Theoretical Perspectives
Introduction
It is the purpose of this page to look at
three sociological theoretical perspectives:
Functionalism, conflict and interactionist.
What is a Theoretical
Perspective?
Perspectives might best be viewed as models.
Each perspective makes assumptions about
society. Each one attempts to integrate various
kinds of information about society. Models give
meaning to what we see and experience. Certain
consequences result from using a particular
model. Each perspective focuses on
different aspects of society. No one
perspective is best. Perhaps the
best perspective is one which combines many
perspectives.
The Functionalist
Perspective
The origins of the functionalist perspective
can be traced to the work of Herbert Spencer and
Emile Durkheim. Understanding society from a
functionalist perspective is to visualize
society as a system where all the parts act
together even though each part may be doing
different things. Associated with the system is
structure. In society, institutions, such as
family, education, and religion are the parts of
the social system. They are structures in
society that social activity is organized
around. The overall goal of the various
structures (parts) is to maintain order in
society. The structures in society promote
integration, stability, consensus, and balance
in society.
A. A System With
Parts
The parts of society,
while performing different functions, work
together to maintain the stability of the
whole social system.
In order to understand
the idea of "social system," it may be helpful
to visualize a different kind of system. For
example, biological organisms are systems. In
fact, many sociologists use biological models
to explain human society. The biological
metaphor is successful in that it calls
attention to how a social "organism" consists
of various unique parts. Those parts, in turn,
function together to support and maintain the
whole system.
B. What's the
Purpose?
Functionalists, like Emile Durkheim,
Vilfredo Pareto, Talcott Parsons, and Robert
Merton, are interested in how the parts of the
social system contribute to the continuation
of the social system. When functionalists
encounter the various aspects of society, they
may ask "What is its purpose?" A primary
purpose of all parts (institutions like
police, newspapers, religion) is to encourage
consensus.
Merton (see Robertson, 1989:12)
distinguishes between manifest functions,
latent functions, and dysfunctions.
1. Manifest
Functions
Manifest functions
refer to functions that are obvious. For
example, the manifest function of schools is
to teach reading, writing, and arithmetic.
The manifest function of the military is
defending the nation. The manifest function
of criminal justice is to keep the streets
safe for a society's citizens.
2. Latent Functions
Latent functions are
functions that are unrecognized or
unintended. For example, college students,
in the course of pursuing their education,
may make good friends.
3. Dysfunctions
A perspective that is
highly concerned about order is by
definition concerned about what happens when
social order breaks down. Merton uses the
term dysfunction, which refers to a negative
consequence that may disrupt the system.
Dysfunction also conjures up the notion that
a social phenomenon can be functional in one
setting and dysfunctional in another.
Example: Population
growth.
C. Critique of
Functionalism
Invoking a biological
model has certain built-in assumptions
connected to it. When all the parts of society
are seen as acting as a part of a unified
system, altering one part of the system has
impact on all the other parts. For a purely
biological system, dramatic change is harmful
to the system. Since change tends to be viewed
as a negative consequence, the problem of
maintaining social order becomes a central
problem for understanding society. The
functionalist perspective is inherently
conservative.
The Conflict Perspective
Conflict theorists see
society less as a cohesive system and more an
arena of conflict and power struggles. Instead
of people working together to further the goals
of the "social system," people are seen
achieving their will at the expense of others.
Marx is a conflict
theorist. He argued that the struggle between
social classes was the major cause of change in
society. Much change, in fact, happens as rich
people and poor people compete over scarce
resources.
Not all conflict theorists
are Marxist. Weber is also a conflict theorist.
Where as Marx focused on class conflict as the
"engine" of historic change, others see conflict
among groups and individuals as a fact of life
in any society. Conflict can occur over many
other aspects of society unrelated to class.
For example, conflict can occur over water
rights (in West Texas and New Mexico). Conflict
occurs when two people have a car accident.
Conflict occurs between men and women.
A. Conflict and
Change
As a result of tension,
hostility, competition, and disagreements over
goals and values, change is one of the basic
features in society. In general, change
occurs because of inequality and the battle
over scarce resources. Conflict occurs
because people want things (power, wealth, and
prestige) that are in short supply. One should
realize that conflict is not intrinsically
bad. Conflict provides grounds where people
unite in order that they may act on their
common interests. Conflict is the motor for
desirable change.
B. Who Benefits?
Like the functionalists,
conflict theorists recognize the existence of
social structures, but instead of structures
existing for the good of the whole system,
social structures (institutions) serve the
interests of the powerful. One should also
recognize the flip side of this coin.
Structures that serve the powerful also are
designed to keep other groups in society in
their place for the privilege of others.
Instead of following the
functionalist path of addressing dysfunction
(i.e. something that doesn't work) conflict
theorists would ask "Who Benefits?"
Example: Acid rain
Acid rain is not "bad"
for everyone. The powerful people who control
polluting industries stand to make huge
profits by not providing proper air
purification.
C. Ideology
Cooperation is not
assumed. The idea of society being an
integrated system based on consensus is a
manufactured idea. According to Robertson
(1989:13) "the powerful influence or coerce
the rest of the population into compliance and
conformity. ... Social order is maintained,
not by popular agreement, but rather by the
direct or indirect exercise of power."
The
Interactionist Perspective
Symbolic Interactionists
are called micro-sociologists. The scope of
investigation for these sociologists is very
small. Interaction is generally face-to-face and
addresses "everyday" activities. They are
interested in the way individuals act toward,
respond to, and influence one another in
society. These kinds of sociologists are not
interested in nation-states. They don't
consider social institutions like the economy or
government.
Interactionists prefer to
explore the interaction of individuals or groups
of individuals. Each communication produces new
perspectives, expectations, and boundaries that
individuals use to assure continual interactions
in the future. Society occurs as a result of
interaction between individuals and small groups
of individuals.
A. Change
Society is dynamic. It's
always changing as a result of mutual
interaction among individuals. Continuous
change, not stable patterns, characterizes the
real nature of society. This kind of change is
much less deterministic than change associated
with the conflict perspective. Marxists look
for change that is determined by
characteristics in the social structure.
Change from the Interactionist perspective is
free-form.
The Interactionist
perspective takes the position that it is
people who exist and act. All the other
"structures" found in society are nothing but
human creations. For the Interactionists,
society is always in a process of being
created, and this occurs through communication
and negotiation.
B. Reference Groups
Much interaction takes
place in what Tamotsu Shibutani calls
"reference groups." Reference groups include
professional organizations, friendship groups,
doctors and medical people, education, and the
community in which we live. All of these
reference groups make up society. Some are
more stable than others, but change is a
common feature of all reference groups, and it
occurs as people communicate with one another.
C. Symbolic
Interaction
Symbolic interaction is
a major sub-category of the Interactionist
perspective. Robertson (1989:15) argues that
"the interaction that takes place between
people occurs through symbols." He calls a
symbol "anything that can meaningfully
represent something else."
D. Shared Meaning
Robertson (1989:14)
draws a distinction between those
Interactionists who focus on direct
interaction between individuals (or groups)
and those who pay more attention to "shared
meanings" that people impose on society as
they interact. The latter concept is of
particular interest. The W. I. Thomas
Theorem argues that
"If
people define situations as real,
then they are real in their consequences."
The "witches" at Salem
discovered this the hard way.
http://www.delmar.edu/socsci/rlong/intro/perspect.htm
