Sociological Theory or Social Theory

Theory is the key to understanding sociology.

Theory structures the chaotic nature of social life so
that it becomes understandable to the sociologist.
However, as you are now aware these 'theories' of
society (Social Theories) vary considerably from those
that see society as a unifed system which can be
'easily' e!lained by conce!ts such as socialisation,
ideology, etc. To those that argue it is so com!le that
no theory can fully e!lain it and that to try and do so
destroys the dynamics of the world you are trying to
study ( some !ostmodernist sociologists claim that the
biggest obstacle to understanding society is the
sociologists themselves).
So when trying to e!lain sociological theory we have
an immediate !roblem" there is no such thing# There
are a diversity of con$icting social theories# However,
this is what sociology is all about " being critical and
evaluating the usefulness of these theories in light of
evidence collected from the social life you are studying.
Structuralist Theory
Consensus Theory
%e learn from an early age to see our status as
wra!!ed u! with our home, and to see a ha!!y
family and home as im!ortant goals. &n other words,
there eists a great deal of agreement in society
about how we ought to organise our daily lives.
Sociologists refer to this agreement amongst
members of society as consensus. This consensus
means that we have a good idea of how we should
behave in most situations. &t also means that we can
antici!ate !retty accurately how other !eo!le are
going to behave, 'ust as we can guess the layout of
their house or $at.
Some sociologists see this order and !redictability as
the key to understanding society. &f this order did not
eist " if we were always confused and uncertain
about our own and others' values and behaviour "
then, they believe, chaos and anarchy would be the
result. These sociologists are known as
functionalists.
Functionalism
(unctionalism is a structuralist theory. This means
that it sees the individual as less im!ortant than the
social structure or organisation of society. &t is a 'to!"
down' theory that looks at society rather than the
individuals within it. Society is more im!ortant because
the individual is !roduced by society. )eo!le are the
!roduct of all social in$uences on them* their family,
friends, educational and religious background, their
e!eriences at work, in leisure, and their e!osure to
the media. +ll these in$uences make them what they
are. They are born into society, !lay their role in it and
then die. ,ut their deaths do not mean the end of
society. Society continues long after they are gone.
Social Order
(unctionalists study the role of di-erent !arts of
society "social institutions - in bringing about
the !atterns of shared and stable behaviour that
they refer to as social order. They might study,
for eam!le, how families teach children the
di-erence between right and wrong, or how
education !rovides !eo!le with the skills and
.ualifcations needed in the world of work.
(or functionilists, society is a com!le system
made u! of !arts that all work together to kee!
the whole system going. The economic system
(work), the !olitical system, family and kinshi!,
and the cultural system (education, mass media,
religion and youth culture) all have their !art to
!lay in maintaining a stable society from
generation to generation.
+ ma'or function of social institutions is to socialise
every individual into a system of norms and values
that will guide their future behaviour and thinking.
)eo!le need to be taught the core values of their
society and to internalise them so that they
become 'taken for granted'. /nce this is achieved
everyone will be clear about his or her !lace in
society and social order will be the result.