups according to their nationality, ethnicity, religion, social class and gender to name but a few. Symbolic interactionism aims to identify how an individuals’ identity could influence as well as be influenced by their social environment. In this essay, the approaches to construct identity by Herbert Mead and Erving Goffman will briefly be outlined and discussed. It will then be argued that, although there are differences between Mead and Goffmans’ views on the sociology of identity, they are in some way complementary.
Sociologists carry out their research from a number of theoretical perspectives, and depending on the views they adopt they will have different ideas about the nature of social problems and know how to solve them. Early positivist and functionalist sociologists, such as Comte and Durkheim, would argue that sociology was a science and would discover both the cause of social problems and scientifically based solutions to them. Both positivist and functionalists see social policies beneficial to society as a whole, and contribute to it running smoothly. For example, educational policies help to promote equal opportunity and reduce class boundaries. However Marxists would argue that social problems such as underachievement are simply aspects of a wider structure of class inequality, and unlike functionalists, they do not see the state and its policies beneficial to all members of society.
7. Evaluate Social Identity Theory, making reference to relevant studies Social Identity theory was developed by Tajfel (1979) to explain the relationship between social groups. Tajfel believed that social identity is the part of one’s self concept that is driven from the membership of a certain social group they belong to, which also contribute to one’s self-esteem. Examples of social identities may include racial group, nationality, social group and sports group. The three fundamental cognitive processes underlying social identity theory include categorization of our groups and other groups, identification of ourselves with the values and behavior of our groups, and comparison between us and other groups.
There are two major aspects in regards to the sociological perspective, the first being interaction between social structure and an individual and the idea of two levels of analysis. When it comes to the interaction of social structure and the individual, sociologists tend to concentrate not so much on the characteristics of an individuals behavior but rather on the precedents that are collective amongst individuals in regards to society and groups around them. The key to grasping sociology comes from the inevitability and repetition, which are seen in customary social behaviors throughout society and individuals. Social structures are socially embodied in the actions, thoughts, beliefs, and long-lasting temperaments of individual human beings. The typical being often has a
As a result, the development, nature and understanding of different social institutions, including the family, health-care systems, religion, education, media, politics and economy, are determined or affected by these three social theories. To understand the three theories and how they affect different social institutes, one must first understand what a sociological theory is. The definition put forth by Purdue states the following: “Sociological theory is a set of assumptions, assertions, and propositions, organized in the form of an explanation or interpretation, of the nature, form, or content of social action” (Purdue, p. 1). Each sociological theory mentioned above: functionalism, conflict, and interactionism, presents a different set of assumptions or perspective that define a particular