An analysis of the three sociological perspectives

An outline of the cardinal sociological postsThis paper discusses third approaches that can be taken when excogitateing Sociology. There are more subjects to be studied and discussed in the athletic field of Sociology, and the approach chosen to development a particular subject is called a stead. There are three different horizons, and they are functionalist, encounter, and interactionist berths. This paper compares and melodys these different views with matchless an some other.Through Analysis, A Compare and ContrastOf the Three Sociological PerspectivesFunctionalist, Conflict, and InteractionistWhen perusing in the field of Sociology allone is going to approach topics in a different path. No 2 people are going to have the exact same sop up on a particular subject. There are however, three major categories in which people might choose to approach topics. The approaches are greet as sociological perspectives and are the functionalist, dispute, and interactionis t perspectives. These perspectives name different counselings in which different people choose to analyze a subject, and how they reckon at a ordination as a whole. The following paragraphs compare and contrast the three, and identify major characteristics of each.The functionalist perspective is a sociological approach which emphasizes the way that parts of a society are structure to principal(prenominal)tain its stability,(Schaefer Lamm, 1998). This perspective looks at a society in a positive manner and sees it as stable, with all the parts working together. Under the functionalist view every well-disposed aspect of a society contributes to the societys survival, and if not, the aspect is not passed to the adjacent generation.There are two people who where mainly involved in the development of the functionalist perspective, they are Emile Durkheim, Talcott Parsons. Durkheim contributed to the functionalist perspective when she was studying religion, and how it was responsi ble for people tincture solidarity and unity in groups. Parsons was a sociologist from Harvard University who was greatly yieldd by Durkheim. In return, he influenced Sociology by dominating the field, with his functionalist views, for four decades (Schaefer Lamm, 1998).When approaching a subject with the functionalist perspective, license and potential functions as well as dysfunctions are looked at and studied. A manifest function of an institution is one that is stated and expected. A latent function is one that is unexpected or can show a hidden purpose of an institution, and a dysfunction is a component of a society that can cause instability (Rothman, 1998). These functions and dysfunctions are use in analyzing a society.Functionalist perspective is an approach to studying a society on the macrosociological level. This means that a society is studied on a gigantic scale as a whole. The view of the individual in a functionalist perspective is that people are socially mold ed, not forced, to perform social functions. Order in a society, as viewed by a functionalist, is maintained when members of a society cooperated with one another. Functionalists view social change as being predictable and positive. The main idea of functionalist perspective is that of stability (Schaefer Lamm, 1998).The interlocking perspective is a sociological approach which assumes that social style is better understood in terms of conflict or tension mingled with different groups, (Schaefer Lamm, 1998). In contrast to the functionalist view of stability, conflict sociologist see a society as being in constant struggle. The idea of conflict is not necessarily violent it could just refer to disagreements that are worked bring out with a mediator (Platt, 1999).The two main contributors to the formation of the conflict perspective are Karl Marx and W. E. B. Du Bois. Karl Marx explained that conflicts amid classes of society are inevitable, since workers will invariably be exploited as a result of capitalism. It is through the elaborateness of Marxs work that sociologist now apply conflict theory to all aspects of society. raze though there are parallels between Marxist theories and conflict perspective they are not the same. An important aspect of conflict perspective is that it encourages sociologists to look at a society through the eyes of those in the world who does not influence decision making. Du Bois contributed to the conflict perspective by studying society in reference to blacks and their struggles within society (Schaefer Lamm, 1998).The conflict perspective sees society as being full of tension and struggle between groups. It also, like functionalist, analyzes society on the macrosociological level. As for the individual, they are perceived as being shaped by power and authority. Social order is viewed as being maintained not through cooperation, but through force. And social change is not predictable, but is constantly taking pla ce. The conflict perspectives main idea is that there are competing interests between groups and social inequality exists, thusly there is always conflict of some kind.The interactionist perspective is a sociological approach which generalizes astir(predicate) fundamental or everyday forms of social interaction, (Schaefer Lamm, 1998). Interactionist perspective focuses on the way that depleted groups act, in order to realize society as a whole. Interactionists study people in their everyday behavior and how they react to their surroundings. Such surroundings may include material things, actions, other people, and symbols.George Herbert Mead is most often credited with founding the interactionist perspective, but Charles Horton Cooley also divided Meads views. Mead was a professor at the University of Chicago, and he focused on the analysis of one-to-one situations and other small groups. He paid particular upkeep to body language such as a frown or nod, and he also asked the q uestions of how other group members effected these gestures. His students passed down his views afterward his death, as a result of hearing his lectures (Schaefer Lamm, 1998).The interactionist view of society is that we influence each others everyday social interactions. In contrast to functionalist and conflict perspectives, the interactionist perspective studies society on a microsociological level. In other words they study on a small scale in order to understand the large scale. Interactionists believe that an individual creates their own social world through his or her interactions, and it is thought that social order is maintained when people treat their understanding of everyday behavior. Interactionists say that social change occurs when the positions and communication with one another change. The main idea of an interactionist sociologist is to study nonverbal communication and small groups paying particular attentions to objects and symbols (Schaefer Lamm, 1998).As on e can tell from schooling these three approaches are very different in the way in which they study sociological issues. They all strive to give meaning to wherefore people do what they do, and neither is better than the other, they just go about reaching the same goal in a different way.Bibliography