Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
Theory and Methods (Structuralism (The main ideas in structuralism are to…
Theory and Methods
Structuralism
The main ideas in structuralism are to study the overall structure of society, and look at how social institutions act as constraints and controls. It argues that the individual is moulded and determined by the social forces around (socialisation) them as well as material resources like income.
They think the focus of sociology should be on the social institutions like the family, education, mass media and the work place and the relationships between them, this is a macro approach.
The theories are often positivist because individual behaviour is response to measurable social forces, the individuals thoughts are reflections of these and so not worth studying in its own right.
-
Macro/Micro
Macro
- Looks at overall structure of society
- Like puppets - pulled by society
- Individuals behaviour is determined by social forces acting on them (no control)
- Examines how social institutions like family make up the structure
- 2 types consensus structuralism or conflict structuralism
Micro
- look at how society is built up from people interacting with each other
- People who have consciousness involving personal beliefs values and interpretations and how these influence how they act
- do not seek to provide complete explanations for society
- to understand behaviour we must understand meanings people give to their behaviour
Interpretivist Theories
More focused with the individual and their behaviour in social situations. It aims to discover and understand the interactions between individuals or small groups, and how people interpret the world as they do which sets their identity.
It argues that institutions are social constructions not something separate, they believe that there is a lot of free choice and individuals behaviour is not shaped by external social forces, it likes to focus on the individual and small groups and is thus called a micro approach.
Determinism and Choice
Determinism is the idea that we have no free will over the social forces around us, it looks at the extent to which the individual has control or is passive to these forces. It is seen in three main areas of sociology; structuralism, social action and interpretivism, and integral approaches.
-