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theories Flashcards

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1
Q

structural approach

A

emphasis on how society controls us
top down
system of interrelated parts
we are a product of the social system

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2
Q

who holds a structural approach

A

marxists, feminists, functionalists and new right

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3
Q

social action approach

A

ability of individuals to exert control over their own actions
bottom up
we are active creators of society

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4
Q

who holds a social action approach

A

post modernists, interactionalists, phenomenologists and ethnomethodology

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5
Q

basics of functionalism

A

macro structure, consensus theory, focus on needs of social system

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6
Q

what is socialisation

A

internalised social norms, becomes a part of personality from a young age

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6
Q

what does Durkheim say about society

A

FUNCTIONALIST- rapid social change, society has a strong collective conscience

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7
Q

Parsons organic analogy

A

society is like the human body, each section of society is like an organ- all work together seamlessly

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8
Q

what are 4 ways society can be seen to be like the human body

A

SYSTEM- interrelated and dependant
SYSTEM NEEDS- must be met to survive
FUNCTIONS- meeting needs
VALUE CONSENSUS- socialisation and social control

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9
Q

what is social control

A

those who conform are rewarded and those who dont conform suffer

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10
Q

what are the 4 functional prerequisites?

PARSONS
AGIL

A

adaptation- economic
goal attainment- political
integration- religion
latency- kinship

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11
Q

instrumental needs

A

adaptation and goal attainment

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12
Q

what does parsons say about social change

A

change is gradual, and changes society structurally, so other institutions perform tasks traditionally performed by family

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12
Q

expressive needs

A

integration and latency

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13
Q

difference between traditional and modern societies regarding social change

A

TRADITIONAL- based on ascribed status
MODERN-based on attained status

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14
Q

internal evaluation of functionalist theories

A

merton argues parsons is wrong to assume society always runs smoothly

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15
Q

what does merton critique parsons on

A

indispensability- systems can be replaced
functional unity- we are not all close knit
universal functionalism- some areas of society are extremely dysfunctional

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16
Q

external evaluation of functionalism

A

marxists- shared norms are not agreed but imposed
wrong- over socialised view, functionalists see us a puppets

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17
Q

how did marx view technological development

A

saw both harm and promise in technology

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18
Q

3 main points of the communist manifesto

A

historic materialism- humans have material needs, this is where 2 classes come from
class society and exploration- classes need eachother
capitalism- division of classes, 3 distinct features

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19
Q

what are the three distinct features of capitalism

A

proletariat are legally free but bound to work for RC to survive
big corporations own everything, minimal autonomy
capitalism depends on the forces of production

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20
Q

what is class conscience

A

capitalism sows the seeds of its own destruction- WC become a class for themselves

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21
Q

what is alienation

A

workers are detected from their products, division of labour, loss of sense of ownership

