SOCA01H3 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Antonio Gramsci, Symbolic Interactionism, Talcott Parsons
Document Summary
Functionalism: stresses that human behaviour is governed by relatively stable social structures. In underlines how social structures maintain or undermine social stability , emphasizes that social structures are based mainly on shared values or preferences, and suggests that re-establishing equilibrium can best solve most social problems. Example of this theory is durkheim"s theory of suicide. This theory incorporates these features: they stress the relatively stable patterns of social relations or social structures govern human relations. Example: durkheim emphasizes how patterns of social solidarity influence suicide rates. Functionalists analyze macrostructures: theories show how social structures maintain or undermine social stability. This theory dominated north america (1930-1960) during great depression as people focused on the restoration of social equilibrium. Talcott parsons said that society is at equilibrium if everyone is doing their job while robert merton said that social structures may have different consequence for different groups of people which may be dysfunctional.
