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    Functionalism

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    anon_409285199
    The document outlines different approaches in social sciences including structural functionalism, Marxism, and feminist theory. It then provides details on structural functionalism, describing it as a sociological theory that sees society as a structure of interrelated parts designed to meet social needs, and focuses on relationships between social institutions that maintain societal functioning. The main ideas are that social systems have order and interdependent parts that work towards equilibrium, and theorists of this approach include Comte, Spencer, Parsons, and Merton.

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    Functionalism

    Uploaded by

    anon_409285199
    109 views22 pages
    The document outlines different approaches in social sciences including structural functionalism, Marxism, and feminist theory. It then provides details on structural functionalism, describing it as a sociological theory that sees society as a structure of interrelated parts designed to meet social needs, and focuses on relationships between social institutions that maintain societal functioning. The main ideas are that social systems have order and interdependent parts that work towards equilibrium, and theorists of this approach include Comte, Spencer, Parsons, and Merton.

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    The document outlines different approaches in social sciences including structural functionalism, Marxism, and feminist theory. It then provides details on structural functionalism, describing it as a sociological theory that sees society as a structure of interrelated parts designed to meet social needs, and focuses on relationships between social institutions that maintain societal functioning. The main ideas are that social systems have order and interdependent parts that work towards equilibrium, and theorists of this approach include Comte, Spencer, Parsons, and Merton.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    109 views22 pages

    Functionalism

    Uploaded by

    anon_409285199
    The document outlines different approaches in social sciences including structural functionalism, Marxism, and feminist theory. It then provides details on structural functionalism, describing it as a sociological theory that sees society as a structure of interrelated parts designed to meet social needs, and focuses on relationships between social institutions that maintain societal functioning. The main ideas are that social systems have order and interdependent parts that work towards equilibrium, and theorists of this approach include Comte, Spencer, Parsons, and Merton.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 22

    Approaches in Social Sciences

    1. Structural-Functionalism
    2. Marxism
    3. Symbolic Interactionism
    4. Psychoanalysis
    5. Rational Choice
    6. Institutionalism
    7. Feminist Theory
    8. Hermeneutical Phenomenology
    9. Human-Environment Systems
    Structural Functionalism
    What is
    Structural
    Functionalism?
    Structural
    Relating to the way
    something is built or organized.
    Functionalism
    A theory that stresses the
    interdependence of the patterns and
    institutions of a society and their
    interaction in maintaining cultural and
    social unity.
    Structural Functionalism
    Functionalism, also called structural-
    functional theory, sees society as a
    structure with interrelated parts designed to
    meet the biological and social needs of the
    individuals in that society.
    Structural Functionalism
    *It is a sociological theory that attempts
    to explain why society functions the way
    it does by focusing on relationships
    between various social institutions that
    make up society.
    Who are the
    proponents of this
    theory?
    Theorists Responsible
    *Auguste Comte
    *Herbert Spencer
    *Talcott Parsons
    *Robert Merton
    *Gabriel Almond and Bingham Powell
    *Kingsley Davis and Wilbert E. Moore
    Key Ideas Behind
    the Theory
    Key Ideas
    1. Systems have a property of order and
    interdependent parts.
    2. Systems tend towards self-maintaining
    order or equilibrium.
    3. The system may be static or involved in an
    ordered process of change.
    Key Ideas
    4. The nature of one part of the system
    has an impact on the form that other
    parts take.
    5. Systems maintain boundaries within
    their environments.
    Key Ideas
    6. Allocation and integration are two fundamental
    processes necessary for a given state of equilibrium
    within a system.
    7. Systems tend towards self-maintenance involving
    control of boundaries and relationships of parts to
    the whole, control of the environment and control of
    tendencies to change the system from within.
    Key Assumptions
    about the Theory
    Key Assumptions
    *Societies and social units have order and
    interdependent parts like a biological organism
    held together by cooperation and orderliness.
    *Societies and social units work toward the
    natural or smooth working of the system, ie
    towards equilibrium.
    Key Assumptions
    *Societies and social units, just as
    natural(external) environments, are
    separate or distinct but adapt to each
    other-if one or more parts conflict
    with others, others must adapt.
    Criticisms about
    the Theory
    Criticisms
    *In the 1960s, functionalism was criticized for
    being unable to account for social change, or
    for structural contradictions and conflict.
    *It ignores inequalities including race, gender,
    class, which causes tension and conflict.
    Example
    How these institutions create balance in the
    society. Concept map

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