13936743
Description
Flashcards by Em Maskrey, updated more than 1 year ago
|
Created by Em Maskrey
almost 6 years ago
|
|
| Question | Answer |
| Theories of society are divided into two approaches. What are these approaches? | 1. Structural approaches. 2. Social action and interpretivist approaches. |
| Why are structural approaches also known as macro, 'top down' approaches? | Because they attempt to provide a complete theory of society by examining society as a whole and then applying this to individual behaviour and major social changes. |
| Why are social action and interpretivist approaches also known as micro, 'bottom up' approaches? | Because they do not seek to provide a complete theory of society, but instead examine how society is constructed from the interactions people have with one another. |
| Functionalism originated from the work of which French sociologist? | Auguste Comte. |
| What is Comte credited with? | Coining the terms 'sociology' and 'positivism'. |
| When and where was the macro approach of functionalism dominant in sociology? | From the 1940s to the 1970s in American, and also somewhat in Europe. |
| Which functionalist created the organic analogy? | Emile Durkheim. |
| Durkheim used the organic analogy to develop the method of functional analysis. What does this method involve? | Explaining why institutions exist in terms of the functions they perform for society. |
| Durkheim was also well-known for advocating what sort of research methods? | Positivist research methods, which look for correlations in statistical data and aim to identify cause-and-effect relationships. |
| 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? | Talcott Parsons. |
| According to Parsons, there are four basic functional prerequisites that all societies have. What are they? | 1. Adaption. 2. Goal attainment. 3. Integration. 3. Latency. |
| What is the functional prerequisite of 'adaption'? | Every society must provide an adequate standard of life for the survival of its members. |
| What is the functional prerequisite of 'goal attainment'? | Societies must develop a way of making decisions. This may be, for example, in the form of a democracy or dictatorship. |
| What is the functional prerequisite of 'integration'? | Each institution in society develops in response to particular needs. It is important for all institutions to exist in harmony, so specialist institutions (e.g. the criminal justice system) develop to ensure that the social system does not break down. |
| What is the functional prerequisite of 'latency'? | Latency deals with individuals and how they cope within society. It involves pattern maintenance (the problems faced when conflicting demands are made of people) and tension management (the motivation for people to exist harmoniously). |
| These functional prerequisites can be used to explain the existence of what? | Institutions - each institution has certain roles and the existence of these roles result in society generally running smoothly. |
| 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? | As a 'value consensus'. |
| Although all societies share the same functional prerequisites, they do not static. Nonetheless, what happens to societies during periods of change, according to Parsons? | They maintain a degree of balance and can therefore continue to function effectively. |
| How do societies maintain said degree of balance? | If one part of the social structure begins to change, other parts adapt to fit around it. |
| How does Parsons refer to this process of adaption? | As a 'moving equilibrium'. |
| 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? | As 'pattern variables'. |
| 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? | Pattern variables A are characteristic of pre-modern society and pattern variables B are characteristic of modern society. |
| What are the elements of pattern variables A? | - Ascription (status is determined before birth). - Diffuseness (relationships are based on a large range of needs). - Particularism (individuals act differently towards different people). - Affectivity (gratification is immediate). - Collective orientation (the interests of social groups come before the interests of individuals). |
| What are the elements of pattern variables B? | - Achievement (status is achieved through hard work). - Specificity (relationships are based on specific needs). - Universalism (individuals act according to universal principles). - Affective neutrality (gratification is deferred). - Self-orientation (the interests of the individual come before the interests of social groups). |
| However, even today there is one institution in which we still witness pattern variables A. What is that institution? | The family. |
| As well as cultures changing as societies evolve, Parsons also believes they become more structurally complex. How does he refer to this process? | "Structural differentiation". |
| How have we seen structural differentiation in our society? | In pre-modern society, just two institutions (religion and the family) carried out most functions, but in modern society we now have specialist institutions. |
| Parsons' work has received some internal criticisms. Which fellow functionalist argued that Parsons' view of society was too uncritical? | Robert Merton. |
| Merton proposed two amendments to functionalist theory. What are they? | 1. Parsons assumed that if an institution is functional for one part of society, it is functional for all parts. Merton countered that some institutions can be both functional and dysfunctional. 2. Merton argued that Parsons failed to realise the difference between manifest functions and latent consequences. If there are to be included, any analysis of society will be far more complex than Parsons'. |
