Flashcards on Consensus, Conflict, Structural, Social Action and Interpretivist Theories (2.1)

Theories of society are divided into two approaches. What are these approaches?

Why are structural approaches also known as macro, 'top down' approaches?

Why are social action and interpretivist approaches also known as micro, 'bottom up' approaches?

Functionalism originated from the work of which French sociologist?

What is Comte credited with?

When and where was the macro approach of functionalism dominant in sociology?

Which functionalist created the organic analogy?

Durkheim used the organic analogy to develop the method of functional analysis. What does this method involve?

Durkheim was also well-known for advocating what sort of research methods?

Which functionalist attempted to provide a theoretical framework that combined Durkheim's ideas with a systematic attempt to understand the structures of societies and how they function?

According to Parsons, there are four basic functional prerequisites that all societies have. What are they?

What is the functional prerequisite of 'adaption'?

What is the functional prerequisite of 'goal attainment'?

What is the functional prerequisite of 'integration'?

What is the functional prerequisite of 'latency'?

These functional prerequisites can be used to explain the existence of what?

Functionalists believe that society is underpinned by a general agreement on values about what is good and what is bad. How does Parsons refer to this general agreement?

Although all societies share the same functional prerequisites, they do not static. Nonetheless, what happens to societies during periods of change, according to Parsons?

How do societies maintain said degree of balance?

How does Parsons refer to this process of adaption?

As they develop, societies generally become more effective at raising living standards and meeting the needs of their members. This involves a change in cultural values. How does Parsons refer to these cultural values?

There are two sets of pattern variables - pattern variables A and pattern variables B. Which of these is characteristic of pre-modern society, and which is characteristic of modern society?

What are the elements of pattern variables A?

What are the elements of pattern variables B?

However, even today there is one institution in which we still witness pattern variables A. What is that institution?

As well as cultures changing as societies evolve, Parsons also believes they become more structurally complex. How does he refer to this process?

How have we seen structural differentiation in our society?

Parsons' work has received some internal criticisms. Which fellow functionalist argued that Parsons' view of society was too uncritical?

Merton proposed two amendments to functionalist theory. What are they?

Additionally, the functionalist approach has received several external criticisms. The majority of these are summarised by which sociologist?

According to Sharrock and many other perspectives, what does the functionalist overemphasise?

Parsons organise analogy has also been criticised. Why?

It has also been stated that functionalists struggle to explain why institutions change even when they are functional. Discuss:

What do marxists criticise the functionalist approach of?

Finally, why are interactionists critical of the Parsonian model of society?

Although functionalism has been widely criticised, there are still some writers that develop upon the functionalist tradition. Name one neo-functionalist sociologist:

Neo-functionalists dispute criticisms of Parsons that suggest he isn't interested in how people act. What do they argue?

A second major macro approach is that of marxism. This developed from the writing of Karl Marx, who sought to create a scientific explanation of societies. What was his starting point?

Marx suggested that history can be divided into five epochs, which are distinguished by ever more complex economic arrangements. What are the five epochs?

Marx developed a theoretical model to describe the development of societies through these epochs. Firstly, he discusses the 'economic base', which he argues is the foundation of society. The economic base is also known as the 'mode of production'. What does this term refer to?

The mode of production has two subsections. What are they?

What are the forces of production?

What are the relations of production?

Marxist economy theory proposes at the start of an epoch, the values of the owners of the means of production help to develop the means of production. However, over time, the means of production outstrip the owners' values. What does this lead to?

While the marxist model applies to all epochs, Marx developed it with the epoch of capitalism in mind. In capitalism, the relations of production are between bourgeoisie and the proletariat. However, a third group do exist. How does Marx refer to this group?

The petite bourgeoisie are self-employed owners of small businesses. They have enough capital to own these businesses but not enough to employ and exploit others. However, the petite bourgeoisie find it difficult to compete with big businesses and subsequently are forced our of business. What is the process known as?

In capitalism, the bourgeoisie promote a set of distorted beliefs that support their interests by helping to maintain their wealth and power. What can these distorted beliefs also be called?

Capitalist ideology supports the view that the huge inequalities between the ruling class and working class are fair. Why do the majority of people continue to accept them, then?

According to Marx, what are the majority of the population suffering from?

However, Marx argues that the working class can develop a 'class consciousness' which allows them to see through the ideology they previously accepted. Why does this happen?

When the working class develop a class consciousness, what will happen?

Marx's work has probably been subjected to more critical discussion and criticism than any other sociological theory. Why?

Perhaps the most obvious criticism of Marx's theory is that the supposedly inevitable move towards a crisis, leading to a revolution, has not happened. Rather, what has occurred?

Another prediction Marx made was the polarisation of people into a very rich minority and a relatively poor majority. Again, this hasn't happened. What have we seen a rise of?

What may be one explanation for Marx's erroneous predictions?

Finally, why are feminists critical of the marxist model of society?

As with functionalism, the criticisms the traditional marxist model received resulted in the formation of a 'new and improved' marxism. Who are the two key marxist sociologists and the one key marxist school that present neo-marxist ideas?

