Functionalism

Theoretical Perspectives: Functionalism

Key Ideas:

• Purpose and Needs
• Organismic Analogy
• Consensus Theory (value consensus)
• Social Structure (Macro approach)
  
• Social Solidarity
  
• Collective Conscience
  
• Institutions (Functional interdependence)
  
• Social system
  
• Functional sub-systems: Economic. Political. Family/Kinship. Cultural.
  

Functional Imperatives (GAIL):

• Goal Attainment
  
• Adaptation
  
• Integration
  
• Latency (Pattern maintenance)
  
• Latent and Manifest functions (Merton)
  
• Dysfunctions
  
  Key Names: Durkheim, Parsons, Merton, Malinowski

Key Criticisms:

• Supports political and economic status quo (everything has a function)
• Over-emphasis upon the "beneficial" aspects of institutions, structures.
  
• Difficult to explain rapid social change
  
• Tautology (a statement that contains its own proof): "If something exists it has a function. It has a function because it exists…").
  
• Error of reification (Belief that non-human things like "society" can have human qualities such as" needs and purposes").
  

Key Critics: Any Marxist sociologist, Radical Feminists, Marxist Feminists.

Socialization

Socialization

Socialization is the process in which we learn about one's culture and how to live within it. It also involves where the individual enrolls into moral norms, attitudes, values, motives, social roles, language and symbols, in which social and cultural continuity are achieved.

Norms:
The essential values that are put into practice, i.e. specific rules of behavior relative to specific social situations. (e.g. it is generally expected that people wear black at funerals in the UK)

Values:
Defined as widely-accepted beliefs that something is worth while desirable, i.e. a high value is placed on human life. (e.g. determination and commitment are expected values in an excellent student)

Forms of socialization

Sociologists may distinguish six kinds of socialization:

• Reverse socialization
• Developmental socialization
• Primary socialization
• Secondary socialization
• Anticipatory socialization
• Resocialization

Agents of Socialization

Agents of socialization are the people and groups that influence our self-concept, emotions, attitudes, and behavior.

1. The Family. Family is responsible for, among other things, determining one's attitudes toward religion and establishing career goals.
2. The School. The school is the agency responsible for socializing groups of young people in particular skills and values in society.
3. Peer groups. Peers refer to people who are roughly the same age and/or who share other social characteristics (e.g., students in a college class).
4. The Mass Media.
5. Other Agents: Religion, Work Place, The State.

WORKPLACE

• Work affects our identities, "professional socialization".

• The amount of time spend in the workplace is far greater than that spent with/on families and education.

• People described their identities in terms of the work they did.

• Nature of paid employment/socialization process traditionally affect men but more women have entered the labor market.

• "Fordist", workers first time worked on productions and specialized in one particular activity. (Tedious and Repetitive)

• "Post-Fordist", multi-skilled workers. No longer expect a job for life and must continuously update their education and training.

MASS MEDIA

• Media was like a "mirror" reflecting the world as it actually was, giving a "true" picture.

• There are "high culture" (e.g. ballet, opera) and "low culture" (e.g. pop music, football), reflecting and meeting different cultural realms.

• Ability to the working-class to "broaden their horizons".

• "Hyperreality", characterizes the inability of consciousness to distinguish reality from fantasy, especially in technologically advanced postmodern cultures.

Sociological Perspective

The sociological perspective is a particular way of approaching a phenomena common in sociology. It involves maintaining objectivity, not by divesting oneself of values, but by critically evaluating and testing ideas, and accepting what may be surprising or even displeasing based on the evidence. The sociological perspective often assumes that “official” explanations are incomplete or self-serving. It involves a conscious effort to go beyond the obvious and question what is accepted as true or common sense. This is important because common sense assumptions are usually based on very limited observation. Moreover, the premises on which common sense assumptions are based are seldom examined. While sociological research might confirm common sense observation, its broader observation base and theoretical rational provide a stronger basis for conclusions.

The sociological perspective helps us to see general social patterns in the behavior of particular individuals and offers insights about the social world that extend far beyond explanations that rely on individual quirks and personalities. Essential to the sociological perspective is the sociological imagination. This term, attributed to C. Wright Mills, means “...the vivid awareness of the relationship between experience and the wider society.” It means going beyond the individual and understanding how structural forces shape individuals and their action.

The sociological perspective, as a broad way of approaching phenomena, is different to a sociological paradigm, which is a specific set of assumptions that frame a sociologist's theories and findings.

• The sociological perspective helps us see that we are social beings. It tells us that our behavior is the result of social factors and that we have learned our behavior from others. By using the sociological perspective, we can look at ourselves and the world more objectively. We also can use the sociological perspective to research areas of great importance in our own lives.

• The sociological perspective can help us broaden our view of the social world.

Definition

What is sociology?

1. The study of human social behavior, especially the study of the origins, organization, institutions, and development of human society.
2. Analysis of a social institution or societal segment as a self-contained entity or in relation to society as a whole.
   

"Sociologists study the interrelationships between individuals, organizations, cultures and societies"
- Giddens ("Sociology", 1989)

Why do I have to study sociology?

or

How does sociology help mankind?


For the first question, I'm afraid I can't help you there. Either you need the class to graduate, you took it because there's someone you really like who's taking the class, or you deeply and truly are passionate about the material. Maybe it just sounds like an interesting class.

For the second question, it's true that sociology doesn't produce any magic pills or atomic weapons. Sociology doesn't set out to conquer the natural world, as do the 'hard sciences' (physics, chemistry, biology, etc.). What it can do, however, is save you from yourself. If psychology attempts to describe the personality (i.e. a single individual), then sociology attempts to describe groups of individuals. Consider Hurricane Katrina not just as a meteorological event, but also a social one. Could a more rigorous social theory have predicted the fallout among the lower-economic tiers of New Orleans and diverted government resources more efficiently?

If you're better with numbers than you are with feelings, I'd recommend you look up economics and behavioral finance. They're flavors of sociology with more 'real world' (i.e. lucrative) applications.

The best place to start would be to look at the histories of Marx and Weber. Get familiar with them, then attempt some of their writings.

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