THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES
Unit 1 – Chapter 2
(Continued)
Symbolic Interactionism
• A
• Developed by
• Explains how individuals behave based on
their perceptions of themselves and of others
Symbolic Interactionism
• People experience their social world, and
define and interpret their experiences to give
them meaning
Symbolic Interactionism
• Only after the mental process of “giving
meaning” do people act
• Symbolic interactionists attempt to
understand the point of view of the actor to
explain the action
3 Basic Concepts
1) An individual develops a self that has 2 parts
•
•
The “I” is based on how the individual interprets
feedback from other people
Looking Glass Theory:
3 Basic Concepts
2) People must also
to be able to anticipate what the other
person will do and decide how they should
respond.
This role taking is the basis for human
interaction.
(George Mead)
3 Basic Concepts
3) People are able to interact effectively only if
Language is the means by which individuals
interpret and give meaning to their
experiences of self and others in order to
interact in relationships.
(George Mead)
Symbolic Interactionism
Example:
Symbolic Interactionism
Limitation
• Since the researcher perceives and interprets
the actions of the individuals during the
observation,
Social Exchange Theory
• A
• Explains the social factors that influence how
individuals interact within
Social Exchange Theory
• Individuals are constrained by role
expectations
• They act within each role to
Social Exchange Theory
• Like Symbolic Interactionism, individuals
interpret their experiences of self and others
to determine the benefits and costs
• The benefits and costs of a relationship are
not facts,
Social Exchange Theory
• Use Social Exchange Theory to explain the
relationship between Hugh Hefner and his
previous girlfriends.
Social Exchange Theory
• Relationships are stable when
• Benefits are rewarding because they meet a
perceived need
• Costs of a relationship are those actions that
meet the needs of another
Social Exchange Theory
• Individuals prefer relationships that are
• Social Exchange Theory is used to explain how
individuals make decisions to form and
maintain relationships that might appear
unacceptable to others
• Some people are offended by the cost/benefit
analysis
Developmental Theories
• Describe patterns of growth and change
throughout the human life span
• As individuals progress through life, they face
role expectations that challenge them to
develop
• Describe predictable changes in the behaviour
of individuals or families in different stages
and how they adapt to changes
Developmental Theories
• Examine biological, psychological, social and
cultural factors that influence development
• Explain factors that influence differences in
behaviour demonstrated by individuals or
families at different age-stages
• Differences could also reflect social change rather
than development
Developmental Theories
Family Life-Cycle Framework
• Applies the developmental perspective to the
life-spans of families
• Families, like individuals, have life spans with
predictable stages =
• At each stage, the family faces specific
developmental tasks
Developmental Theories
Family Life-Cycle Framework
• Some families will experience
• Assumes families at a similar stage of their life
cycles face similar tasks
Conflict Theory
• A
• Explains how power holds a society together
•
ability to control the
behaviour of another
• Conflict exists between groups in society
• Groups compete with one another to meet
their needs
Conflict Theory
• If groups are in competition, then the needs of
all will not be met equally
• Competition can result in exploitation by
• Society is organized into groups to divide
people according to their power and to
encourage competition
Conflict Theory
• Unlike Functionalists,
• “Functional for whom?”
Conflict Theory
Karl Marx
• Explained class divisions in Capitalist Societies
in the 19th Century
•
those who
controlled the means of production, the
wealthy owners of businesses and factories
•
the working people
Conflict Theory
Karl Marx
• The bourgeoisie were a small group in society
with tremendous power because they
controlled the livelihood of the proletariat/the
masses
• Eventually
• Gap between the 2 groups will grow
Conflict Theory
Karl Marx
• A society would be stable if people perceived
the dominant group as being more entitled to
the benefits of society
Conflict Theory
Friedrich Engels
• Divisions between the sexes in marriage
• Maintains the class distinction of Capitalism
• Men’s labour
• Women’s labour
Conflict Theory
Friedrich Engels
• From all classes,
• Women had to marry,
• Men could maintain their power by continuing
to sell their labour for wages
• Women could not have economic support
without maintaining a marriage
Conflict Theory
Friedrich Engels
• Oppression of women
Conflict Theory
• Explains the relationship of men and women
• Used for analyzing power and authority within
the family
Feminist Theories
• Developed in the 2nd half of the 20th century
• Explains the impact of sex and gender on
behaviour
• Considers issues of human behaviour from
•
developed to
separate sex and gender from class
Feminist Theories
• Developed as a reaction to gender biases in
sociology
• Androcentricity:
• Double Standards:
• Like Conflict Theory, change is required so the
needs of all people are met
Feminist Theories
• Explains social inequalities between men and
women from a female perspective
Liberal Feminism:
• discriminatory policies force women into an
inferior social class that restricts their rights to
participate fully in society
Feminist Theories
Radical Feminism:
• Argues that the differences in power between
men and women result in any male-female
relationship as being exploitative
Feminist Theories
Socialist Feminism
• Based on the assumption that the status of
women is a social inequality rooted in the
sexual division of paid and unpaid labour