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AS Levels > Sociology - Sociological Theory > Flashcards

Sociology - Sociological Theory Flashcards

1
Q

What is sociological theory?

A

a set of ideas that provides an explanation for how society works and why it operates the way it does

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2
Q

What are the 6 consistent institutions in society?

A

family, education, law, media, religion, work

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3
Q

What is a social policy?

A

government policies, actions, programmes or initiatives that are intended to change society and improve social problems

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4
Q

Who was Anthony Giddens?

A

a famous British sociologist

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5
Q

What did Anthony Giddens argue is the point of sociology?

A
  • to understand how society works
  • to understand different cultures
  • to help people understand themselves and their own thinking
  • to assess whether governments are successful or not
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6
Q

What is ideology?

A

sets of beliefs and ideas that theorists have about society

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7
Q

What are the six sociological theories?

A

Functionalism, Marxism, Feminism, Interactionism, Postmodernism, The New Right

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8
Q

What is the link between social theory and social policy?

A

Society → Observed by sociologist → Sociologist creates theory → Social researchers collect evidence for theory → Research influences policy decisions

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9
Q

What are the main ideas of functionalism?

A
  • functionalism sees the parts of society as components of a cohesive whole - all the institutions, structures, and people that make up a society perform important roles - they are interdependent on each other
  • it argues that society is a stable, harmonious, and integrated system with social order and cohesion maintained through consensus
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10
Q

What did Auguste Comte believe?

A
  • he had functionalist ideas
  • he believed you could understand how society functions by comparing it with the functioning of the human body
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11
Q

How can functionalist ideas be compared to the human body?

A
  • all organs in the body have specific individual functions but work together to maintain life and good health
  • if all systems (organs) in society are functioning in harmony, it will remain healthy
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12
Q

What do functionalists believe about socialisation?

A
  • socialisation is the process that creates a value consensus and therefore social solidarity
  • functionalists believe that socialisation is really important and children should be socialised properly to become functioning adults
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13
Q

What are the two types of socialisation?

A

primary and secondary

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14
Q

What is primary socialisation?

A

the process by which an individual learns the basic values, norms and behaviours that are expected of them by their society

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15
Q

Who is involved in primary socialisation?

A

family

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16
Q

What is secondary socialisation?

A

the process by which an individual learns the basic values, norms and behaviours that are expected outside the main agency of their family

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17
Q

Who/what is involved in secondary socialisation?

A

education (teachers), peers/friends, media, religion

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18
Q

Who are the three main functionalist thinkers?

A

Emile DURKHEIM, Talcott PARSONS, Robert MERTON

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19
Q

Who was Durkheim?

A

identified religion in traditional societies and education in modern societies as key institutions

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20
Q

Who was Parsons?

A

believed that social systems develop as they do because they are functional or beneficial to society

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21
Q

Who was Merton?

A

claimed that we learn our goals and the rules of behaviour from our society

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22
Q

What are some examples of functionalism in practice?

A
  • family and socialisation
  • education and transmission of culture
  • legal and political systems and social control
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23
Q

What are the weaknesses of functionalism?

A
  • doesn’t allow for positive change - no room for improvement
  • outdated - isn’t really relevant to our modern, diverse society
  • too optimistic
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24
Q

What does ‘left-wing’ mean? [left-right political spectrum]

A

places emphasis on ideas such as freedom, equality, fraternity, rights, progress, reform and internationalism

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25
Q

What does ‘right-wing’ mean? [left-right political spectrum]

A

places emphasis on notions such as authority, hierarchy, order, duty, tradition, reaction and nationalism

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26
Q

Which side/wing of the political spectrum is functionalism associated with?

A

right wing

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27
Q

In Marxism, what is the ruling class known as?

A

bourgeoisie

28
Q

In Marxism, what is the working class known as?

A

proletariat

29
Q

What are the main ideas of Marxism?

A
  • it is a conflict theory as it says that society is in conflict (between the rich and the poor)
  • bourgeoisie vs. proletariat
  • we live in a capitalist society
30
Q

What is capitalism in Marxism?

A

poorer people (working class/proletariat) are employed by the rich people or the government (ruling class, bourgeoisie) for a wage to make products which are sold to consumers for more than they are made, resulting in a surplus of money and profit for business people

31
Q

What did Marx predict?

A

Marx predicted that there would come a time when the working class wouldn’t take this from the capitalist system anymore, and a revolution would overthrow the ruling class

32
Q

What did Marx want in society?

A

Marx wanted a communist society - where everything is owned and controlled by the people collectively

33
Q

What are the weaknesses of Marxism?

A

Marx only focused on the equality of social class and ignored other issues of inequality like gender, race etc

34
Q

Which side/wing of the political spectrum is Marxism associated with?

A

left wing

35
Q

Who is a key Marxist thinker (other than Karl Marx!)?

A

Louis ALTHUSSER

36
Q

Who was Louis Althusser?

