M1: Dominant Perspectives

• Structural functionalism


  Society is a complex system whose parts work together to promote solidarity and stability
• Five institutions in structural functionalism

  • Religion
  • Education
  • Government
  • Economy
  • Family
• Structures


  The parts of society
• Functions


  The results or effects for the operation of society in general
• Manifest Function (intended)


  Intentional or known functions to be fulfilled by the institutions
• Latent Function (unintended)


  Unexpected effects of institutions
• Examples of Manifest Function


  
  

  • Education: To impart knowledge and skills to students so they can succeed in their careers
  • Healthcare: To provide medical treatment to patients to improve their health and well-being
• Social Dysfunctions


  Negative results or effects for the operation of society in general
• Herbert Spencer


  • Emphasized the importance of social equilibrium or the drive of society to find equilibrium when facing change
• Emile Durkheim


  • One of the foundations of Structural Functionalism, made sociology accepted as a rightful science, said sociology is the science of institutions
• Robert Merton


  • (Created) Strain Theory, Institutionalized Means and Cultural Goals Chart
• Types of suicide (Emile Durkheim)


  • Egoistic (due to lack of social integration)
  • Altruistic (excessive social integration)
  • Anomic (due to breakdown of social norms)
  • Fatalistic (due to excessive regulation)
• Marxism


  Central to the Marxist Theory is the class struggle between the oppressors and oppressed
• Karl Marx and Frederick Engels


  • Two important personas in Marxism
• Dialectical Materialism


  Thesis, Anti-Thesis, Synthesis (New Thesis), New Anti-Thesis, Synthesis (New Thesis)
• "revolution is the driving force of history"
• Alienation


  The feeling where the proletariat is separated from the product of their labor
• Surplus Value


  The amount of resources that exceeds the portion that is needed and which can be utilized for profit
• Consciousness


  Marx argued that the capitalists propagate false consciousness or the illusion that upward mobility can be achieved thus, workers fail to realize their oppression which hindered them in understanding their true class consciousness
• Praxis


  Theory without practice is empty and practice without theory is blind
• Symbolic Interactionism


  People create, absorb, and understand the meaning of their symbols through the interaction they have had
• George Herbert Mead


  • "Me" "I"
• George Cooley


  • The looking glass self - states that individuals develop their self-concept or identity through their perception of how others perceive them
• Oral stage


  Children receive nourishment through the oral cavity but also receive pleasure from the mouth. The sexual pleasure of the children is to receive into the body their object-choice. Their foremost defense mechanism is when they start teething where they enter the second phase of Oral Stage called Oral Sadistic Stage where they respond through cooing, biting, closing their mouth, etc. As children grow older, Oral continues to be an erogenous zone but satisfies it through various ways.
• Anal stage


  From Oral Sadism, the children develop and discover their anus as a pleasure area. Freud coined the term Sadistic-Anal Phase to characterize the process where the pleasure comes from aggression and excretion.
• Phallic stage


  During the Phallic Stage, Freud believes that children slightly differ in developing because of their anatomical difference. Boys develop an Oedipus Complex and Castration Complex, while girls develop a Castration Complex and Oedipus Complex. Boys are more traumatized and cope with the Oedipus complex faster, while girls are less traumatized and cope with it gradually.
• Latency stage


  Sexual urges were dormant due to the parents' discouragement. If parents are successful, children's libido will be suppressed and their energy will be focused on schools, friendships, and hobbies, and other nonsexual activities.
• Genital stage


  Puberty signals a reawakening of the sexual aim and the beginning of the genital period. During puberty, the diphasic sexual life of a person enters a second stage, which has basic differences from the infantile period. Sexual maturity is seen in this stage of psychosexual development.
• Psychoanalysis


  • Provides an opportunity for exploration of Case Study as a method or research
  • The theory also gives importance on childhood as a contributory factor in personality development
• From a feminist perspective, penis envy can be seen as a form of misogyny
• Rational Choice Theory


  Rational which means in accordance with reason and logic and Choice which means decision-making. Therefore, Rational Choice Theory is the assumption that all decision-making is based on the rationality of the human.
• Rational Choice in Economics

  Weighing among the choices what will incur more benefits. It assumes that people are motivated primarily by money and rewards. When humans are confronted with choosing between courses of action, they will choose the one that will give them the highest possible gains with the lowest possible cost.
• Rational Choice in Politics

  Posits that individual behaviors are key to a functioning political institution. Human behaviors can be magnified to understand certain groups and society.
• Rational Choice Theory emphasizes that every action of all the individuals were purely rational and calculated
• George Homans


  Considered to be the pioneer of the Rational Choice Theory. His theoretical contribution was the formation of a more integrating social science and developing a deductive and inductive approach to understanding the theory. In his Exchange Theory, he concluded that individual actions and behaviors are key in understanding society. Actions are weighted against the cost-benefit analysis.
• Core principles of Rational Choice Theory


  • Utility Maximization
  • Structure of Preferences
  • Decision-making under conditions of uncertainty
  • Centrality of individuals in the explanation of group outcomes
• Utility Maximization


  Refers to the patterns of societies where an individual's choices are motivated by maximization of benefits and minimization of costs. This means that people make decisions based on analysis of costs and benefits. Individuals are indifferent with other people's wealth unless that wealth is a threat in their maximization schemes.
• Structure of Preferences


  Refers to the idea that people are motivated by their desires and aspirations. But since they cannot attain all of their goals and desires, people make decisions in relation to their goals and the means to achieving these goals. This also means that people must predict possible outcomes of alternative choices and calculate what is best for them. Individual psyche is also emphasized here where people are shaped and motivated by conditioning or the Rewards and Punishments.
• Decision-making under conditions of uncertainty


  Refers to the concept that each individual takes full advantage of their payoff. This means that an individual will act on the basis of all of the information available to them. Homans (1961) explained that no exchange will continue unless both people are making a profit. In other words, unless both parties find it beneficial for them, the interaction will not continue.
• Centrality of individuals in the explanation of group outcomes


  Refers to the understanding that social phenomena are the result and can be explained in terms of the individual actions that led to those phenomena. Social change and social institutions can be explained as a result of individual actions and interactions.