Module 2

o Structural – Function
o Social Conflict
o Symbolic Interactionist
o Social Exchange
o Developmental Approach
o Feminist Approach

Structural – Function
 The structural-functionalist - perspective, marriage and family are a basic building
block of society.
 Marriage and family, are necessities for a stable society.
 Marriage and family perform a number of necessary functions, which provide a
structure that children can be produced and raised.
 They also provide a way in which sexual relations can be in some way regulated
 so that people can fulfill their sexual desires without causing conflict.

Structural functionalism - is a framework that sees society as a complex system whose

parts work together to promote solidarity and stability.
- In this way, society is like an organism and each aspect of society (institutions, social
constructs, etc.) is like an organ that works together to keep the whole functioning
smoothly.
- This approach looks at Society through a macro-level orientation, which is a broad focus
on the social structures that shape society as a whole.

Functionalism - addresses society in terms of the function of its constituent elements: norms,
customs, traditions and institutions. Functionalists, in general, identify a number of functions
families typically perform: reproduction; socialization; care, protection, and emotional support;
assignment of status; and regulation of sexual behavior through the norm of legitimacy.
 Structural functionalism - also took on the argument that the basic building block of society
is the nuclear family, and that the clan is an outgrowth, not vice versa.
- Durkheim was concerned with the question of how certain societies maintain internal
stability and survive over time.
- Based on the metaphor above of an organism in which many parts function together
to sustain the whole, Durkheim argued that complicated societies are held together
by organic solidarity.

Social conflict - or group conflict occurs when two or more actors oppose each other in social
interaction, reciprocally exerting social power in an effort to attain scarce or incompatible goals
and prevent the opponent from attaining them.
- It is a social relationship wherein the action is oriented intentionally for carrying out
the actor's own will against the resistance of other party or parties.
Karl Marx - Conflict Theory

- He was born on May 5, 1818

- Died March 14, 1883

- Father of modern socialism, communism and conflict theory

Conflict theory, first developed by Karl Marx, is a theory that society is in a state of
perpetual conflict because of competition for limited resources.

Conflict theory holds that social order is maintained by domination and power, rather
than by consensus and conformity.

- Marx's emphasis on class conflict as constituting the dynamics of social change, his
awareness that change was not random but the outcome of a conflict of interests, and
his view of social relations as based on power were contributions of the first
magnitude.
According to conflict theory, those with wealth and power try to hold on to it by any means
possible, chiefly by suppressing the poor and powerless. A basic premise of conflict theory is
that individuals and groups within society will work to try to maximize their own wealth and
power.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

 Conflict theory focuses on the competition among groups within society over limited
resources.
 Conflict theory views social and economic institutions as tools of the struggle among
groups or classes, used to maintain inequality and the dominance of the ruling class.
 Marxist conflict theory sees society as divided along lines of economic class between the
proletarian working class and the bourgeois ruling class.
 Later versions of conflict theory look at other dimensions of conflict among capitalist
factions and among various social, religious, and other types of groups.

Understanding Conflict Theory

Conflict theory has sought to explain a wide range of social phenomena, including wars,
revolutions, poverty, discrimination, and domestic violence. It ascribes most of the fundamental
developments in human history, such as democracy and civil rights, to capitalistic attempts to
control the masses (as opposed to a desire for social order). Central tenets of conflict theory are
the concepts of social inequality, the division of resources, and the conflicts that exist among
different socioeconomic classes.

The central tenets of conflict theory can explain many types of societal conflicts throughout
history. Some theorists believe, as Marx did, that societal conflict is the force that ultimately
drives change and development in society.

Symbolic Interactionist
Key Takeaways

 Symbolic interactionism is a social theoretical framework associated with George Herbert

Mead (1863–1931) and Max Weber (1864-1920).

 It is a perspective that sees society as the product of shared symbols, such as language.
The social world is, therefore, constructed by the meanings that individuals attach to
events and social interactions, and these symbols are transmitted across the generations
through language.

A central concept of symbolic interactionists is the Self, which allows us to calculate the
effects of our actions.

 Symbolic interactionism theory has been criticized because it ignores the emotional side
of the Self as a basis for social interaction.

History

The first person to write about the principles underlying Symbolic Interactionism was George
Herbert Mead (1934). Mead, an American philosopher, argued that people develop their self-
image through interactions with other people.

In particular, Mead concentrated on the language and other forms of talk that happens between
individuals. The “ self ” — a part of someone’s personality involving self-awareness and self-
image — originates in social experience.

Charles Horton Cooley (1902) used the term looking-glass self to convey the idea that a person’s
knowledge of their self-concept is largely determined by the reaction of others around them.
Other people thus act as a “looking-glass ” (mirror) so that we can judge ourselves by looking
“in” it.

