SOCIAL THEORIES

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SAVITRI KUMARI 2120200098VINEET LOHARIA 2120200099G.CHAITANYA 2110200069

DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING

SOCIAL THEORYSOCIAL THEORY

CONTENTS

• INTRODUCTION• SCIENCE AND SOCIAL SCIENCE• SOCIAL THEORY AND OTHER DOMAINS OF

THEORY• CONCLUSION

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• It can be defined as the study of scientific ways of thinking about social life.• It encompasses ideas  about how societies change  and  develop ,about  methods of

explaining social behaviours,about power and  social structure ,class,gender,and ethnicity modernity and civilization,revolutions and utopias and numerous other concepts and problems in social life.

INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

• Sociology and social theory are concerned with relations of sociation between members or  partners including not only business partners but a great many other kinds and processes of sociation and socialization between individuals.

SOCIAL THEORY

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TYPES OF THEORY

• Social theories are analytical frameworks or paradigms used to examine social phenomena.

• In contemporary social theory, certain core themes take precedence over others, themes such as the nature of social life, the relationship between self and society, the structure of social institutions, the role and possibility of social transformation, as well as themes such as gender, race and class.

• Sociological theories are the core and underlying strength of the discipline. They guide researchers in their studies. They also guide practitioners in their intervention strategies. And they will provide us with a basic understanding of how to see the larger social picture in your own personal life.

INTRODUCTION

• Theories can be used to study society-millions of people in a state, country, or even at the world level. When theories are used at this level they are referred to as Macro Theories, theories which best fit the study of massive numbers of people (typically Conflict and Functional theories). 

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The functionalist perspective, also called functionalism, is one of the major theoretical perspectives in sociology. It has its origins in the works of Emile Durkheim, who was especially interested in how social order is possible or how society remains relatively stable.

Society is in a state of balance and kept that way through the function of society's component parts.

Functionalism interprets each part of society in terms of how it contributes to the stability of the whole society. Society is more than the sum of its parts; rather, each part of society is functional for the stability of the whole society. The different parts are primarily the institutions of society, each of which is organized to fill different needs and each of which has particular consequences for the form and shape of society. The parts all depend on each other.

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What is the “glue” that holds societies

together?

What provides people with a sense of

belonging?

Why are these bubbles coming out of my head?

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For example, the government, or state, provides education for the children of the family, which in turn pays taxes on which the state depends to keep itself running.

The family is dependent upon the school to help children grow up to have good jobs so that they can raise and support their own families. In the process, the children become law-abiding, taxpaying citizens, who in turn support the state. If all goes well, the parts of society produce order, stability, and productivity. If all does not go well, the parts of society then must adapt to recapture a new order, stability, and productivity.

Functionalism emphasizes the consensus and order that exist in society, focusing on social stability and shared public values. From this perspective, disorganization in the system, such as deviant behaviour, leads to change because societal components must adjust to achieve stability. When one part of the system is not working or is dysfunctional, it affects all other parts and creates social problems, which leads to social change.

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Functionalism has been critiqued by many sociologists for its neglect of the often negative implications of social order.

Some critics, like Italian theorist Antonio Gramsci, claim that the perspective justifies the status quo, and the process of cultural hegemony which maintains it.

Functionalism does not encourage people to take an active role in changing their social environment, even when such change may benefit them. Instead, functionalism sees active social change as undesirable because the various parts of society will compensate in a seemingly natural way for any problems that may arise.

The functionalist perspective achieved its greatest popularity among American sociologists in the 1940s and 1950s. While European functionalists originally focused on explaining the inner workings of social order, American functionalists focused on discovering the functions of human behaviour.

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 The Conflict Theory is a macro theory. A Macro Theory is a sociological theory designed to study the larger social, global, and societal level of sociological phenomena. This theory was founded by a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, and revolutionary (1818-1883) Karl Marx.

Karl Marx saw society as fragmented into groups that compete for social and economic resources. Social order is maintained by domination, with power in the hands of those with the greatest political, economic, and social resources.

When consensus exists, it is attributable to people being united around common interests, often in opposition to other groups.

Marx theorized that the work of producing consensus was done in the "superstructure" of society which is composed of social institutions, political structures, and culture and what it produced consensus for was the "base," the economic relations of production.

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Conflict is necessary to produce social change

and a better society

I, too, have these bubbles popping

out my head!

I think today I will establish a free and

classless society

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History is a continuous clash between conflicting ideas and forces•Economic changes are most important

Class conflict between capitalist class (bourgeoisie) and the working class (proletariat)

•Alienation•Fetishism of Commodities

Society should be changed Criticized for too much emphasis on class struggle.

Inequality exists because those in control of a disproportionate share of society’s resources actively defend their advantages.

Power is the ability to get what one wants even in the presence of opposition. Authority is the institutionalized legitimate power.