| Additionally, the functionalist approach has received several external criticisms. The majority of these are summarised by which sociologist? | Wes Sharrock et al. |
| According to Sharrock and many other perspectives, what does the functionalist overemphasise? | The extent to which a value consensus exists. |
| Parsons organise analogy has also been criticised. Why? | Parsons suggests that society is like an organism, but this isn't true. Organisms are biological entities with a natural form and a natural life cycle. The same cannot be said of societies. |
| It has also been stated that functionalists struggle to explain why institutions change even when they are functional. Discuss: | Functionalists argue that institutions exist to fulfil social needs. As such, once social needs are fulfilled, there is no need for institutions to change, and yet they do. |
| What do marxists criticise the functionalist approach of? | Failing to understand how power can play a part in shaping society. |
| Finally, why are interactionists critical of the Parsonian model of society? | The model implies that human beings are presented as passive puppets with no choice or free will. Interactionists argue that people are far more 'reflexive' than Parsons gives them credit for - he is too deterministic. |
| Although functionalism has been widely criticised, there are still some writers that develop upon the functionalist tradition. Name one neo-functionalist sociologist: | Nicos Mouzelis; Jeffery Alexander. |
| Neo-functionalists dispute criticisms of Parsons that suggest he isn't interested in how people act. What do they argue? | With some modification, Parsonian theory can allow for people be 'reflexive'. |
| 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? | He started by stating that the economic system of any society largely shapes its social structure. As such, the owners of the economic system (the ruling class) can control society and impose their values over other groups (the working class). |
| Marx suggested that history can be divided into five epochs, which are distinguished by ever more complex economic arrangements. What are the five epochs? | 1. Primitive communism. 2. Ancient society. 3. Feudalism. 4. Capitalism. 5. Communism. |
| 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 is the way a society organises economic production. |
| The mode of production has two subsections. What are they? | The forces of production and the relations of production. |
| What are the forces of production? | These are the means of production (the tools and equipment involved) and labour power (human knowledge and skills). |
| What are the relations of production? | These are the relationships between those who own the means of production and those who do not. |
| 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? | At this point, a new group arises with values and ideas that would allow the means of production to continue evolving. After a degree of conflict, this new group take control of the means of production and become the new owners. They reshape society and construct their own relations of production. This marks the beginning of a new epoch. |
| 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? | As the 'petite bourgeoisie'. |
| 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? | 'Proletarianisation'. |
| 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? | Ideology. |
| 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? | Because they are disseminated by 'legitimate' institutions (e.g. religion, education) and so most people accept them as gospel. |
| According to Marx, what are the majority of the population suffering from? | A ' false consciousness' - they don't realist that their interests lie in changing society, rather than allowing it to continue as is. |
| 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? | Over time, capitalism enters periods of crisis. These crises have a range of causes, one of which is pauperisation (making the poor even poorer). However, pauperisation will also make class divisions even more obvious, awakening the working class to the inequalities they suffer - in this way, they develop a class consciousness. |
| When the working class develop a class consciousness, what will happen? | The huge majority of relatively poor people will outnumber the small minority of very rich people and a radical social change will occur. This will result in our current epoch transforming into the final epoch - communism. |
| Marx's work has probably been subjected to more critical discussion and criticism than any other sociological theory. Why? | Because it is as much a political programme as a sociological theory. |
| 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? | Capitalism has grown stronger and, thanks to globalisation, has become almost worldwide. |
| 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? | The middle class, who are essentially the modern-day equivalent to the petite bourgeoisie. |
| What may be one explanation for Marx's erroneous predictions? | Capitalism as Marx knew it is very different to the capitalism we see today. As such, his predictions were relevant to the capitalism he experienced, which no longer exists. |
| Finally, why are feminists critical of the marxist model of society? | Because it only acknowledges one significant social division (class inequality) and fails to mention any others. Feminists argue that gender inequality is more important than class inequality, but other social divisions include age differences, sexuality differences, etc. |
| 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, Louis Althusser, and the Frankfurt School. |
| 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? | As a 'humanist marxist, because he placed less emphasis on economics and social structure and more on the choices of different classes. |