Antonio Gramsci was one of the most influential neo-marxists. He developed his ideas while imprisoned by Mussolini. How is Gramsci often seen, and why?

In his 'Prison Notebooks', Gramsci argued that conventional marxism underestimated two things. What were they?

Gramsci argued that the state can't simply impose its ideology on the proletariat. Rather, it must win consent from the majority of the population to solidify its power. How can the state retain hegemony, according to Gramsci?

Why is it important for the state to make concessions?

As such, Gramsci does not believe that the proletariat suffer from a false consciousness. Rather, what do they operate under? How does this impact the bourgeoisie?

Another influential neo-marxist approach was provided by Louis Althusser. According to him, what did Marx overemphasise?

Althusser suggested that capitalist society consists of three interlocking elements. What are they?

Which of these three elements has ultimate control, according to Althusser?

Nonetheless, the political and ideological systems have significant degrees of importance and independence. What does this mean, and what impact does this have on the traditional marxist model?

What term does Althusser use to describe this degree of freedom of politics and values?

For Althusser, the state was composed of which two elements?

Both sets of apparatus work for the benefit of capitalism, but there is a huge variation in the way they perform this task. How?

Althusser's work provided a huge step forward in neo-marxist thinking because it moved away from a naive form of marxism that suggested everything exists for the benefit of capitalism. Instead, he highlights the contradictions and differences between the various institutions of society. Nonetheless, Althusser is criticised by social action theorists. Why?

Finally, the Frankfurt School has provided a handful of influential neo-marxsit theories. Which three major neo-marxists are most commonly associated with the School?

How do Marcuse, Adorno and Horkheimer all describe Karl Marx?

Marcuse, Adorno and Horkheim argued that people's ideas and motivations are far more important than Marx or Althusser made out. They developed a threefold critique of structural marxism. What are the three branches of their argument?

What is meant by 'instrumental reason'?

What is meant by 'mass culture'?

What is meant by 'the oppression of personality'?

Neo-marxists have been able to answer many of the criticisms made of Marx's traditional model of society. However, in the process, what has happened to marxist theory?

According to social action theories, understanding societies involves taking a micro approach. What do social action theories explore the day-to-day, routine actions that most people perform. What are these theories based on?

According to this type of approach, how do humans produce meanings which form the basis of their understanding of the social world?

According to social action theories, humans don't experience the world directly in an objective way. Rather, how do they experience it?

Nonetheless, how are aspects of the world that are actually social constructs seen?

Symbolic interactionism is one of the most influential social action theories. Which sociologist's writing provided the foundation for the perspective?

Which sociologist helped apply Mead's writing to sociological issues?

Both functionalism and marxism suggest that people are little more than passive puppets. Conversely, how does symbolic interactionism see people?

The theory of interactionism has four core ideas. What are they?

What is meant by 'the symbol'?

What is meant by 'the self'?

George Herbert Mead distinguished between two aspects of the self. What were they?

This process of seeing ourselves through the eyes of another person has been focused on by a handful of sociologists. Which sociologist referred to the act as the 'looking-glass self'?

How does Howard Becker illustrate the process?

What is meant by 'role-taking and game-playing'?

Finally, what is meant by 'the interaction'?

Erving Goffman was extremely influenced by symbolic interactionism. What approach did he create as a result?

The dramaturgical approach is similar to symbolic interactionism in that it explores how people perceive and present themselves. According to Goffman, how can we analyse the social world, the people within it and the interactions they have with one another?

Interactionism provides a rich insight into ho people interact in small-scale situations. However, as a theory, it is rather limited. Why?

What is the main weakness of interactionism?

Why do the likes of marxists and feminists criticise interactionism?

Which sociologist answered some of these criticisms?

Becker's labelling theory developed out of symbolic interactionism. How does it answer some of the criticisms of interactionism?

The methodology of interactionism has also been criticised. Why?

Although interactionism is very different from marxism and functionalism, it still attempts to explain how the world works in a relatively conventional way. Which perspective go beyond this?

Whose work does phenomenology originate from?

Phenomenology argues that all information about the social world is the product of what?

According to the perspective, there are no hard facts about the world upon which explanations can be based. Instead, we can merely attempt to understand?

To make sense of the chaotic world around them, how do individuals organise the world around them?

Although a real world does exist, the way it is categorised is a matter of human choice rather than an objective process. What is the purpose of phenomenology?

Whose work on suicide is a good example of phenomenology?

What did Atkinson argue about deaths that were ruled a suicide?

Phenomenologists have been criticised for producing a 'relativist' theory. What is meant by this?

Like interactionism, the methodology of phenomenology has been criticised. Why?

While the two approaches (structural and social action) are separate, sociologists have attempted to united them, arguing that both aspects of society need to be considered if a full understanding of society is to be achieved. Who is the leading advocate of this view?

In combining the words 'structure' and 'action', what portmanteau does Giddens create?

What does the term 'structuration' refer to?

Giddens argues that structures make social action possible, while social actions produce, reproduce and maintain structures - they are part of the same process. How does Giddens refer to this?

How does this duality of structure apply to societal structures and institutions?

According to Margaret Archer, what does Giddens put too much emphasis on?

How do supporters of more structural approaches criticise Giddens?