 By far the Bourgeoisie, or wealthy elite (royalty, political, and corporate leaders), have the most power. Bourgeoisie are the "Goliaths" in society who often bully their wishes into outcomes.

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CONFLICT THEORY

The Proletariat are the common working class, lower class, and poor members of society.

According to Marx the Bourgeoisie and Proletariat cannot both have it their way and in order to offset the wealth and power of the Bourgeoisie the proletariat often rise up and revolt against their oppressors

Examples :The French, Bolshevik, United States, Mexican, and other revolutions

In fact Marx and Weber realized long ago that society does have different classes and a similar pattern of relatively few rich persons in comparison to the majority who are poor. The rich call the shots

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CONFLICT THEORY

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This is the photographic montage of homes in one US neighbourhood which were run down, poor, trashy, and worth very little.

They were on the West side of this gully and frustrated many who lived on the East side who were forced to drive through these "slums" to reach their own mansions.

The Conflict Theory has been repeatedly tested against scientifically derived data and it repeatedly proves to have a wide application among many different levels of sociological study.

That is not to say that all sociological phenomena are conflict-based.

But, most Conflict theorists would argue that more often than not Conflict assumptions do apply

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• The symbolic interaction perspective, also called symbolic interactionism.

• This perspective relies on the symbolic meaning that people develop and rely upon in the process of social interaction. Symbolic interactionism traces its origins to Max Weber's assertion that individuals act according to their interpretation of the meaning of their world, the American philosopher George Herbert Meadintroduced this perspective to American sociology in the 1920s.

• Symbolic interaction theory analyzes society by addressing the subjective meanings that people impose on objects, events, and behaviors. 

• For example, why would young people smoke cigarettes even when all objective medical evidence points to the dangers of doing so? 

• Some fundamental aspects of our social experience and identities, like race and gender, can be understood through the symbolic interactionist lens.

• Critics of this theory claim that symbolic interactionism neglects the macro level of social interpretation—the “big picture.” In other words, symbolic interactionists may miss the larger issues of society by focusing too closely on the “trees” rather than the “forest”. The perspective also receives criticism for slighting the influence of social forces and institutions on individual interactions.

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• Social exchange theory, also called the “communication theory of social exchange,” is a psychological concept suggesting that humans make social decisions based on their own perceptions about the costs and benefits that could be gained by action or, conversely, by inaction.

• The underlying hypothesis claims that people evaluate all social relationships to determine the benefits they will get out of them.

• It suggests that someone will typically leave a relationship if he or she perceives that the effort or cost of it outweighs any perceived advantages.

• The theory is usually presented with the sort of language most commonly seen in economics and financial sectors. This can be jarring at first, but experts

often argue that there are a number of important parallels between how companies and businesses make reasoned decisions and how people do.

("What I get out of it"-"What I lose by doing it")="My decision"

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Introduction to Sociology: 4 Basic Theories

Conflict Functionalism Symbolic Interactionism

Social Exchange

Macro Macro Micro Micro-Inequality lies at the core of society which leads to conflict-Resources are limited-Power is not evenly distributed-Competition is inevitable (winners & losers)-Negotiations based on influence, threats, promises, and consensus-Threats and coercion-Any resource can be used as tool of power or exploitation-War is natural-Haves and have nots-Privileges are protected by haves-Order is challenged by have nots-Examples of:Gender & Feminist

-Uses biological model (society is like a living organism)-Society has interrelated parts-What are functions or dysfunctions of parts-Society finds balance and is stable-Equilibrium-Society adjusts to maintain balance-How are parts integrated-Manifest functions-Latent functions and dysfunctions-Example of: Systems Theory

-Society is an ongoing process of many social interactions-Interactions based on symbolic context in which they occur-Subjective perceptions are critical to how symbols are interpreted-Communications-Meanings-Significant others-Roles-Relative deprivation-Self-Reality shaping in self and with others-Key Ideas:Social construction of realityThomas TheoremDefinition of situation-Example of: theories of self

-Society is an ongoing series of exchanges which occur during interactions-Interactions based on formula:(Rewards- Costs)=OutcomesRewards-Costs-Profit/Loss-Comparisons-Limited resources-Power-Legitimacy-Equity-Negotiations-Tradeoffs-Example of:Levinger=s model on divorce: (Attractions +/-Barriers)=/-(Alternative Attractions)

COMPARISION OF OUR THEORY

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• Anderson, M.L. and Taylor, H.F. (2009). Sociology: The Essentials. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth.

• CliffsNotes.com. Three Major Perspectives in Sociology. 22 Jun 2011. 

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• http://sociology.about.com/od/Sociology101/tp/Major-Sociological-Frameworks.htm

• http://freebooks.uvu.edu/SOC1010/index.php/03.html• http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/topicArticleId-26957,articleId-26837.html