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22
Q

what is an ideology

A

production of ideas as well as goods

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23
according to humanist marxists what are 2 ways the RC retain control
coercion- army. police, prision ideas and values- ideologies and indoctrination
23
criticisms of marxism- WEBER
weber says class isnt the only division- gender ethnicity age
24
criticisms of marxism- economic determinism
marxism forgets we have free will
25
what does GRAMSCI believe
peoples ideas make change, bottom up society, we have a dual conscience and can see through exploitation
26
criticisms of humanist marxism
too focused on the importance of ideas and underplay economic facts and state coersion
27
scientific or structural marxism
structural, positive approach, rejects both determinism and humanism
28
what does ALTHUSSER say about society
it has three levels
29
what are the three levels of society according to althusser
economic political ideological
30
what is the ideological state apparatus
media, religion, education
31
what is the repressive state apparatus
physical- police army court
31
how do feminists see society
sees society as male dominated, aim to change the position of women. first wave- suffragettes, second wave- 60's 70's
32
liberal/ reformist feminism
human rights, gradual reform, equal pay and equal employment, traditional gender roles prevent men and women living happily
33
radical feminists
early 1970's, men are the enemy (political lesbianism) oppression is direct, both in private and public sphere
34
what did firestone say on the origins of patriarchy
it was womens 'biology' that caused them to be seen as inferior to men
35
according to marxist feminists how do women support capitalism
reserve army of labour absorb mens anger- safety valve theory reproduce the labour force
36
marxist feminists
women's subordination is rooted in capitalism, unpaid role as home maker leaves them in an economically dependant position
37
dual system feminism
combines Marxists and radical feminism, domestic and professional division of labour
38
difference feminism
do not see women as one homogenous group, we have many differences feminisms claims a false universality- yet it mainly caters to the MC white hetro sexual woman
39
what is the core belief of action theories
micro sociology, bottom up, we possess agency
40
social action theory
WEBER, we are all social actors meaningful nature of our behaviour
41
what 2 levels should explanations exist on (social action, weber)
level of meaning- understanding subjecting meaning that individuals attach level of cause- explaining objective structural cause shaping behaviour
42
what are the 4 main types of actions
instrumental- best way to achieve aim value rational- goal is desirable for own sake traditional- custom or ritual affectual- expressing emotion
43
symbolic interactionalism
focuses on our ability to create the social world through out actions and interactions, we interpret meanings by taking on the roles of others.structuration the focus on INTERACTIONS with others
43
critique of social action theory and weber
say weber is too individualistic and cannot explain the nature of shared meanings
44
what does reflexivity mean (interactinalism)
common sense knowledge we use in everyday life, language is crucial, as we describe something we are creating it
45
what do interactionalists believe about meanings
meanings are always potentially unclear, nothing has a fixed meaning
46
structuration theory
combines structure theory and action theories- neither action nor structure can exist without the other
47
what are the two elements of structuration theory
rules- norms and customs resources- economic reasons and power over others
48
OUR ACTIONS TEND TO REPRODUCE STRUCTURES RATHER THAN CHANGE THEM
49
criticisms of structuration
argued its not a structure at all, but a description of what we find in society
50
modernity
western europe, late 18th century
51
what are the 4 things effecting globalisation
technological changes economic changes political changes changes in culture and identity
52
globalisation
we are living in an increasingly interconnected world
53
4 distinct features of modernity
rationality, capitalism, the nation state, individualism
54
postmodernism
emerged in 1970s, society is unstable fragmented, media saturated, 'global village'. new society requires a new theory
55
what does Foucault say
we now have no basis of knowledge- ant foundationalism
56
2 points of anti foundationalism
too many meta narratives if we cannot guarantee knowledge we cannot use it to improve society
57
what is simulacra
Baudrillard, unable to distinguish between reality and images
58
evaluation of postmodernism
marxists say it ignores power and inequality neglects that people can see between media and reality
59
theories of late modernity
rapid social changes are not hearlding the dawn of a new postmodernist era
60
disembedding
giddens, lifting of social relations- no need for face to face interactions
60
marxist theories of postmodernity
do not accept that todays society has moved from modern to post modern see pm as result of latest stage of capitalism
61
what is the enlightenment
scientific reason over religion, start of modern sociology
62
what are the two main features of the enlightenment
power of human knowledge- we can use our knowledge to better society human progress- gained reason through science
63
modernist theories
feminists marxists functionalists weberism interactionalists
64
which sociologists has science influenced
comte durkheim marx
65
what research methods do positivists favour
quantitative over qualitative as they are objective- scientific methods and reliable data questionnaire and structured interview
