SOC ∙ Ms. Wiley ∙ The Sociological Perspectives, D___
Name:
The Three Main Sociological Perspectives, from Understanding Social Problems, Mooney, Knox, and Schacht (2007)
Sociologists analyze social phenomena at different levels and from different
perspectives, or theories. These perspectives provide us with different lenses with
which to view our social world. Sociological theories help us to explain and predict
the social world in which we live. (A perspective is simply a way of looking at the
world. A theory is a set of interrelated propositions or principles designed to
answer a question or explain a particular phenomenon; it provides us with a
perspective.)
Sociology includes three major theoretical perspectives: the functionalist
perspective, the conflict perspective, and the symbolic interactionist perspective
(sometimes called the interactionist perspective, or simply the micro view). Each
perspective offers a variety of explanations about the social world and human
behavior.
Functionalist Perspective
According to functionalism, as pioneered by Emile Durkheim in the 1890s, society
is a system of interconnected parts that work together in harmony to maintain a
state of balance and social equilibrium for the whole. For example, each of the
social institutions contributes important functions for society: Family provides a
context for reproducing, nurturing, and socializing children; education offers a
way to transmit a society’s skills, knowledge, and culture to its youth; politics
provides a means of governing members of society; economics provides for the
production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services; and religion
provides moral guidance and an outlet for worship of a higher power.
The functionalist perspective emphasizes the interconnectedness of society by
focusing on how each part influences and is influenced by other parts. For
example, the increase in single parent and dual-earner families has contributed
to the number of children who are failing in school because parents have
become less available to supervise their children’s homework. As a result of changes in technology, colleges are offering more
technical programs, and many adults are returning to school to learn new skills that are required in the workplace. The increasing
number of women in the workforce has contributed to the formulation of policies against sexual harassment and job discrimination.
Functionalists use the terms functional and dysfunctional to describe the effects of social elements on society. Elements of society
are functional if they contribute to social stability and dysfunctional if they disrupt social stability. Some aspects of society can be
both functional and dysfunctional. For example, crime is dysfunctional in that it is associated with physical violence, loss of property,
and fear. But according to functionalists, crime can also be seen as functional for society because it leads to heightened awareness
of shared moral bonds and increased social cohesion.
Sociologists have identified two types of functions: manifest and latent (Merton 1968). Manifest functions are consequences that
are intended and commonly recognized. Latent functions are consequences that are unintended and often hidden. For example, the
manifest function of education is to transmit knowledge and skills to society’s youth. But public elementary schools also serve as
babysitters for employed parents, and colleges offer a place for young adults to meet potential mates. The baby-sitting and mateselection functions are not the intended or commonly recognized functions of education; hence they are latent functions.
1.
In your own words, summarize the functionalist perspective:
2.
Draw an image, or series or images, that will help you to remember what the functionalist perspective is:
Conflict Perspective
The functionalist perspective views society as composed of different parts working together. In contrast, the conflict perspective
views society as composed of different groups and interest competing for power and resources. The conflict perspective explains
various aspects of our social world by looking at which groups have power and benefit from a particular social arrangement. For
example, feminist theory argues that we live in a patriarchal society—a hierarchical system of organization controlled by men.
Although there are many varieties of feminist theory, most would hold that feminism “demands that existing economic, political,
and social structures be changed” (Weir and Faulkner 2004).
The origins of the conflict perspective can be traced to the classic works of Karl Marx. Marx suggested that all societies go through
stages of economic development. As societies evolve from agricultural to industrial, concern over meeting survival needs is replaced
by concern over making a profit, the hallmark of a capitalist system. Industrialization leads to the development of two classes of
people: the bourgeoisie, or the owners of the means of production (e.g., factories, farms, businesses); and the proletariat, or the
workers who earn wages.
The division of society into two broad classes of people—the “haves” and the “havenots”—is beneficial to the owners of the means
of production. The workers, who may earn only subsistence wages, are denied access to the many resources available to the wealthy
owners. According to Marx, the bourgeoisie use their power to control the institutions of society to their advantage. For example,
Marx suggested that religion serves as an “opiate of the masses” in that it soothes the distress and suffering associated with the
working-class lifestyle and focuses the workers’ attention on spirituality, God, and the afterlife rather than on such worldly concerns
as living conditions. In essence, religion diverts the workers so that they concentrate on being rewarded in heaven for living a moral
life rather than on questioning their exploitation.
Note: Both the functionalist and the conflict perspectives are concerned with how broad aspects of society, such as institutions and
large social groups, influence the social world. This level of sociological analysis is called macro sociology: It looks at the big picture
of society and suggests how social problems are affected at the institutional level.
3.
In your own words, summarize the conflict perspective:
4.
Draw an image, or series or images, that will help you to remember what the conflict perspective is:
Symbolic Interactionist Perspective
The symbolic interactionist perspective, also known as symbolic
interactionism, directs sociologists to consider the symbols and details of
everyday life, what these symbols mean, and how people interact with
each other. According to the symbolic interactionist perspective, people
attach meanings to symbols, and then they act according to their subjective
interpretation of these symbols. Symbolic interactionists give serious
thought to how people act, and then seek to determine what meanings
individuals assign to their own actions and symbols, as well as to those of
others.
Symbolic interaction theory analyzes society by addressing the subjective
meanings that people impose on objects, events, and behaviors. Subjective
meanings are given primacy because it is believed that people behave
based on what they believe and not just on what is objectively true. Thus, society is thought to be socially constructed through
human interpretation. People interpret one another’s behavior and it is these interpretations that form the social bond. For
example, why would young people smoke cigarettes even when all objective medical evidence points to the dangers of doing so?
