My soc project Written for my Sociology class
WRITTEN by Mazarn Kun
The Three Common Sociological Theories
So your interested in learning the the three most common theories of sociology. Well you may of heard of Conflict theory it was once derived from the idea of Karl Marx and he believed that social change is required for the society to thrive; While the other theory Structural Functionalism believe that all individual must stay the course keep the status quo believe that the wealthy should stay in power and that that the poor should stay poor, for it keeps the society stable. The other theory is know as Symbolic Interactionist. Symbolic Interactionist belived that the way that the society my act; They may put special meaning towards certain objects and symbols. What one symbol may mean to one society may mean the polar opposite to a different to a different culture. We will be diving in deeper into these three very different yet similar conflicting theories and later comparing them to one another.
Conflict Theory
Ah good old conflict theory, how we adore you. Conflict theory was founded by Karl Marx. Karl Marx was born in the year of 1818 on May 5 in Trier; Marx received a classical education in Trier and later continued his study in philosophy and law in Bonn. After his studies in the metropolis of intellectuals, he returned to Bonn not exactly in favor of current laws. Soon after, he married his wife Jenny Von Westphalen. Shortly after, he moved to Paris to pursue his ambitions of being a political economist and studying history of the French revolution. Now that we know a little bit about the man considered to be the father of social conflict theory, we don’t have the understanding of how social conflict theory works. Conflict theory is the idea that society is an arena of inequality due to the constant competition for scarce social resources; these are just a few examples of social resources: housing, capital, health care, education, power, privilege, status that is not distributed equally. Karl Marx’s writing centers around how capitalists vs. workers “own the means of production.” The worker can only negotiate his labor and class conflict is inevitable as is social change. Social norms, values, beliefs are defined and then imposed by the powerful/ dominant in society. Three institutions (government, military, and corporations) are considered the “power elite” that make up one impenetrable entity that defines, imposes, and enforce norms, values, and laws. These institutions have the ability to control and protect their agendas and interests and benefit while others are exploited.
Example of Conflict Theory that applies to the social construct of crime:
Marx theorized that competition for scarce resources perpetuates inequality, (capitalist vs. worker) social stratification and that inequality benefits few, some flourish while the rest are exploited. The criminal justice system perpetuates its criminals back into the system.
Example of Conflict Theory that applies to the social construct of crime:
Marx theorized that competition for scarce resources perpetuates inequality, (capitalist vs. worker) social stratification and that inequality benefits few, some flourish while the rest are exploited. The criminal justice system perpetuates its criminals back into the system.
Structural Functionalism
Society is a complex system of interrelated and interdependent parts and social institutions. Examples of social institutions would be family, school, media, workplace, and government, along with many others. The goal is to maintain order, stability, cohesion, and unity within society. We maintain this through a general consensus. When there is failure in the structure of social institutions, society becomes dysfunctional (chaotic). Emile Durkheim is associated with this theory, he stated that human behavior can be best understood through social interaction/dynamics rather than psychological traits and that social forces have more influence on social behavior than individual traits. Culture is the “glue” that holds society together. Durkheim also believed that crime has societal purpose and function. Crime clarifies the norms of a society for the perpetrator and mainly for society, unites societies against the common enemy. Who defines the enemy? This depends on the situation. Promotes social change; before social change happens, there has to be some level of chaos. In order to bring order back, you have to fix the level of chaos and promote social change. Another structural functionalist, Robert Merton created the strain theory in relation to crime. This theory concludes that if social institutions (schools, family, economy, etc.) do not provide their purpose, then some in society may resort to crime. If one cannot adapt to the strain or stress they may resort to crime.
Other structural functionalist include: Herbert Spencer and his theory of Social Darwinism. For those that cannot adapt to capitalism, they (aka poor people, lower class) will become extinct. The affluent and powerful were the “fittest” (survival of the fittest) of society. Government social programs penalize the rich for being rich, because the rich pay the taxes.
Two other structural functionalists whose theories coincide with this theory: Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore. They theorized that the rich and the powerful deserve more money, status, privilege, and so on because they have better skills or talents and higher education levels. They’ve sacrificed the time and money to get the money. Some roles in society are more important than others. There are 100,000s of jobs that anyone could perform with minimal training or education so they should get lower wages. There are a lot of holes and places where this theory fails.
Other structural functionalist include: Herbert Spencer and his theory of Social Darwinism. For those that cannot adapt to capitalism, they (aka poor people, lower class) will become extinct. The affluent and powerful were the “fittest” (survival of the fittest) of society. Government social programs penalize the rich for being rich, because the rich pay the taxes.
