Chapter 1 Review Assignment

a. Theory is a general statement about how some parts of the world fit together and how they work; it is an explanation of how two or more “facts” are related to one another. Sociologists use three different theoretical perspectives to understand social behavior.

b. Symbolic interactionism views symbols, things to which we attach meaning, as the key to understanding how we view the world and communicate with one another.

i. Through the use of symbols, people are able to define relationships to others; to coordinate actions with others, thereby making social life possible; and to develop a sense of themselves.

ii. A symbolic interactionist studying divorce would focus on how the changing meanings of marriage, divorce, parenthood, and love have all contributed to the increase in the rate of divorce in U.S. society

c. The central idea of functional analysis is that society is a whole unit, made up of interrelated parts that work together.

i. To understand society, we must look at both structure (how the parts of society fit together to make up the whole) and function (how each part contributes to society).

ii. Robert Merton used the term function to refer to the beneficial consequences of people’s actions to keep a group in balance, and dysfunction to refer to consequences that undermine stability.

iii. Functions can be either manifest (actions that are intended) or latent (unintended consequences).

iv. In trying to explain divorce, a functionalist would look at how industrialization and urbanization have undermined the traditional functions of family.

d. According to conflict theory, society is composed of groups competing for scarce resources.

i. Karl Marx focused on struggles between the bourgeoisie (the small group of capitalists who own the means of production) and the proletariat (the masses of workers exploited by the capitalists).

ii. Contemporary conflict theorists have expanded this perspective to include conflict in all relations of power and authority.

iii. Just as Marx examined conflict between capitalists and workers, many feminists stress a similar conflict between men and women.

iv. A conflict theorist would explain that divorce is seen as the outcome of the shifting balance of power within a family; as women have gained power and try to address inequalities in their relationships, men resist.

e. The perspectives differ in their level of analysis. Functionalists and conflict theorists provide macro-level analysis because they examine the large-scale patterns of society. Symbolic interactionists carry out micro-level analysis because they focus on the small-scale patterns of social life.