Comparing the Schools of Thought
Functionalism
Structuralism
Cultural Materialism
Similarities
-attempts to understand cultures as
a whole
-attempts to understand cultures
based on common properties of the
human mind
-attempts to understand cultures
though technology and economy
Differences
Investigates the social functions of
institutions
-seeks out and explains rules that are
based on binary opposites (ie. Day /
night; male; females)
-explores members’ decisions
regarding human reproduction and
economic production
Criticisms
-presents societies as being more
stable than they are and downplays
the negative results of some
practices
-overemphasizes logic and stability in
human societies; societies wouldn't
die out if they always met the needs of
their members
-tries to establish laws that apply
to all cultures and their
development; observes cultures
through biased eyes