Republic of The Philippines University of Antique Sibalom, Antique Graduate School Remy C. Abong MA-Ed Social Studies March 29, 2014
Republic of The Philippines University of Antique Sibalom, Antique Graduate School Remy C. Abong MA-Ed Social Studies March 29, 2014
Republic of The Philippines University of Antique Sibalom, Antique Graduate School Remy C. Abong MA-Ed Social Studies March 29, 2014
University of Antique
Sibalom, Antique
Graduate School
1. Functionalist Perspective
A. In the functionalist perspective, societies are thought to function like organisms, with
various social institutions working together like organs to maintain and reproduce societies.
According to functionalist theories, institutions come about and persist because they play a
function in society, promoting stability and integration. Functionalism has been criticized for
its failure to account for social change and individual agency; some consider it conservatively
biased. Functionalism has been criticized for attributing human-like needs to society. Emile
Durkheim's work is considered the foundation of functionalist theory in sociology.
Conflict Perspective
Conflict theory sees society as a dynamic entity constantly undergoing change as a result
of competition over scarce resources. Conflict theory sees social life as a competition, and
focuses on the distribution of resources, power, and inequality. Unlike functionalist theory,
conflict theory is better at explaining social change, and weaker at explaining social stability.
Conflict theory has been critiqued for its inability to explain social stability and incremental
change. Conflict theory derives from the ideas of Karl Marx.
Functionalist
"Status groups" can be based on a person's characteristics such as race, ethnicity, sexual
orientation, religion, caste, region, occupation, physical attractiveness, gender, education, age,
etc. They are defined as "a subculture having a rather specific rank (or status) within the
stratification system. That is, societies tend to include a hierarchy of status groups, some
enjoying high ranking and some low." One example of this hierarchy is the prestige of a school
teacher compared to that of a garbage man. A certain lifestyle usually distinguishes the
members of different status groups. For example, around the holidays a Jewish family may
celebrate Hanukkah while a Christian family may celebrate Christmas. Other cultural
differences such as language and cultural rituals identify members of different status groups.
Conflict Perspective
Conflict theories are perspectives in sociology that emphasize the social, political, or
material inequality of a social group, that critique the broad socio-political system, or that
otherwise detract from structural functionalism and ideological conservativism. Conflict
theories draw attention to power differentials, such as class conflict, and generally contrast
historically dominant ideologies. It is therefore a macro level analysis of society. Karl Marx is the
father of the social conflict theory, which is a component of the 4 paradigms of sociology.
Certain conflict theories set out to highlight the ideological aspects inherent in traditional
thought. Whilst many of these perspectives hold parallels, conflict theory does not refer to a
unified school of thought, and should not be confused with, for instance, peace and conflict
studies, or any other specific theory of social conflict.
Functionalist perspective
2. Does language "shape" our behavior, How or in what ways, Are we a "prisoner" of our
culture, In what ways are we imprisoned by our culture, Is our perception our reality, Does
culture affect our perception of the world, we are a product of our culture. Not so much a
prisoner, Not really a prisoner because you can break away from it anytime, Yes, language
definitely shapes behavior here is a way in which that happens for example: in countries where
some of the language address the elders with respect, you see that they are more respectful,
but in a country where you use the same phrase to address a child and an old man. The respect
is thin. Unless the parents take extra care to bring up their children well Prisoner to our
culture : we all arent. But some are. (or you could say they are guided by) In such a way that
some people feel the need to do whatever it is that the society (famed/popular) dictates to
belong. Not that it is bad, but you'll find that some of these people can't live without knowing
the newest development in town Indeed, the way you perceive thing are or would be your
reality, And culture definitely affects our perception of the world. You need to question two
people from quite different cultures, and you'll see how the perception has been shaped as
they. But as we grow older and more socially aware, that connection to our society becomes
stronger and gains influence on our actions and ideals. Some repell them, others completely
adopt them - but they always influence us. Either way, we were constrained by them in the
first place - and our actions are modeled relative to them. Can anyone ever truely escape this
regime, or are we all in some way constrained and influenced by our birthright society's ideals
and behavior?
3. There are many statuses and roles that people take on throughout life which guide their
behaviors. These include status, ascribed status, achieved status, master status, role, role
conflict, and role strain. Status is simply "a social position that a person holds." The term
typically implies prestige. Examples of a status would be a son, father, brother, male,
subordinate, etc. It defines our relationships with those around us. Clearly, people can and do
have many statuses, and all of an individual's statuses together are referred to as a status set.
An ascribed status is "a social position a person receives at birth or takes on involuntarily later
in life". It is a status all the same, but is specifically one that nobody has control of. Being a son
or daughter, for example, is a status assigned to everyone at birth without their choosing. Being
a senior citizen is also an ascribed status, but one that happens later in life for those who live to
see it; it is clearly involuntary (I don't think anybody actually wants to get old). Other examples
would be being American, a male or female, a blonde, possible sexual orientation, etc. In
contrast with an ascribed status, an achieved status is "a social position a person takes on
voluntarily that reflects personal ability and effort". If a person chooses to attend college for
computer programming and takes on a job in that field, their status as a programmer is an
achieved status. Other examples of achieved status include being a criminal, getting married (in
some cultures), Nobel prize winner, etc. The achieved status is voluntary, however, it is effected
by ascribed statuses. A person ascribed as a male would find it easier to become a professional
football player, and a person born into a well off family is more likely to achieve a higher
profession, such as a doctor. Because people tend to have many different statuses and
therefore, many different roles, conflict often occurs among the various roles. The concept of
role conflict is "conflict among the roles connected to two or more statuses". A good example
of role conflict lies in the working mother; she must take on the responsibilities of mothering
the children at home while taking on the responsibilities of working outside the home, away
from the children, in order to earn an income. This conflict involves roles which arise from
separate statuses, but the same sort of conflict can occur from the roles of a single status. Role
strain, then, is "tension among the roles connected to a single status". A teacher, for example,
can be friendly with his or her students, but must remain objective in grading them.