| In his 'Prison Notebooks', Gramsci argued that conventional marxism underestimated two things. What were they? | 1. The room for manoeuvre possessed by the state. 2. The ability of the proletariat to resist ruling-class power. |
| 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? | By making concessions to the proletariat. This may be, for example, through the introduction of welfare benefits. |
| Why is it important for the state to make concessions? | Because the proletariat have never been entirely convinced by ruling-class ideology - institutions may fall them to some extent, but their day-to-day experiences result in them being somewhat aware of the inequality they suffer. |
| 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? | A 'dual consciousness': they are partly influenced by ruling-class ideology but also aware of their injustice. As such, the bourgeoisie must never take the loyalty of the proletariat for granted. |
| Another influential neo-marxist approach was provided by Louis Althusser. According to him, what did Marx overemphasise? | How much the economic system drove society. |
| Althusser suggested that capitalist society consists of three interlocking elements. What are they? | 1. The economic system (this produces all material goods). 2. The political system (this organises society). 3. The ideological system (this provides all ideas and beliefs). |
| Which of these three elements has ultimate control, according to Althusser? | The economic system. |
| 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? | Politics and culture develop and change in response to many different forces, rather than solely in response to economic factors. This would mean that society is much more complex and contradictory than the traditional marxist model. |
| What term does Althusser use to describe this degree of freedom of politics and values? | 'Relative autonomy'. |
| For Althusser, the state was composed of which two elements? | 1. Repressive state apparatuses (e.g. the police and army). 2. Ideological state apparatuses (e.g. religion and education). |
| Both sets of apparatus work for the benefit of capitalism, but there is a huge variation in the way they perform this task. How? | Repressive state apparatuses maintain capitalism through the threat or use of force, while ideological state apparatuses maintain capitalism by disseminating capitalist ideology. |
| 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? | They argue that he overemphasises the role of structures and fails to acknowledge the relevance of human agency (free will). They disapprove of macro approaches and adopt 'bottom up' ways of thinking instead. |
| 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? | Herbert Marcuse, Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer. |
| How do Marcuse, Adorno and Horkheimer all describe Karl Marx? | As an 'economic determinist' - he believed society is mainly determined by the economic system. |
| 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? | 1. Instrumental reason. 2. Mass culture. 3. The oppression of personality. |
| What is meant by 'instrumental reason'? | Adorno argued that Marx failed to explore why people accept capitalism. While Marx does discuss a false consciousness, Adorno does not feel like this explanation is sufficient. |
| What is meant by 'mass culture'? | Marcuse argued that Marx ignored the importance of the media - the media arguably play a key role in controlling the population. |
| What is meant by 'the oppression of personality'? | Marx fails to acknowledge the way that individuals' personalities and desires are controlled by capitalism. The ruling class use individuals' desires to sell products. |
| 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? | It has become more complex and arguably less powerful in its explanation of how societies develop. |
| 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? | A social constructionist approach. |
| According to this type of approach, how do humans produce meanings which form the basis of their understanding of the social world? | Through language, communication and interaction. |
| According to social action theories, humans don't experience the world directly in an objective way. Rather, how do they experience it? | They actively create meanings and then apply these meanings to the world. |
| Nonetheless, how are aspects of the world that are actually social constructs seen? | As real, objective and, in some cases, natural. |
| Symbolic interactionism is one of the most influential social action theories. Which sociologist's writing provided the foundation for the perspective? | George Herbert Mead. |
| Which sociologist helped apply Mead's writing to sociological issues? | Herbert Blumer. |
| Both functionalism and marxism suggest that people are little more than passive puppets. Conversely, how does symbolic interactionism see people? | As actively working at relationships and creating and responding to symbols and ideas. |
| The theory of interactionism has four core ideas. What are they? | 1. The symbol. 2. The self. 3. Role-taking and game-playing. 4. The interaction. |
| What is meant by 'the symbol'? | The world around us consists of millions of unique objects and people. Life would be impossible if every single one of these had a unique name and meaning. As such, we group these things under categories, with each category receiving one name and meaning, otherwise known as a 'symbol'. Symbols then provoke individuals to respond as they see fit. |
| What is meant by 'the self'? | For people to respond to symbols, they need to know who they are within the world of symbols. This involves seeing ourselves through the eyes of another person. |
