Functionalism relies upon
Social institutions to
Functionalism
Key Functionalists include: Emile
Durkheim, Talcott Parsons and Robert K
Merton
Functionalism is one of the ‘grand
narratives’ of society and the
oldest attempt to understand how
society might influence social
behaviours
They suggest that society is
structured through norms and
values that people are socialised
into. This help to develop a value
consensus, or shared agreement
on the rules of society.
perform primary or
secondary socialisation in
order to allow the next
generation of society to
learn the value consensus
Functionalists also suggest
that these institutions
provide members with
functional pre-requisites,
the basic needs of society,
such as food and shelter
Functionalists suggest that
society operates in a similar
manner to the human body
with each organ or
institution performing vital
functions.
 Marxism is
The Bourgeoisie
based upon the
owned the
ideas of Karl
means of
Marx. It is a Economic Base – Superstructure –
production
structural those that control cultural, social and
(factories and
theory that the wealth of political structure
machinery) society have power of society –
looks at the
which made to shape the government,
conflict
them the superstructure education, legal
between social system – these
dominant class
Marxism

classes reinforce interests

of wealthy
Marx suggested The Proletariat
that the only have their
R/C infrastructure of ability to work.
society was This allows the
divided into two Bourgeoisie to
classes – the exploit them as
Bourgeoisie or they need to As the Bourgeoisie control wealth they are able
Working Class ruling class and work to survive to control other institutions. This leads to false
the Proletariat or in a capitalist class consciousness, as the Proletariat are
Working class society taught that the reason they are poor is because
they are less able or don’t work hard enough.
Marx argued that when the workers realised this
Marxists are critical of the organisation of capitalist society. They exploitation, they would revolt and create a
believe that the ruling class have a distinct ideology that looks to communist society.
control the working classes in society. They do this in several ways.
 Harriet Martineau is Feminism is a movement to achieve the
often credited as being political, social and economic equality of the
one of the first female sexes. There are various branches of
sociologists. Others Feminism and there have been different
include Sylvia Walby waves of Feminism throughout history.
and Anne Oakley

Feminism is a conflict First wave Feminism was concerned with

Feminism

theory that suggests women gaining political equality with men

there is a conflict and culminated in the Suffragette and
between males and Suffragist movements of the early 1900s and
females as society is led to women being given equal rights to vote
patriarchal – i.e. it is
Second wave Feminism was concerned with
male dominated
women gaining social and economic equality,
challenging gender stereotypes and unfair
They suggest working practices – this led to legal reforms
women are such as Equal Pay and Sexual Discrimination
controlled by males laws in the 1970s
in all spheres of life:
family, education, Third wave Feminism was concerned with
work, law, media tackling the inequalities that women faced
and religion everyday and also the differences between
women’s experiences. This movement dealt
more with the intersectionality of gender
and class, ethnicity, sexuality and (dis)ability
 Key Theorist: Charles One of the key problems for the New
Murray – New Right is Right is the decline of the Nuclear
less of a sociological Family. Increases in single parent and
approach and more of cohabitation are worrying trends for
a political ideology the New Right as they see marriage
as being a cornerstone of stability in
society. The New Right adopt some
Key ideas of New Right functionalist ideas, such as the
New Right

are based upon Neo- importance of family as providing the

conservative social basic needs of society rather than the
policies and Neo- state. In single parent families, they
liberal economic argue, there is a lack of adequate
policy. This included: socialisation, particularly of males
- Free Market and a need for the state to financially
Economics support single mothers.
- Reduced State
Intervention
- Individual Another key issue is that of
Responsibility Marketisation. New Right thinkers
- Traditional Values believe that education, healthcare and
other institutions can only be run
The New Right believe that permissive social policies of the 1960s efficiently if they are owned by private
and 70s led to a culture of dependency and a culture of poverty, businesses, promoting competition and
with Murray in particular suggesting that an underclass of idle giving people choice over education
young men is destabilising society and healthcare.
 Becker suggested that people are labelled by
others and that these labels are internalised by
individuals and become part of a self-fulfilling
prophecy, one that becomes true because the
person labelled believes it.
Interactionism
In society, often people are given a master
status because of a certain aspect of their
lives. This master status, such as a thief or
Key interactionist sociologists include: criminal, then over-rides all other
G.H. Mead, Erving Goffman and Howard characteristics of that person, so we see the
Becker label not the person behind it.

Goffman suggested that individuals are like actors

on a stage, taking on different roles in different
social contexts. This was referred to as the
Dramaturgical Model, and suggest we have
different behaviours in different social contexts
and around different people.

Unlike structural theories, Interactionists look at the use of symbols,

Interactionism is concerned with social language and gestures and argue that we
action and how individuals interpret learn these in order to negotiate living in
their interactions with others in society. wider society so we can understand what is
It looks at the self rather than society expected of us in a certain situation.