Theories
Cards (25)
- Functionalism - Organic Analogy:> Durkheim - society is like a biological organism, with various parts of the social system working together to help society survive> example - family and education working together to socialise children (primary and secondary socialisation)
- Functionalism - Value Consensus and Social Order:> Parsons - social order is achieved through a shared culture - a set of norms and values called the value consensus> value consensus integrates individuals into the social system and directs them towards meeting the system's needs - this is done through socialisation and social control> socialisation - family, education and work encourage the internalisation of norms and values> social control - positive sanctions reward conformity, negative sanctions punish deviance e.g. criminal justice system
- Functionalism - System's Needs (GAIL):> shared value system coordinates the different parts of society to ensure needs are met - Parsons refers to these needs as functional prerequisites (goal attainment, adaptation, integration, tension management)> adaptation - ensuring that society organises its resources efficiently e.g. education matching people to jobs through specialist skills and sifting and sorting
- New Right:> traditional norms and values are crucial for the smooth-running of society, but these are under threat> concerned about the breakdown of the nuclear family, which they see as the cause of rising crime and falling social cohesion - an underclass of single mother families have been created due to the welfare state, which acts as a perverse incentive> creates a dependency culture
- Marxism - Ideology:> the class that own means of production also own the production of ideas - the dominant ideas are that of the RC, which are spread by the institutions they control (education, media, religion etc) - these are known as ideological state apparatus> religion as an ISA - promise of the afterlife, 'opium of the people', it is easier for a camel to enter the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter Heaven> education as an ISA - correspondence principle, myth of meritocracy> creates a false class consciousness within the WC
- Marxism - Marxist Feminism:> capitalism benefit from women's subordination> women absorb anger that would otherwise be directed at capitalism - Ansley describes women as 'takers of shit' who soak up their husbands' frustrations, so they can return to work and be exploited by capitalism> BOGOF - capitalism can they guarantee they will have workers because the woman remains at home
- Marxism - Neo-Marxism:> Gramsci - RC maintain their dominance in two ways, coercion (army, police and prisons to force WC to accept their rule) and consent (uses ideas and values to persuade WC that their rule is legitimate - this is known as hegemony)> however, RC hegemony is never complete because the RC are a minority and the WC have a dual consciousness> WC must develop their own counter-hegemony to revolt against capitalism - need to produce organic intellectuals who offer an alternative vision e.g. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X (religion)
- Marxism - The State and Revolution:> the state exists to protect the interests of the ruling class e.g. 8 tech companies (e.g. Google, Facebook) that did not pay enough tax in 2019, which was ignored by government, Primark> state is made up of 'armed bodies of men' e.g. police, army> the revolution will involve abolishing the state and replacing private ownership with shared ownership to end alienation and exploitation
- Feminism - Liberal Feminism:> seeks to achieve gender equality through reformism> a positive perspective that acknowledges a march of progress e.g. Divorce Reform Act, contraception (family), GIST and WISE, National Curriculum, McRobbie (education)> also call for a cultural change e.g. changing socialisation patterns - girls needs positive role models (such as female teachers in male dominated subjects) or fathers taking responsibility for domestic tasks
- Feminism - Radical Feminism:> patriarchy is the most fundamental form of social inequality and conflict - all men oppress all women and all men benefit from patriarchy> family - triple shift, domestic violence, reproduction> religion - sacred texts, laws and customs> crime - justice system, patriarchal control> the solution is separatism and political lesbianism
- Feminism - Marxist Feminism:> capitalism benefit from women's subordination> women absorb anger that would otherwise be directed at capitalism - Ansley describes women as 'takers of shit' who soak up their husbands' frustrations, so they can return to work and be exploited by capitalism> Barrett - this oppression is maintained through the ideology of familism (presents the nuclear family as natural and the only place where women can find fulfilment)> solution - overthrowing of capitalism
- Social Action - Weber's Social Action Theory:> both structural and action theories are necessary for understanding human behaviour - the structural events that cause something and the meaning an individual will give to it e.g. the meaning that Calvinists attached to their religion led to the spirit of capitalism> we should avoid over-generalised theories because we are all individuals - sociologists should apply verstehen to their work> humans have free will
- Social Action - Symbolic Interactionism:> George Mead - we create the social world through out actions and interactions, which are based on the meanings we give to situations that are conveyed through symbols> humans can respond to behaviour or signs using an interpretive phase - we interpret the meaning of a stimulus then choose an appropriate response e.g. a red light> humans do this by taking the role of the other, so we can see ourselves as they see us - this is developed through social interaction e.g. playing with a doll as a child
- Social Action - Dramaturgical Analogy:> Goffman - social life is like a play or drama, as we all take on different roles which are tied to the expectations that others have of us> we construct ourselves through impression management, so we must constantly watch our audience and adjust our performance accordingly> two settings for our interactions - frontstage (where the performance is given) and backstage (actions occur related to, but inconsistent with, the performance)
- Social Action - Labelling:> Becker - we define situations and people by labelling them, which affects how we act> education - Rosenthal and Jacobson, racialised expectations> crime - police typifications, mods and rockers
- Social Action - Self-Fulfilling Prophecy:> we develop our self-concept by taking the role of the other, which lets us see how other people view us> through this, a self-fulfilling prophecy occurs - we become what others see us as
- Postmodernism - Relativist Position:> there has been a loss of faith in grand narratives e.g. science, religion and government, due to a diverse and fragmented society and rapid social change> family diversity
- Postmodernism - Choice and Consumption:> individuals are now consumers, making their own choices> we form our identities based on what we see as important - we are free to pick and mix our identity> religion - Sheilaism, spiritual shopping, New Age Movements
- Postmodernism - Globalisation:> interconnectedness has increased pick and mix identity> technological changes - satellite communications, social media, internet> economic changes - rise of TNCs
- Postmodernism - Simulacra:> media saturated society - the signs in the media substitute themselves for reality> designer brands, soap characters dying making front page news (Coronation Street - Hayley)> people are lost in hyper reality
- Functionalism:> the organic analogy> value consensus> system's needs (GAIL)
- Marxism:> ideology> marxist feminists> neo-marxism> the state and revolution
- Feminism:> liberal> radical> marxist
- Social Action:> Weber's social action theory> symbolic interactionism> dramaturgical analogy> labelling> self-fulfilling prophecy
- Postmodernism:> relativist position> choice and consumption> globalisation> simulacra