66
inductive method of data collection
collect data then make a theory based off the data, then repeatedly confirm
67
deductive method of data collection
form theory or hypothesis then test it against evidence (falsification) developed by popper
68
positivism and suicide
durkheim 1897, used official statistics, trying to establish sociology as a science
69
criticisms of positivism
we cant produce controlled conditions in society (like a lab) impossible to quantify human behaviour we all have pre conceived hypothesise and impose our views on findings
70
who are positivists
71
what do interpretivists believe about science and soc
do not believe that sociology should be a science. aim to reveal social actor's reality- sociology is about internal meanings
72
why do interpretivists not see soc as a science
we are not puppets on a string- autonomy must be sensitive and interpret meanings qualitative data, in depth and detailed
73
interpretivists and suicide
we have free will douglass 1967 understand actions we must understand the meaning of actions for the individuals
74
what do realists believe about soc and science
sociology is a science- support positivism, it is both possible and desirable for soc to be a science
75
what do positivists believe about science and soc
sociology is a science, objective knowledge, top down, structural, controlled by external stimuli
76
critique of the view that sociology is a science
funding body impacts research, so it cant be objective and science is influenced by social factors
77
what is science know for producing
producing empirical knowledge-not allowing subjective values to effect them
78
what do positivists believe about values
keep values out of research- produce scientific knowledge
79
what do interpretivists believe about values
its impossible to keep values out of research weber says values guide research
80
what do committed sociologists believe about values
they use their values to improve their research
81
gouldner about how research is effected by values
all research if effected by.... social class, gender, up bringing, ethnicity different sociological perspectives impact findings as they lead to different assumptions about society
81
what are paymasters and how do they effect research
funding body will effect findings or sway the evidence
82
what does weber believe about separating values
they cant be separated so they must be made explicit so we can see unconscious bias
83
what does reflexive mean
open and transparent about values
84
what was anne oakley's book (1979) called and what was it about
from here to maternity, it followed 60 women in their pregnancies and births
85
what approach did oakley take in her research and what methods did she use
attatched and involved- she used unstructured interviews and OPO to understand and observe the women CHILDBIRTH IS A VERY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
86
strengths and weaknesses of oakley's method of data collection
+valid and data rich -cannot generalise or quantify and a low range of data- time consuming
87
committed sociologists- weber
research has very real consequences on peoples lives, must take responsibility for actions
87
paul willis' study
how wc kids get wc jobs, acknowledged his values would impact on his work neo marxist
88
gouldner and passion
there has been a loss of passion especially in american sociologists they have become 'spiritless technicians' money driven
89
postmodern view of values
findings are a reflection of researchers values rather than society. matters less what values a theory contains if it tells us about the world
90
what is relativism
values are understood against their cultural context rather than being universally judged
91
what is social policy
acts of government that have a direct impact on the welfare of citizens
92
examples of social policy
fsm tuition fees minimum wage sure start child benefits
93
social policies are made to overcome social problems
94
examples of social problems
smoking inequality poverty educational achievement gap
95
how does sociology relate to social policy- giddens
informs policy makers of other viewpoints assesses results of policy initiatives soc may be influenced by sp policy makers may use soc selectivly to justify sp
96
other influences of social policy
funding ideology of government win votes
97
sociology is a left wing subject
1979-97 tories opposed to sociology 1997-2010 labour used sociology
98
positivism and functionalism perspective on social policy
enlightenment project, sociology should be used to improve society find causes of social problem's and solutions
99
social democratic perspective on social policy
radical approach to eradicate the problems in society redistribute wealth use research to find problems and fix them- townsend
100
marxism perspective on social policy
critices social democratic- too far reaching see capitalism as responsible, policies serve RC
101
feminism perspective on social policy
state perpetuates womens subordination trough social policy, normalises the idea of a nuclear family- stigmatises others state cant deliver what women need
102
new right perspective on social policy
state should have minimum involvement in society, opposed to wefare state ws= culture of dependency and increased SPFs (murray)
103
postmodern perspective on social policy
donzelot- policy as a form of state power foucault- concept of surveillence- power dynamics in all relationships sp= state control over smaller less powerful groups
104
black report 1980
commissioned by labour in 1980, inquiries into inequality in healthcare but stopped by tory government

Sociology theories and methods (2 decks)

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