A 3 - major approaches - structural functionalism.pptx

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1. Approaches in Social Sciences 1. Structural-Functionalism 2. Marxism 3. Symbolic Interactionism 4. Psychoanalysis 5. Rational Choice 6. Institutionalism 7. Feminist Theory 8. Hermeneutical Phenomenology 9. Human-Environment Systems

2. Structural Functionalism

3. Objectives At the end of the lesson, you are expected to: Understand the concept of Structural-Functionalism Identify the early functionalists Determine the manifest and latent functions and dysfunctions of sociocultural phenomena

4. What is Structural Functionalism?

5. Structural- Functionalism Focus: The organization of society and the relationships between broad social units, such as Institutions. The group is the unit of analysis. A group could be a crowd of people in a movie theater, or the members of a family sitting around the dinner table, what some call “small groups” Abstraction:

6. An institution is an established organization, practice, or custom that plays a significant role in a society. It can refer to various entities, including: Organizations : This could be educational institutions, governmental bodies, religious groups, or financial entities. Social Practices : Institutions also include social norms and systems, such as marriage, the legal system, or the healthcare system. Cultural Norms : Institutions can refer to long-standing traditions or practices that are integral to a society's way of life, like rites of passage or traditional ceremonies.

7. Structural -Functionalism Corporations, factories, university systems, and even communities are groups too. Structural Functional Theory (SFT) allows for major institutions, such as economy, religion, polity, education and family to be considered groups

8. Structural Functionalism The Functionalists Perspectives A perspective is simply a way of looking at the world. A theory is a set of interrelated propositions or principles designed to answer a question or explain a particular phenomenon; it provides us with a perspective

9. Structural Relating to the way something is built or organized .

10. Functionalism A theory that stresses the interdependence of the patterns and institutions of a society and their interaction in maintaining cultural and social unity.

11. Structural Functionalism Functionalism , also called structural-functional theory, sees society as a structure with interrelated parts designed to meet the biological and social needs of the individuals in that society.

12. Structural Functionalism *It is a sociological theory that attempts to explain why society functions the way it does by focusing on relationships between various social institutions that make up society.

13. Structural-Functionalism Sociological theories - help us to explain and predict the social world in which we live in. The Functionalists Perspectives The Functionalists Perspectives is based largely on the works of Herbert Spencer, Emile Durkheim, Talcott Parsons, and Robert Merton. According to Functionalism, society is a system of interconnected parts that work together in harmony to maintain a state of balance and social equilibrium for the whole .

14. Structural Functionalism The Functionalists Perspectives For example: Each of the social institutions contributes important functions for society: family provides a context for reproducing, nurturing, and socializing children. Education offers a way to transmit a society’s skills, knowledge, and culture to its youth. Politics provides a means of governing members of society. Economics provides for the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. And religion provides moral guidance and an outlet for worship of a higher power.

15. Structural -Functionalism The Functionalists Perspectives The Functionalists perspectives emphasizes the interconnectedness of society by focusing on how each part influences and is influenced by other parts. For example: The increase in single parent and dual-earner families has contributed to the number of children who are failing in school because parents have become less available to supervise their children’s homework.

16. Structural-Functionalism The Functionalists Perspectives For example: As a result of changes in technology, colleges are offering more technical programs, and many adults are returning to school to learn new skills that are required in the workplace. The increasing number of women in the workforce has contributed to the formulation of policies against sexual harassment and job discrimination.

17. Structural Functionalism Functionalists use the terms functional and dysfunctional to describe the effects of social elements on society. Elements of society are functional if they contribute to social stability. They are dysfunctional if they disrupt social stability.

18. Structural Functionalism Some aspects of society can be both functional and dysfunctional. For example, crime is dysfunctional in that it is associated with physical violence, loss of property, and fear. But according to Durkheim and other functionalists, crime is also functional for society because it leads to heightened awareness of shared moral bonds and increased social cohesion.

19. Structural Functionalism Sociologists have identified two types of functions: A. Manifest functions are consequences that are intended and commonly recognized. B. Latent functions are consequences that are unintended and often hidden.

20. Structural Functionalism For example: The manifest function of education is to transmit knowledge and skills to society’s youth. But public elementary schools also serve as babysitters for employed parents, and colleges offer a place for young adults to meet potential mates. The baby-sitting and mate-selection functions are not the intended or commonly recognized functions of education; hence they are latent functions

21. Structural-Functionalism The organization of society and the relationships between broad social units, such as Institutions. The  group  is the unit of analysis.  A group could be a crowd of people in a movie theater, or the members of a family sitting around the dinner table, what some call “small groups” Corporations, factories, university systems, and even communities are groups too.   Structural-Functional Theory (SFT)  allows for major institutions, such as economy, religion, politics, education, and family to be considered as groups.  

22. Structural-Functionalism   Background and History The early functionalists were anthropologists (i.e., Levi- Strauss, Radcliff-Brown, Malinowski, and others). Claude Levi-Strauss Alfred Radcliffe-Brown Bronislaw Malinowski They were seminal ((of a work, event, moment, or figure) strongly influencing later developments)thinkers of the middle 1800s who made direct observations of primitive cultures, theorizing about the organization of these folk in relation to Western society. Their theories were often quite simple and required only a few assumptions. The point they were making was this: Individual and group behavior, more often than not, serves a FUNCTION for the larger society.

23. Who are the proponents of this theory?

24. Theorists Responsible * Auguste Comte *Herbert Spencer * Talcott Parsons *Robert Merton *Gabriel Almond and Bingham Powell *Kingsley Davis and Wilbert E. Moore

25. Key Ideas Behind the Theory

26. Key Ideas 1. Systems have a property of order and interdependent parts. 2. Systems tend towards self-maintaining order or equilibrium. 3. The system may be static or involved in an ordered process of change.

27. Key Ideas 4. The nature of one part of the system has an impact on the form that other parts take. 5. Systems maintain boundaries within their environments.

28. Key Ideas 6. Allocation and integration are two fundamental processes necessary for a given state of equilibrium within a system. 7. Systems tend towards self-maintenance involving control of boundaries and relationships of parts to the whole, control of the environment and control of tendencies to change the system from within.

29. Key Assumptions about the Theory

30. Key Assumptions * Societies and social units have order and interdependent parts like a biological organism held together by cooperation and orderliness. * Societies and social units work toward the natural or smooth working of the system, ie towards equilibrium.

31. Key Assumptions * Societies and social units, just as natural(external) environments, are separate or distinct but adapt to each other-if one or more parts conflict with others, others must adapt.

32. Criticisms about the Theory

33. Criticisms * In the 1960s, functionalism was criticized for being unable to account for social change, or for structural contradictions and conflict. * It ignores inequalities including race, gender, class, which causes tension and conflict.

34. How these institutions create balance in the society. Concept map