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Sociological Paradigms: Structural Functionalism, Conflict, And Symbolic Interactionism
In the field of sociology, there are three paradigms that reflect the ideologies, concepts and ideas prevalently used in sociological studies and research: structural functionalism, social conflict and symbolic interactionism. These paradigms are categorized as such because of their differences; however, they also complement each other because each provides information and explanation about social phenomena in various perspectives. Hence, each paradigm complements the other.
Structural functionalism is the first paradigm that emerged from study of sociology. Structural functionalism was patterned after the principle of empiricism, wherein objectivity and scientific and logical thinking are valued. Structural functionalists believe that social phenomena can be explained objectively and empirically. An objective explanation of social phenomenon involves...
Thus, one must gather facts and information that proves how such phenomenon occurs -- to know why it happens. In effect, being objective also means explaining the phenomenon empirically, through data or information generated through observation, experimentation or any scientific method.
Social conflict theory, meanwhile, was a paradigm that developed as a challenge to the structural-functionalist ideology of social science, which became especially prevalent during the 20th century. Introduced and conceptualized by the political scientist Karl Marx, social conflict theory posits that there exists a 'counter-force' that illustrates the dysfunctions of society. Just as there are individuals and institutions that create social order, there are also individuals or groups that bring about dysfunction, thereby balancing the status quo in the society.…
Bibliography
McClelland, K. (2000). "Theoretical perspectives in Sociology." Available at http://web.grinnell.edu/courses/soc/s00/soc111-01/IntroTheories/IntroTheoriesIndex.html.
Sociological Theory Sociology as a field of study entails examining and understanding the behavior of human groups and associated social behavior. In understanding these aspects, the sociologists have, their focus primarily concentrated on the human interactions. These human interactions revolve around how the different social relations influence the behavior and attitudes of the people and how the societies originate, form and change. Human interactions are vast, and so is the field
Conflict between the contestants and the management emerges as they are forced to compete and antagonize each other in order to win the prize. Thus, being a contest, conflict in "Survivor" is inevitable, and it is only through a successful power struggle that one will be able to win over the management, thereby winning $1 million. Among the Survivors, meanwhile, the initial conflict that happens is between groups or
Sociological Research Analysis of group collectivism and interaction in "Culture in Interaction" by Nina Eliasoph and Paul Lichterman The journal article entitled, "Culture in Interaction," authored by Nina Eliasoph and Paul Lichterman, brought into fore the use of empirical studies in identifying, analyzing, and interpreting the group culture of organizations and civil groups in terms of their use of speech acts and group interaction. The study's general objective was to describe the
Sociological Aspects of GPS Tracking in Children The use of GPS tracking devices for children would have an overall negative sociological impact in American society in the 21st century. Justification: Human microchip implants are identifying circuits or chips that may have two functions: identification and tracking. Both aspects have been available for some time in pets, but there are a number of cultural, legal, and sociological aspects to the process of using
Many different views abound on the origins of modern capitalism, causalities that range from economic to political, from religious to cultural, or for some, an amalgamation of societies need to expand and the resources necessary to fuel that expansion. Max Weber's the Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism is a study of the relationship between the ethics of ascetic Protestantism and the emergence of the spirit of modern capitalism.
.." while more than sixty percent of women in the developing world represent those employed in domestic work, street trading and other low paying jobs lacking in "security, benefits, and legal protections..." (2005) Within the informal sector of employment there exists a hierarchy and Stoparic states that employers running small informal enterprises "women are disproportionately represented in the lowest-paying categories, and even within those subcategories they earn less than men,