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Sociological Perspectives Of Symbolic Interactionism, And Conflict Theory

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Sociologists, during their studies, use three major sociological perspectives called symbolic interactionism, functionalism, and conflict theory. These theories/perspectives provide information for different contexts; however, they share the same purpose of gaining a better insight into our society. When looking at symbolic interactionism, the theory focuses on social interactions between individuals; hence, this perspective is useful at a micro level. This theory tries to understand an individual's subjective insights and understandings of the world. When we move to functionalism, we can see that it is a social perspective that sees society as a system with parts working together to remain functional. They wish to emphasize that society's purpose is to serve people on an individual and mass level; hence, it is a macro-level perspective. Lastly, conflict theory is a perspective that sees society as a system with inequality, focused on the dominant group without acknowledging the struggles of the minorities. This would also be a theory or perspective that focuses on the macro level. …show more content…

For starters, all three of these perspectives aim to help map out and create coherent ideas from the orderly chaos that is our society. They focus on how society is structured, the importance of institutions, how it processes new information, values relationships, and values culture. However, the main differences lie in how these theories are utilized. We can understand functionalism, which focuses on how society is not one coherent entity but smaller parts, and realize that it differs from conflict theory because it highlights the struggles of minorities. One aspect sees issues, while the other perspective tries to simplify society. The differences go even further when we compare symbolic interactionism, which focuses on individuals rather than the masses of

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Finally, the three sociological perspectives can be seen. Functionalist can be observed in the way

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All individuals have certain social roles that when working together, form society, this allows for there to be inequality amongst individuals. Functionalism also says that social order is maintained through public consensus. So, the adjustments that the public makes in response to deviant behavior, allow for change within this theory. About Mean Girls, functionalist would view all the different groups in this movie as necessary to the functionality of high school. There are many different groups in the movie, for example the lunchroom scene shows us these separate groups.

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Conflict Theory American society today is made up of all three of the theories. In my opinion, these theories all thrive off each other as a whole. I feel that the chain is something like this, Symbolic Interactionism, as well as Functionalism, lead into Conflict Theory. However, I feel that Conflict Theory is by far the largest component American society is made from, here is why! First I would like to touch on Symbolic Interactionism, symbols we attach value or meaning.

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In sociology, there are three theoretical perspectives; symbolic interactionism, functional analysis and conflict theory. The major point of symbolic interactionism is to use symbols to help understand how we as a society view the world, and how we communicate with one another. In functional analysis, the major point is to look at society as a whole, constructed of various parts, or groups, that all have their own function. Lastly, conflict theory is the opposite of functional analysis. In this perspective, society is viewed as different groups, each competing for power, or dominance.

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Functionalism and The Bee Movie Amari Wilburn-Jones Introduction to Sociology February 16,2018 In the field of Sociology sociologist often view society from three major theoretical perspectives: symbolic interactionism, functional analysis, and conflict theory. Each theories/perspective is a way to view how parts of the world fit together and work. In this paper I will be analyzing The Bee Movie from the functional analysis perspective to see how the actions of people within a society can help or hinder the society as a whole.

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Most fields of science rely on theories to explain centrally important issues, such as social phenomena, that have a wide range of applications. Sociologists attempt to describe human society though their theories, such as the structural-functionalism theory, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionalism. While the three theories attempt to describe how society functions the way it does, all three differ in their views of how humans are related to society and each other. In the structural-functionalism, the dominant view is that if the structures that exist are functional, then those structures should be preserved and maintained. Structure-functionalists tend focus on the interrelatedness to the social structures that make up society.

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The conflict theory is a macro-level theory where theorists look at the unequal distribution of resources such as money, power, education, and social prestige. Those who are wealthier and more educated than others in the society hold more power over those who are not wealthy or as educated. Conflict theorists see this a lot in the educational system, where inequality is shown through the materials in the school, teachers in the classrooms, and topics being taught. This type of inequality leads to learning differences that emphasizes social inequalities. Macro-level sociology is looking at the bigger picture of the social process, such as stability and change throughout society.

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Structural Functional Theory Structural functional theory is a macro sociological theory that is based on the characteristics of structures, social patterns, social systems and institutions such as education, religion, leisure, media, economy and politics. If all these social institutions are organized and co-operate with one another around a set of core values functionalist theorists assume that the entire social system will function properly and efficiently. Society in structural functional theory has a view that it is an organized system of interrelated parts that are held together by shared values and established social arrangements that help maintain the system to be in a state of balance and equilibrium. Structural functional theory is a broad perspective in sociology and anthropology which sets out to interpret society as a structure with interrelated parts. Functionalism addresses society as a whole in terms of the function of its constituent elements; namely norms, customs, traditions and institutions (Vibha Desai, 2013).

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While conflict theory believes that society is set into place, and will vary depending on the wealth and power of the people involved (Dottin). In conflict theory, there is a constant struggle between those who have, and those who have not. Society is ran by those who have money and power, and because of this there will always be inequality, and no one will ever be at peace or harmony. Functionalism is the study of society as a functioning system.

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