An individual can respond to others’ opinions about himself and internalize the opinions and
feelings that others have about him.

Beginning in the 1960s, sociologists tested and adopted Mead’s ideas.

Blumer’s Chicago School of Symbolic Interactionism

Blumer invented the term “Symbolic Interactionism” and created a theory and methodology to
test Mead’s ideas. Most sociologists follow the work of Blumer (Carter and Fuller, 2015).
Blumer emphasizes how the self can emerge from the interactive process of joining action
(Denzin, 2008; Carter and Fuller, 2015). Humans constantly engage in “mindful action” that
constructs and negotiates the meaning of situations.

According to Blumer (1964), all studies of human behavior must begin by studying how people
associate and interact with each other rather than treating the individual and society as entirely
separate beings (Meltzer and Petras, 1970; Carter and Fuller, 2015).

Society itself is not a structure but a continual process of debating and reinventing the meaning
of actions. An action that has a meaning in one context, or in the interaction between any two
individuals, can have a completely different meaning between two different individuals or in
another context.

Society is about as structured as individuals’ interactions among themselves (Collins, 1994).

Because meaning is constructed through the interactions between individuals, meaning cannot be
fixed and can even vary for the same individual.

Definition And Key Principles

 Symbolic interactionism theory assumes that people respond to elements of their
environments according to the subjective meanings they attach to those elements, such as
meanings being created and modified through social interaction involving symbolic
communication with other people.

Which of the best describes the symbolic Interactionist theory?

 Symbolic interactionism can be described as a framework in which societies are created
as individuals strive to interact with one another through the means of symbolic gestures
that ultimately shapes their individual behavior.
Symbolic Interactionism is a theoretical framework in sociology that describes how societies are
created and maintained through the repeated actions of individuals (Carter and Fuller, 2015).

In simple terms, people in society understand their social worlds through communication — the
exchange of meaning through language and symbols.

Instead of addressing how institutions objectively define and affect individuals, symbolic
interactionism pays attention to these individuals’ subjective viewpoints and how they make
sense of the world from their own perspective (Carter and Fuller, 2015).

The objective structure of a society is less important in the symbolic interactionist view than how
subjective, repeated, and meaningful interactions between individuals create society. Thus,
society is thought to be socially constructed through human interpretation.

According to Blumer (1969), social interaction thus has four main principles:

1. Individuals act in reference to the subjective meaning objects have for them. For
example, an individual who sees the “object” of family as being relatively unimportant
will make decisions that deemphasize the role of family in their lives;
 2. Interactions happen in a social and cultural context where objects, people, and situations
must be defined and characterized according to individuals’ subjective meanings;

3. For individuals, meanings originate from interactions with other individuals and with
society;

4. These meanings that an individual has are created and recreated through a process of
interpretation that happens whenever that individual interacts with others.

Social Exchange

What Is Social Exchange Theory?

Social exchange theory is a concept based on the idea that social behavior is the result of
an exchange process. According to this theory, people weigh the potential benefits and risks of
their social relationships. When the risks outweigh the rewards, they will terminate or abandon
the relationship. The purpose of this exchange is to maximize benefits and minimize costs.

Most relationships are made up of a certain amount of give-and-take, but this does not
mean that they are always equal. Social exchange suggests that it is the valuing of the benefits
and costs of each relationship that determine whether or not we choose to continue a social
association.

One of the most basic examples of social exchange theory is being asked on a date. If you
feel that the benefits of going on the date outweigh the costs (there are more pros than cons), you
will say yes. Conversely, if the costs outweigh the benefits (more cons than pros), you'll likely
say no.

History

The notion of "social behavior as exchange" was first identified by American sociologist
George C. Homans in 1958.2 Homans was a pioneer in behavioral sociology and held several
roles of distinction in his career, including serving as president of the American Sociological
Association (1963 to 1964) and chairman of Harvard's Department of Sociology (1970 to 1975).

Other figures that contributed to the development of Homans' social exchange theory,
albeit in different ways, were John Thibaut, Harold Kelley, and Peter Blau. Thibaut and Kelley
were both social psychologists and Blau was a sociologist and theorist.

While Homans approached the study of social exchange by starting with groups, then
working down to individuals, Thibaut and Kelley started with individuals and worked up to
groups. Blau subscribed to neither of these approaches, instead, warning that the aspects of social
exchange shouldn't be blinded by psychology

What Are the Key Concepts of Social Exchange Theory?

To truly understand social exchange theory requires recognizing the aspects on which it
is based.

Costs vs. Benefits

Social exchange theory suggests that we essentially take the benefits of a relationship and
subtract the costs in order to determine how much it is worth.