Two other structural functionalists whose theories coincide with this theory: Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore. They theorized that the rich and the powerful deserve more money, status, privilege, and so on because they have better skills or talents and higher education levels. They’ve sacrificed the time and money to get the money. Some roles in society are more important than others. There are 100,000s of jobs that anyone could perform with minimal training or education so they should get lower wages. There are a lot of holes and places where this theory fails.
Symbolic Interactionism
Symbolic interactionism on a micro level is everyday face to face interaction. The concept of symbols is crucial to this study. The definition of symbols is any object, event, or idea that represents something. The use of symbols is universal, though the meaning is culture specific. Another concept integral to symbolic interactionism is the “social construction of reality”; through interaction our reality is constructed, it is only through common meaning and interpretation must exist before interaction and a reality can be formed. Another concept closely related is the “definition of the situation,” or what context the symbol or idea is. Max Weber is one of the most well-known symbolic interactionists. He concluded that researchers must understand the perspective of the subject in order for the data to be interpreted accurately. An epic study Weber conducted is “the protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism; religion can be linked to the development of an economic-capitalism. He chooses economies whose conditions are right for the development of capitalism. This is closely related to Calvinism, or predetermined destiny. In order to know whether you’re going to hell or heaven is to look for a sign that one’s in Gods favor, material wealth.
Charles Horton Cooley is another well-known symbolic interactionist with his looking glass self-theory. He says we come to see ourselves as we think others see us. This is developed in three steps: imagine- how we appear to others; evaluate- judgment of that image based on past experience; respond- emotion based, for example pride, embarrassment, etc.
Another theory and sociologist who stems from the category of symbolic interactionism is Irving Goffman and his Dramaturgy Theory. He uses the analogy of a theatrical performance to describe everyday interaction.
Impression management- when we portray a desired image of ones’ self to an audience
Front stage- that which is performed in front of an audience
Back stage- out of view of an audience
Props/cues- objects in the setting that cue you to the situation or the context
Setting- the stage that’s performed on
Another branch of symbolic interactionism would be Harold Garfinkels’ ethnomethodology theory, which states that not only do norms exist in all societies, but are essential/necessary to a society’s survival. He proved this by sending students out to violate norms and record subject reaction, called breaching experiments.
When giving an example of symbolic interactionism when it applies to crime, William Chambliss’ Saints and the Roughnecks experiment is a perfect example. He wanted to know what kinds of crimes juveniles were committing and the rates. He looked at 13-15 year old boys who are all white and all arrested for petty crimes such as vandalism. He noticed that some of the boys were being released to parental custody and others were being processed through the juvenile system. Social class was the variable that determined who got labeled a criminal and who didn’t. This study has been duplicated hundreds of times, and even today the outcome is the same. This study reveals that the label of criminal may be more dependent on who one is or isn’t rather than what they did, or the act itself. Another study closely related to this one is Edwin Sutherlands’. He studied juvenile gangs and concluded the theory of differential association; deviant behavior is learned through interaction with significant others, or simply put “you are who you hang with.” Your behavior becomes consistent with the people you associate with, aka peers, family, etc. White collar crime is defined as crimes committed generally speaking in accordance with ones’ occupation (embezzlement, tax fraud, corporate crimes). It is usually committed in solitude, making differential association obsolete in white collar crime. Sutherland looked back 50 years later and stated that his previous theory was wrong, because it only applied to lower classes. Every social class commits crime; it is the type of crime that differs.
Again in relation to crime, Howard Becker’s’ labeling theory states that when an authority (criminal justice system, mother, social institution) labels an individual, they will eventually assume the role, therefore it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. When an inmate, convict, or criminal is labeled as such by the criminal justice system, the negative stigma of that label follows them, making it difficult to assimilate back into society after they are released, thus explaining the high recidivism (repeat offenders) rates. This label ensures you will go back to jail, because there is nothing else you can do, you can’t get a job, or a place to live, they have been left by their family, etc. the lack of access to basic resources leads to resorting back to crime for basic survival. Only pedophiles, serial killers, and sexual sadists are unrehabilitative.
Charles Horton Cooley is another well-known symbolic interactionist with his looking glass self-theory. He says we come to see ourselves as we think others see us. This is developed in three steps: imagine- how we appear to others; evaluate- judgment of that image based on past experience; respond- emotion based, for example pride, embarrassment, etc.
Another theory and sociologist who stems from the category of symbolic interactionism is Irving Goffman and his Dramaturgy Theory. He uses the analogy of a theatrical performance to describe everyday interaction.
