Sociological Perspectives,
principles and Concepts
What is a sociological
theory?
A theory is a set of ideas that claims to explain how something works.
( Harambos and Holborn, 2018)
A body of knowledge that helps to explain how aspects of the society
work.
It can be presented as a ‘model’ where its important features are
emphasized , or as a proposition declaring that a particular statement is
true.
Each theory as a specific focus and a particular way of viewing reality,
and therefore each as its own related strength and weaknesses.
Each theory has its contributor(s) to the body of knowledge, its essential
concepts and its criticisms.
Categorization of
sociological theories
Sociological theories can be categorized in
various ways for ease of reference but are not
rigidly clear-cut:
Macro (structure)
Micro(social action, interactionist)
Macro sociological theories
Traditional sociology- that is, Functionalism and Marxism are classified
as both ‘macro’ and ‘structural’ as they focus on how the structures of
society determine people’s behaviour and how the structures fit together.
Early contributors to functionalism are
Emile Durkheim whose initial theory was elaborated on by Talcott
Parsons and further strengthened by Robert Merton.
Karl Marx was the original contributor to the Marxist theory and his
work later influenced neo-Marxist and Marxist feminist.
Though functionalism and Marxism are classified together as macro
structural theories, they provide different models of how society works.
For functionalism the structures are harmonious and interrelated.
Marxism on the other hand focus on conflict that emanates as a result of
the prominent economic infrastructure.
Micro sociological theories
Interactionism and its associated social action and symbolic interaction
theories are refered to as micro theories as they focus on small scale
interactions in groups and the meanings behind the behaviours and actions of
those groups.
Contributors
Max Weber
George Herbert Mead
Herbert Blumer
Similarly, Alfred Schultz and Harold Garfinkle have suggested
alternative ways of analyzing the social world based on their
contributions of phenomenology and ethnomethodology.
Feminism
Feminism emerged as a challenge to the above theories
which as been described as ‘malestream’ contributors to
sociology and which were felt to have ignored, trivialized or
distorted women’s issues and experiences.
The major criticism of feminists is that traditional
sociological theory does not explain the social world from the
perspectives of women.
Feminists approaches are classified into different groups,
specifically Marxist/ Socialist, radical, difference, black and
postmodernist. They provide an alternative view that
provides an alternative account of women’s positions.
Main Proponents of
Functionalism
⮚Auguste Comte
⮚Emile Durkheim
⮚Talcott Parsons
⮚Herbert Spencer
Basic views of Functionalism
✔]Society is seen as a whole entity ( social system) that is
made up of different parts
( social organizations and institutions) which is
integrated smoothly with each other to create and recreate
an orderly society.
✔The society operates like a biological model where all
organs contribute to a healthy society.
✔All components in society are functioning in an efficient
manner, order, harmony(togetherness) and
equilibrium(balance.
Social Organisations and institutions are
critical to maintain harmony and
equilibium
Main views of Functionalism
⮚Functionalism is based on the idea of consensus.
This develops out of the traditions of a society which is
passed on through the processes of socialization via
norms and values.
⮚At the macro level ( the social system and its
institutions) are what keeps the society in
harmony. For example, the smooth collaboration
between the social institutions of the family and
education. This smooth collaboration ensures that
there are very few dropouts and failures leading to
more productive workers for the economy.
Individuals play their part in the functioning of social
institutions.
⮚They are assigned status for example, father carries out
the role of ( fatherhood) that has to be performed if the
social institution of the family is to function properly.
⮚Status and role are examples of how relationships are
structured in society.
⮚All institutions are interdependent so that change in
one institution affects the other. For example, if the
economy needs technicians and construction workers
the curriculum changes to accommodate this need.
⮚Comte and Durkheim uses the scientific approach to
study society and so functionalism can be described as
positivism.
Question and Answer
How is society structured?
● Durkheim suggests that the social institutions are
responsible for carrying out specialised functions that will
benefit the entire society. For example the family, school and
religion all have a role to play in the structure and function of
the society.
● Parsons suggests that structural differentiation helps the
society to carry out specialised functions and to maintain
social equilibrium.
● The social structure is maintained by the norms, values and morals
which fosters social integration, unity, cooperation, common goals and
the creation of a common identity.
● Social structured is maintained via social equilibrium through the
processes of social order and socialization. For example, during
socialisation values are passed on from one generation to the next via
the family education and religion and internalized by the individual.
However, social order is maintained via the laws, mores,folkways and
sanctions which are used to minimize deviance and promote order.
● The interrelationships between the various parts of the society allows
for the smooth running of the society. The structure of society
influences power over individuals which help to mainatin the status
quo of the society.
How is social order
maintained?
❏ Social order is maintained via the collective
consciousness which are the shared norms, values
and beliefs shared by members of the society. This
is what contributes to social order in traditional
societies ( mechanical solidarity)
❏ However, as the society becomes more
industrialized the collective consciousness becomes
weakened ( organic solidarity)
Therefore value consensus is the cornerstone of an
orderly and integrated society.
The issue of Social Change
● They underestimate the issue of conflict, disagreement and
dysfunction.
● They do acknowledge that at times societies have to make
adjustments in order to make new developments such as
change in the social, political and economic system which
they see as a way of maintaining equilibrium.
● Comte express the view that changes within the society is
evident via new ideas, Spencer thought that it is through the
organism’s ability to adapt to new situations while parsons
believed that change is evident via a combination of
adaptation and integration.
Criticisms of functionalism
1. One criticism from the interpretivist school is that it only
examines the tangible reality of social life and fails to
recognize that society can be assessed from the
intangible reality such as how individuals think about
themselves within.
2. The fact that this perspective focuses on the hall
marks of peace in society means that they do not
place emphasis on social change and may even see
change and conflict as dysfunctional.
3. It therefore gives a ‘static’ understanding of society
and is concerned with maintaining the status quo
which is a conservative outlook.
1. It presents an overemphasized view of humanity as it
assumes that once we are socialized into society’s culture
we are all going to behave in the same way at all times. This
suggests that human actions are too deterministic and is
totally dependent on the social systems in the society.
2. It is guilty of assuming that value consensus exists in all
societies as it ignores the fact that many societies today is
heterogeneous and as such are made up of people from
different ethnicities and cultures and that, hence, it may
difficult to have a society with common set of values shared
by all its members.