A

Althusser was a Marxist who believed that institutions in society, such as the police, were designed to control through oppression of workers

37
Q

What are some examples of Marxism in practice?

A
  • NHS - equal access to free healthcare (although there’s also private healthcare - bourgeoisie)
  • trade unions - improve the conditions of employment like equal pay
  • employee rights - fair working hours
  • welfare states - benefits
  • protests
  • votes
  • Marxists are on the left wing - more in support of the Labour party
38
Q

What are the main ideas of feminism?

A
  • women suffer the injustices in society because of their gender
  • women need to fight for their rights and free themselves from patriarchy (male dominance)
39
Q

What is some evidence of the existence of patriarchy in society?

A
  • patriarchy exists in the family, workplace, government and throughout society
  • the family is an institute that benefits men
  • women are vulnerable because of childbirth and men exploit this fact and reinforce dependency
40
Q

What are the four different types of feminists?

A

Liberal, Marxist, Radical, Difference

41
Q

What do Liberal Feminists believe?

A

believe in equality for all e.g. supportive of policies that benefit men as well, like paternity leave

42
Q

What do Marxist Feminists believe?

A

hold Marxist ideas on class as well as gender inequality - ‘double disadvantage’

43
Q

What do Radical Feminists believe?

A

they are extremists - many of them hate men and only have relationships with women

44
Q

What do Difference Feminists believe?

A

they see other inequalities too, e.g. ethnicity, age, disability

45
Q

Who are two key feminist thinkers?

A

Sue Sharpe and Germaine Greer

46
Q

Who is Sue Sharpe?

A

she studied the attitudes of working class girls and compared them - in 1970, they were concerned about love and marriage; in 1990, similar girls were concerned with financial independence

47
Q

Who is Germaine Greer?

A

she argues that girls are socialised into traditional ideas of femininity that limit their options and create powerlessness, e.g. children’s toys

48
Q

What are some examples of feminism in practice in the family?

A
  • women go to work and contribute more financially
  • women have more say in family matters
  • more common stay-at-home dads (less stigma)
49
Q

What are some examples of feminism in practice in the workplace?

A
  • less sexism
  • paternity leave
  • women have a better chance of promotion
50
Q

What are some examples of feminism in practice in education?

A
  • girls are treated more equally in schools
  • girls are out-achieving boys
51
Q

What are some examples of feminism in practice in terms of pay?

A

Equal Pay Act (1970)

52
Q

What are some examples of feminism in practice in social policy?

A
  • maternity/paternity leave
  • family tax credits
53
Q

What are the main ideas of interactionism?

A
  • based on the idea that individuals create meaning based on their interactions with others (labels and associations)
54
Q

What is symbolic interactionism?

A
  • a theory that focuses on how individuals interact
  • argues that people’s actions are based on the meanings they assign to things, which can differ depending on the person and can change over time
55
Q

Who is a key interactionist thinker?

A

Erving Goffman

56
Q

What did Erving Goffman believe?

A

each person is like an actor in the drama of their own life - people play out roles and behave in the way that is expected for them in that situation

57
Q

How is interactionism in practice in today’s society?

A

labelling in society:
- education
- religion
- family/friends
- media
- crime
- institutions in society

58
Q

What are the main ideas of postmodernism?

A
  • we live in a contemporary society today
  • there’s no clear structure anymore
  • choice - there’s a vast number of options available to us, we are less limited
  • olden days = modern society
  • nowadays = postmodern society
  • we are very flexible and adaptable because we can be
59
Q

What are the key features of postmodernism?

A
  • truth is relative - very questioning society
  • consumerism is all
  • transformation of the self
  • uncertainty
  • fragmentation of social life
  • globalisation
60
Q

Who are two key postmodernist thinkers?

A

Jean-Francois LYOTARD and Jean BAUDRILLARD

61
Q

What did Jean-Francois Lyotard believe?

A
  • he believed that knowledge is no longer a way in which we can be controlled by the powerful because modern technology means we can all access it
62
Q

What did Jean Baudrillard believe?

A
  • he believed that we are swamped by media images and messages so that all we do is consume
  • appearance and image are all we care about because there is no reality to life
63
Q

What are the main ideas of the New Right?

A
  • right-wing theory
  • very rigid and traditional
  • survival of the fittest
  • no state inference/minimal government intervention - creates a dependency culture
  • oppose social policies and welfare
  • meritocracy
  • inconsiderate, lack empathy
64
Q

Who is a key New Right thinker?

A

Charles Murray:

  • believes excessive government intervention means people are rewarded for irresponsible behaviour as it encourages lone parenthood and discourages work
  • argues that the welfare state has led to a dependency culture where an underclass of people live off benefits and have no aspiration to work for a living
  • he argues that teenage girls see pregnancy and single parenthood as a route to financial support and housing
  • it leads to a criminal underclass of jobless, welfare-dependent, dysfunctional people
  • criticises anybody not in a nuclear family
65
Q
A

AS Levels (4 decks)

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