Impression management- when we portray a desired image of ones’ self to an audience
Front stage- that which is performed in front of an audience
Back stage- out of view of an audience
Props/cues- objects in the setting that cue you to the situation or the context
Setting- the stage that’s performed on
Another branch of symbolic interactionism would be Harold Garfinkels’ ethnomethodology theory, which states that not only do norms exist in all societies, but are essential/necessary to a society’s survival. He proved this by sending students out to violate norms and record subject reaction, called breaching experiments.
When giving an example of symbolic interactionism when it applies to crime, William Chambliss’ Saints and the Roughnecks experiment is a perfect example. He wanted to know what kinds of crimes juveniles were committing and the rates. He looked at 13-15 year old boys who are all white and all arrested for petty crimes such as vandalism. He noticed that some of the boys were being released to parental custody and others were being processed through the juvenile system. Social class was the variable that determined who got labeled a criminal and who didn’t. This study has been duplicated hundreds of times, and even today the outcome is the same. This study reveals that the label of criminal may be more dependent on who one is or isn’t rather than what they did, or the act itself. Another study closely related to this one is Edwin Sutherlands’. He studied juvenile gangs and concluded the theory of differential association; deviant behavior is learned through interaction with significant others, or simply put “you are who you hang with.” Your behavior becomes consistent with the people you associate with, aka peers, family, etc. White collar crime is defined as crimes committed generally speaking in accordance with ones’ occupation (embezzlement, tax fraud, corporate crimes). It is usually committed in solitude, making differential association obsolete in white collar crime. Sutherland looked back 50 years later and stated that his previous theory was wrong, because it only applied to lower classes. Every social class commits crime; it is the type of crime that differs.
Again in relation to crime, Howard Becker’s’ labeling theory states that when an authority (criminal justice system, mother, social institution) labels an individual, they will eventually assume the role, therefore it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. When an inmate, convict, or criminal is labeled as such by the criminal justice system, the negative stigma of that label follows them, making it difficult to assimilate back into society after they are released, thus explaining the high recidivism (repeat offenders) rates. This label ensures you will go back to jail, because there is nothing else you can do, you can’t get a job, or a place to live, they have been left by their family, etc. the lack of access to basic resources leads to resorting back to crime for basic survival. Only pedophiles, serial killers, and sexual sadists are unrehabilitative.
Verdict
Marxist are the most stable of theories with slight variations such as Neo-Marxist have become the most common.
REFERENCES
CliffsNotes.com. Three Major Perspectives in Sociology. Retrieved November 18 2010 (http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O88-conflicttheory.html)
9"Symbolic Interactionism - Importance Of Meanings, Situational Definitions, Self-concept Formation, Divisions Within Symbolic Interactionism, Symbolic Interactionism And Family Studies" Retrieved November 16, 2010 ( http://family.jrank.org/pages/1679/Symbolic-Interactionism.html)
Engles, Fredrick. 1869" KARL MARX" Web Page. November 14,2010
http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/bio/marx/eng-1869.htm
Theory Greats. NA Web Page. November 17, 2010
(http://www94.homepage.villanova.edu/peter.knapp/THgreats.htm)
Keel, Robert October 6 2010" Structural Functionalism" Web Page. November 16 (http://www.umsl.edu/~keelr/3210/3210_lectures/structural_functionalism.html#credits)
Mc Clelland 2000"Symbolic Interationism" Web Page November 17
(http://web.grinnell.edu/courses/soc/s00/soc111-01/IntroTheories/Symbolic.html)
9"Symbolic Interactionism - Importance Of Meanings, Situational Definitions, Self-concept Formation, Divisions Within Symbolic Interactionism, Symbolic Interactionism And Family Studies" Retrieved November 16, 2010 ( http://family.jrank.org/pages/1679/Symbolic-Interactionism.html)
Engles, Fredrick. 1869" KARL MARX" Web Page. November 14,2010
http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/bio/marx/eng-1869.htm
Theory Greats. NA Web Page. November 17, 2010
(http://www94.homepage.villanova.edu/peter.knapp/THgreats.htm)
Keel, Robert October 6 2010" Structural Functionalism" Web Page. November 16 (http://www.umsl.edu/~keelr/3210/3210_lectures/structural_functionalism.html#credits)
Mc Clelland 2000"Symbolic Interationism" Web Page November 17
(http://web.grinnell.edu/courses/soc/s00/soc111-01/IntroTheories/Symbolic.html)