| George Herbert Mead distinguished between two aspects of the self. What were they? | The 'I' (how we see ourselves as a whole) and the 'me' (how we see ourselves in a particular role). |
| 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'? | Charles Cooley. |
| How does Howard Becker illustrate the process? | Through the use of the self-fulfilling prophecy. |
| What is meant by 'role-taking and game-playing'? | Mead emphasises the importance of role-taking: we imagine ourselves as another and use this to understand their behaviour and identify an appropriate response. Blumer argues that we learn to do this in childhood, particularly through game-playing. |
| Finally, what is meant by 'the interaction'? | Everyone must learn to take the viewpoint of others into account when choosing how to act. Only then can they know how to interact with them. This is extremely complex, however, as it involves reading the meaning of the situation from the viewpoint of the other correctly. |
| Erving Goffman was extremely influenced by symbolic interactionism. What approach did he create as a result? | The dramaturgical approach. |
| 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? | The social world can be analysed as if it were a giant drama, while the people within it can be seen as 'actors'. Interactions are merely these so-called actors following a loosely scripted play. |
| Interactionism provides a rich insight into ho people interact in small-scale situations. However, as a theory, it is rather limited. Why? | Because it is as much psychological as it is sociological. |
| What is the main weakness of interactionism? | It fails to explore the wider social factors that create the context in which the symbol, self, role-taking and game-playing and interaction all exist and what social implications this may have. As such, it has no explanation of where symbolic meanings actually come from. |
| Why do the likes of marxists and feminists criticise interactionism? | It completely fails to explore power differences between groups and individuals and why these differences exist. |
| Which sociologist answered some of these criticisms? | Howard Becker. |
| Becker's labelling theory developed out of symbolic interactionism. How does it answer some of the criticisms of interactionism? | It focuses on explaining why some people are 'labelled' and how this impacts both the way they are treated by others and their perception of themselves. Additionally, he addresses power differences in this process. |
| The methodology of interactionism has also been criticised. Why? | The approach uses methods that rely on the subjective interpretation of the researcher (e.g. unstructured interviews). They therefore lack reliability because they can't be replicated. Additionally, they are often based on small, unrepresentative samples, meaning generalisations can't be made from the findings. |
| 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? | Phenomenology. |
| Whose work does phenomenology originate from? | Edward Husserl. |
| Phenomenology argues that all information about the social world is the product of what? | The human mind. |
| 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? | The meanings that people give to the world by categorising it in different ways. |
| To make sense of the chaotic world around them, how do individuals organise the world around them? | Into 'phenomena'. These are things that are held to have shared characteristics (e.g. the phenomena 'dog' includes spaniels, labradors, etc). |
| 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? | To understand the essence of phenomena - the characteristics that lead to something being placed in a particular category. |
| Whose work on suicide is a good example of phenomenology? | Maxwell Atkinson. |
| What did Atkinson argue about deaths that were ruled a suicide? | He argued it is impossible to be sure in potential suicide cases whether individuals truly wanted to take their own lives, or whether the deaths were the result of something else. Because of this, sociologists had no foundation upon which to build theories of suicide. Instead, all they could do is look at the characteristics of the death that led to the coroner deeming it a suicide. |
| Phenomenologists have been criticised for producing a 'relativist' theory. What is meant by this? | They claim that literally everything is a matter of opinion - all knowledge is just a product of the way in which people classify the world. Logically, though, this can also be applied to their own work, making their theory redundant. |
| Like interactionism, the methodology of phenomenology has been criticised. Why? | Because it is based on personal interpretations and doesn't involve quantitative methods. |
| 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? | Anthony Giddens. |
| In combining the words 'structure' and 'action', what portmanteau does Giddens create? | 'Structuration'. |
| What does the term 'structuration' refer to? | The relationship between structure and action - that is, that they are two sides of the same coin and cannot be examined in isolation. |
| 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? | As the 'duality of structure'. |
| How does this duality of structure apply to societal structures and institutions? | Societal structures and institutions shape people's actions, but they are also reproduced through people's actions. |
| According to Margaret Archer, what does Giddens put too much emphasis on? | People's ability to change society by acting differently - he arguably underestimates the constraints under which people operate. |
| How do supporters of more structural approaches criticise Giddens? | They argue that it is more difficult than Giddens suggests to change society simply by changing behaviour. |
Want to create your own Flashcards for free with GoConqr? Learn more.