Theoretical Perspectives

Sociology: Chapter 1, Section 3

The Role of Theoretical Perspectives• Your perspective is your point of view, or the way

that you interpret the meaning of an event or an image

• Your perspective is influenced by the beliefs or values that you hold

• With your perspective, you will be blinded to some things while your attention is drawn to areas that you agree with, or are attractive to you

• Two people may describe the same thing in two very different ways, based on their perspective

People may see the same thing in very different ways based on their perspective, or point of view

What is a Theoretical Perspective?• A theoretical perspective is a set of assumptions about an

area of study, in the case of this class the workings of society• A theoretical perspective is accepted as true by its

supporters, and can help them organize their thoughts and their research

• Eventually, you will be drawn to schools of thought that you agree with, while others may be drawn to other schools of thought and may disagree with you

• Very smart people may disagree– Albert Einstein originally did not agree with the Big Bang theory or with quantum physics, but those are generally accepted in the scientific community today

Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity walked hand in hand with the Big Bang theory, but he originally debunked this idea and believed that the universe expanded steadily and eternally.

Three Theoretical Perspectives

• There are three overarching theoretical perspectives in sociology, which we will refer to throughout the year

• They are:– Functionalism– Conflict Theory– Symbolic Interactionism

Functionalism• Functionalism emphasizes the contributions

(functions) of each part of society• Parts of a society include families, economies,

religions, systems of governments, etc.• The function of families is that they contribute

reproduction and care for new members• The function of economies is that they contribute

production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services

• The function of religions is that they emphasize beliefs and practices related to sacred things

Each of these units of society provide some beneficial function and they interact with each other

How Does Functionalism Explain Social Change?• Functionalists see all the parts of society as an

integrated whole• If something happens to one part of society, it affects all

the other parts as well, for example, if the economy goes bad, it affects the family

• Functionalism assumes that societies tend to return to a state of stability after some upheaval has occurred

• For example, there were many protest movements and much student unrest in the 1960’s. However, after some time, any revolutionary changes that occurred were absorbed into the larger society, and basically life was still the same, with some modifications

The functionalist perspective believes that after some

revolution, things basically return back to where they

were, with some minor changes

1950s

!Revolution!

2000s

Do All Functions Have a Positive Effect?• Functions of religion, families, government, and

economies generally have a positive effect on societies; if not, they would have disappeared by now

• However, elements that have negative consequences result in dysfunction

• A bureaucracy is one way that a government organizes itself to attend to its people

• However, a bureaucracy can be dysfunctional, possibly rigid, inefficient, or impersonal

• Many people complain about what it’s like to visit the DMV– long lines, lots of paperwork, being treated like a “number” rather than as a person

Bureaucracies: Dehumanizing efficiency

• A social security number is efficient to quickly find somebody, especially when two people have the same name

• Lines help keep crowds in order so there’s no pushing and shoving to get in front of each other

• Paperwork helps prevent information from getting lost

• However, the numbers and paperwork and lines of bureaucracies often feel dehumanizing

Intentional or Unintentional Consequences• The functions (or effects) of the parts of society

could be intentional or unintentional• If the effects are intentional, they are called

manifest functions• A manifest function of a school is that it teaches

math skills• If the effects are unintentional, they are called

latent functions• A latent function of a school is that it helps develop

friendships (most schools don’t explicitly teach how to make friends, but people do learn that there)

When you’re in a classroom, are you more likely to be learning how to solve a problem on the board (manifest

function) or learning how to make friends (latent function)?

How Does Functionalism View Values

• According to functionalism, there is a consensus on values

• Most Americans, for example, have similar values, such as a belief in democracy, freedom, and equal opportunity

• This consensus of values leads to a lot of cooperation within that society

According to functionalism, despite nominal differences in background in our society, we can all come together as Americans

Conflict Perspective

• The conflict perspective emphasizes conflict, competition, and constraint within a society

• It is essentially the opposite perspective of functionalism, which we just talked about

• Neither perspective can really say it is better than the other, as one explains the stability we find in society while the other explains the opposite, the conflict and change within society

What is the Role of Conflict and Constraint?

• Functionalists see a basic agreement on values within a society, so people cooperate to reach common goals

• The conflict perspective focuses on the disagreements between various groups, as they compete to promote their own special interests

• Supporters of the conflict perspective say life is a contest, and those with the most power, or ability to control the behavior of others, are the people who get the most in life

In conflict theory, as we all compete for limited resources, anything someone else takes is less that you can have

How Does the Conflict Perspective Explain Social Change?

• Many conflicting groups exist in a society• As the balance of power among these groups shift, change

occurs• The women’s movement is attempting to change the

balance of power between men and women• As the movement progresses, more women are now in

occupations once limited to men• More women are now making decisions in business,

politics, law, and medicine• As women have increased power in these areas, they have

been able to change their social status to be more equal with men

According to the Conflict Perspective, women would not be granted equal rights unless they demanded them

Symbolic Interactionism

• Whereas functionalism and the conflict perspective deal with large social units like the economy, symbolic interactionism examines how people interact with each other on a more individual basis

• Followers of this perspective believe that groups exist only because their members influence each other’s behavior

What is the Significance of Symbols in Symbolic Interactionism?

• A symbol is something chosen to represent something else

• A symbol may be an object, a word, a gesture, a facial expression, a sound, or other such things

• It is observable, often representing something that is abstract, or otherwise not observable

• The symbol should have an agreed upon meaning for it to be effective, for example, we all agree that a red traffic light means “stop.” If we did not agree on this, there would be chaos.

• Symbolic Interactionism is this interaction based on mutually understood symbols

What do all these symbols mean? How do we know?

The ability to accurately read and interpret the facial expressions of people encountered in

everyday situations is an important interpersonal skill that provides confidence to

deal with social interactions

What Are the Basic Assumptions of Symbolic Interactionism?

• First:• We learn the meaning of a symbol from the way

we see others reacting to it. • For example, people whistling at a performance

in Latin America is equivalent to booing in the United States, while whistling in the United States is equivalent to cheering

What Are the Basic Assumptions of Symbolic Interactionism?

• Second:• Once we learn the meanings of symbols, we

base our behavior on them• For example, if a band heard a lot of whistling

in Latin America, they might choose the behavior of not playing an encore

What Are the Basic Assumptions of Symbolic Interactionism?

• Third:• We use the meanings of symbols to imagine how others

will respond to our behavior• We then have “internal conversations” with ourselves that

enable us to visualize how others will respond to us before we act

• We guide our interactions with others based on how we think others will respond to us

• Meanwhile, others are having their own “internal conversations”

• This interaction (acting on each other) is the basis of symbolic interactionism

Dramaturgy• Dramaturgy is within the symbolic interactionism

perspective, and depicts human interaction as a theatrical performance

• Like actors, people present themselves through their dress, gestures, and tone of voice

• Some people act in a particular way to attract the attention of someone they want to like them. This is called presentation of self or impression management

In a job interview, you try to make the best first impression that you can, even if you don’t

normally act or dress that wayWhom would you hire?

Assessment

• Complete #1-4 on page 31