 Costs involve things that you see as negatives, such as having to put money, time, and
effort into a relationship. For example, if you have a friend who always borrows money
from you and does not repay it, this might be seen as a high cost.
 Benefits are things that you get out of the relationship, such as fun, friendship,
companionship, and social support. Your friend might be a bit of a freeloader, but bring a
lot of fun and excitement to your life. As you are determining the value of the friendship,
you might decide that the benefits outweigh the potential costs.

Positive relationships are those in which the benefits outweigh the costs. Negative
relationships occur when the costs are greater than the benefits.
Expectations and Comparison Levels
Cost-benefit analysis plays a major role in the social exchange process, but so
do expectations. As people weigh benefits against the costs, they do so by establishing a
comparison level that is often influenced by past experiences.

For example, if your previous romantic partner showered you with displays of affection,
your comparison level for your next relationship is going to be quite high when it comes to
affection. If your next romantic partner tends to be more reserved and less emotional, that person
might not measure up to your expectations.

Expectations can appear within work relationships as well. Research indicates that there
is an "expectation of reciprocity" within workplace settings between management and staff. 4 If
an employee doesn't feel that their effort is being reciprocated from higher-ups, this can affect
their work.

The idea that relationships are based on an exchange can affect how we relate with
others.

Navigating the 4 Stages of a Relationship

Falling in love is easy, but relationships can be hard—despite what Hollywood tries to
sell us. Like anything else in life worth having, relationships take work. Some couples
successfully weather the storms that inevitably arise, while others simply drift apart.

When it comes to coupling, there is no instruction manual. Remember that old

playground mantra: First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes so and so and a baby
carriage? If only it were that simple. While some couples follow this traditional trajectory, many
people do not. Fewer couples are getting married, some are having children before marriage, and
some are choosing not to have children at all. Every relationship, like every individual, is unique.

Regardless of the path one chooses when it comes to romantic relationships—whether it’s
down the aisle or across continents—the inherent stages of love and attachment essentially
remain the same. A couples' ability to navigate these stages is often the key to their relationship
satisfaction.
Stages of Relationships by Months

You can break these stages down based on when they typically occur. The stages of relationships
by months are:

 Stage 1: The euphoric stage - 6 months to 24 months (2 years)

- Brown explains that, "In the early part of a relationship—the falling in love stage—
the other person is the center of your life. You forgive everything in these early
stages. The other person has faults, and you see them, but it doesn’t matter. Maybe
they leave their dirty dishes in the sink, but they make you laugh at least daily, so it’s
okay. Good things outweigh the negative here."
- How long does the romantic phase last? Studies have estimated the euphoric stage
can last anywhere from six months to two years. Although a small portion of the
population (approximately 15% to 30%) say they are still in love and that it still feels
like the first six months—even after 10 or 15 years later.
- Brown explains, "We don't know why this is. I don't necessarily think it's because
they have found their soulmates. I think it's the person. Some people have an easier
time rekindling the earlier stages. Not to say the rest of us can't."
- For the general population, the intoxication of new love will eventually morph into
the next stage: early attachment.

 Stage 2: The early attachment stage - 12 months (1 year) to 60 months (5 years)

- In the previous stage of euphoric love, unconscious factors like attraction and the
activation of the reward system take over. In Fisher and Brown’s studies, the brain
scans of couples in the early stages of love showed high levels of dopamine, the
chemical that activates the reward system by triggering an intense rush of pleasure.
- In this next stage, the more evolved part of the brain begins to take over, including
the ventral pallidum (the region of the brain linked with feelings of attachment, and
the attachment hormones, vasopressin, and oxytocin—sometimes referred to as “the
love hormone”).
 - Couples that had been married for at least one year described love differently. “It’s
richer, deeper, it’s knowing them better," says Brown. “Memories have been
integrated—both positive and negative—you’ve gone through some difficulties, and
you’ve developed a strong attachment.”

 Stage 3: The crisis stage - 60 months (5 years) to 84 months (7 years)

- The third stage is often the make or break point for relationships. What happens at
this stage is crucial to what comes next. Brown refers to this as the "seven-year or
five-year itch.

- “Almost every relationship has a drift apart phase,” says Brown. “Either you will
keep drifting, or you will come back together. You need a crisis to get through and to
be able to talk about it together—you’ve both grown and changed.”

- If a couple can overcome a crisis successfully, they will then move on to the next
stage: deep attachment.

 Stage 4: The deep attachment stage - 84 months (7 years) and beyond

- The deep attachment stage is the calm after the storm. By this point, a couple knows
each other well, they've been through the inevitable ups and downs, they know that
they can deal with crises, and they've likely made a plan for handling future crises.
- When describing this stage of relationships, the term that Brown reiterates is “calm.”
“When couples have been together for many years. It’s just very very calm. And it’s
secure.”