8th October’15 Thursday By: Zainab Zaidi Q. Assess the strengths and limitations of the functionalists theory in sociology. In the study of sociology, the functionalist perspective is a view of society that focuses on the way various parts of society have funtions and live in a consensus that maintain the stability and social order of the whole society. Functionalism is seen as a macro scale approach to society; it sees society as a whole rather than just focusing on some parts of it. Because
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is associated with Emile Durkheim and more recently with Talcott Parsons (Marshall 1994: 190-1). Since functional analysis studies the contributions made by socio-cultural phenomena to the socio-cultural systems of which they are a part. Many functionalists argue that social institutions are functionally integrated to form a stable system and that a change in one institution will precipitate a change in other institutions; expressed by Durkheim and others as an organic analogy. Functionalism, originating
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its members and society as a whole.’ (24 marks) According to Item A the nuclear family is the “ideal family type.” According to Murdock the nuclear family consists of a heterosexual couple that have at least one child. Murdock is a functionalist. Functionalists argue society is based on consensus (agreed norms and values). Consensus is achieved in society through the process of socialisation, which involves individuals learning norms and values. Norms and values are transmitted to children through
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Examine the Marxist view of the family Marxists believe that the nuclear family is dominant in capitalist’s society. They see the family as performing essential functions, but negative functions. These functions benefit the minority in power (bourgeoisie) and the economy. The functions disadvantage the working class society (proletant). Marxists believe that the family is a unit of consumption. Family members go out to work to earn money. With their wages/salary they purchase goods such as
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culture=Functionalism http://www3.niu.edu/acad/psych/Millis/History/2004/functionalism.htm INTRODUCTION Functionalism was a major paradigm shift in the history of American psychology. As an outgrowth of Darwin’s evolutionary theory, the functionalist approach focused on the examination of the function and purpose of mind and behavior. Rather than the structures of the mind, functionalism was interested in mental processes and their relation to behavior. Through his work at Harvard as a professor
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Outline and assess cultural explanations of social class differences in education and attainment. 50marks. Functionalism is a structuralist, top down (macro) theory, and the founding father of this was Emile Durkheim. Functionalists believe in things such as the organic analogy and meritocracy. An example of meritocracy would be where you move up to higher positions in the world. An example of an organic analogy is where society is compared to the human body, this would be where if you’re in
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Functionalists take a consensus view of the role of education. They see it as performing three important functions; socialisation into the shared culture, equipping individuals with work skills for the division of labour, and selection for work roles. Education is organised on meritocratic principles and reward pupils’ ability, not their social background. Functionalists take a very positive view of education. They see it as a form of secondary socialisation essential to the maintenance of society
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Identify and discuss the key features of both Functionalist and Marxist theories. [25 Marks] Functionalist and Marxist are macro sociological theories that give a better understanding of the society. Functionalist theory is referred to as the consensus whilst the Marxist theory is known as the conflict theory. Key features of both theories are going to be identified and discussed. According to Haralambos and Holborn (2008), a theory is a set of ideas which attempts to explain how something
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Assess the strengths and weaknesses of the functionalist approach to society (33 marks) Functionalism is seen as a macro-scale approach to society; it sees society as a whole rather than looking at parts of it. Due to this, functionalism sees society as a body (organic analogy), all the institutions work together to make society. This is particularly useful when observing society in order to understand the way in which it functions and the way in which all the institutions (organic analogy: organs
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something should be done to solve the social problem. The functionalist, conflict, and interactionist perspectives are the key sociological methods to studying these social problems (Pearson, 1995). The way the main social institutions actually operate is the way the functionalist perspective looks at these schools and society expects the school to generate well educated and skilled adults (Hernandez, 2007). The belief of functionalists is that the responsibility of the schools is to not only
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