The answer is in the definition of the situation that people create. Studies find that teenagers are well informed about the risks of
tobacco, but they also think that smoking is cool, that they themselves will be safe from harm, and that smoking projects a positive
image to their peers. So, the symbolic meaning of smoking overrides that actual facts regarding smoking and risk.
Some fundamental aspects of our social experience and identities, like race and gender, can be understood through the symbolic
interactionist lens. Both race and gender are social constructs that function based on what we believe to be true about people, given
what they look like. We use socially constructed meanings of race and gender to help us decide who to interact with, how to do so,
and to help us determine, sometimes inaccurately, the meaning of a person's words or actions.
Symbolic interactionism also suggests that our identity or sense of self is shaped by social interaction. We develop our self-concept
by observing how others interact with us a label us. By observing how others view us, we see a reflection ourselves called the
“looking glass self.”
5.
In your own words, summarize the symbolic interactionist perspective:
6.
Draw an image, or series or images, that will help you to remember what the symbolic interactionist perspective is:
Sociological Perspectives & Music:
We’ll be taking a look at Tupac Shakur’s “Changes” to explore social issues with the sociological imagination.
We’ll also try to locate one or more of the perspectives outlined above. Read the lyrics before viewing the video:
Changes Lyrics
1st Verse
I see no changes
I wake up in the morning and I ask myself
Is life worth livin' should I blast myself?
I'm tired of bein poor and even worse I'm
black
My stomach hurts so I'm lookin' for a purse
to snatch
Cops give a damn about a Negro
Pull the trigga, kill a *****, he's a hero
Sell the crack to the kids, who the hell
cares?
One less hungry mouth on the welfare
First ship 'em dope and let 'em deal the
brothas
Give 'em guns, step back and watch 'em kill
each other
It's time to fight back that's what Huey said
Two shots in the dark now Huey's dead
I got love for my brotha, but we can never
go nowhere
Unless we share wit each other
We gotta start makin' changes
Learn to see me as a brotha instead-a two
distant strangers
And that's how it's 'pose to be
How can the Devil take a brotha if he's
close to me?
I'd love to go back to when we played as
kids, but things change
And that's the way it is.
Chorus:
thats just the way it is
things will never be the same
thats just the ways it is
aaw yeah
thats just the way it is
things will never be the same
thats just the ways it is
aaw yeah
2nd Verse
I see no changes, all I see is racist faces
Misplaced hate makes disgrace to races
We under, I wonder what it takes to make
this
One better place, let's erase the wasted
Take the evil out the people they'll be actin
right
'Cuz both black and white is smokin' crack
tonight
And the only time we chill is when we kill
each otha
It takes skill to be real time to heal each
other
And I know it seems heaven sent
We aint ready to see a black presidant, uh
it aint a secret don't conceal the facts, the
penitentiaries packed
And it's filled with blacks
But some things will never change
Ya try to show anotha way but ya stayin in
the dope game
Now tell me what's a motha to do
Bein' real don't appeal to the brotha in you
You gotta operate the easy way
"I made a G today," , but you made it in a
sleezy way
Sellin crack to the kids, "I gotta get paid"
Well hey, well thats the way it is
Come on, come on
Chorus:
thats just the way it is
things will never be the same
thats just the ways it is
aaw yeah
thats just the way it is
things will never be the same
thats just the ways it is
aaw yeah
3rd Verse
(Talking)
You gotta make a change
It's time for us as a people to start makin'
some changes
Let's change the way we eat let's change
the way we live
And let's change the way we treat each
other
You see the old way wasn’t workin, so its
on us to do what we gotta do, to survive
(3rd Verse)
And still I see no changes
Can't a brotha get a little peace
There's war on the streets and war on the
Middle east
Instead of a war on poverty,
They got a war on drugs so the police can
bother me
And I ain't never did a crime i aint have to
do
But now I'm back with the facts givin' it
back to you
So don't let 'em jack you up, back you up,
crack you up, and pimp smack you up
Ya gotta learn to hold ya own
They get jealous when they see ya with ya
mobile phone
But tell the cops they can't touch this
I don't trust this, when they try to rush I
bust this
It's the sound on my tool, you it ain't cool
My mama didn't raise no fool
And as long as I stay black, I gotta stay
strapped and i never get to lay back
'Cuz I always gotta worry bout the payback
Of some ruff that i ruffed up way back
Comin back after all these years
Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat
That's the way it is
(chorus)
thats just the way it is
things will never be the same
thats just the ways it is
aaw yeah
thats just the way it is (you're my brotha
your my sister, yeah)
things will never be the same(neva be the
same yeah, yeah aaw yeah)
thats just the ways it is
aaw yeah
Some things will never change
Questions:
1.
What social issues/ills are addressed in this song? Which do you think are most relevant in
our society today? Why?
2.
How does 2Pac justify the unsafe/immoral acts that impoverished people resort to? What is
your reaction to these justifications?
3.
How/why does 2Pac suggest making a change?
4.
Should the “war” 2Pac describes be on drugs or poverty? Explain.
5.
Pick one of the issues mentioned in the song and discuss how a sociologist might look at the issue and attempt to resolve the
issue.
6.
What theoretical perspective(s) is applicable to this song? How and why? Be specific.
Functionalism
View of Society
Key Concepts
History/Context
Relationship of Individual
to Society
View of Inequality
Basic of Social Order
Source of Social Change
Research Method/Approach
Strength
Weakness
Application: Education
Application: Prostitution
Conflict Theory
Symbolic Interactionism