What Are The Three Primary Theoretical Perspectives Of Sociology

There have been three primary theoretical perspectives that sociologists have utilized to interpret social life. A theory is a general statement about how some parts of the world fit together and how they work. In other words, an explanation of how two or more things is related to one another. These three major theories of sociology are symbolic interaction, functional analysis or functionalism, and conflict theory. These perspectives offer sociologists theoretical patterns for explaining how society influences people. Each theory has a different, distinct interpretation on social life and how it works.

The definition of symbolic interaction is a theoretical perspective in which society is viewed as composed of symbols that people use to establish meaning, develop their views of the world,

and communicate with one another. Social interaction perspective, directs sociologists to consider the symbols and details of everyday life, what these symbols mean, and how people interact with each other. Although symbolic interactionism traces its backgrounds to Max Weber's claim that individuals act according to their interpretation of the meaning of their world, the American philosopher George Herbert Mead introduced this perspective to American sociology in the 1920s along with Charles Horton Cooley. Mead taught at the University of Chicago, after his death his students compiled his lectures into a book called: Mind, Self, and Society.

The central idea of symbolic interaction is that symbols, things we attach meaning to, are the key to understanding how we view the world and communicate with one another. In other words, people attach meanings to symbols, and then they act according to their subjective interpretation of these symbols. Verbal conversations, where spoken words serve as the symbols, make this subjective interpretation especially apparent. The words have a certain meaning for the person speaking, during effective communication; they optimistically have the same meaning for the person they are talking to, but the words could have different meanings for each person as well. In other terms, words are not fixed and do not have “one meaning” and they require interpretation. Conversation is an interaction of symbols between individuals who constantly interpret the world around them. Of course, anything can serve as a symbol as long as it refers to something beyond itself. Music is an example of symbolic interaction. The lyrics and tone of the song can have meaning to anyone and can also be interpreted differently by different people. Symbolic interactionists give serious thought to how people act, and then look to determine what meanings individuals assign to their own actions and symbols, as well as to those of others.

Try applying symbolic interaction to the American institution of marriage.

Symbols of a marriage include wedding bands/rings, vows of commitment, a white dress, wedding cake, a ceremony, flowers, music and a first dance. American society attaches general meanings to these symbols, but individuals also maintain their own perceptions of what these and other symbols mean. Miss communication can also result in differences of perception of the same events and symbols. For example, one spouse may see their circular wedding rings as symbolizing never ending love, while the other may see them as a simple gift.

Reviewers claim that symbolic interactionism neglects the macro level of social interpretation. Macro-level analysis is an examination of large-scale patterns of society, in other words the big picture of the world. Which means, symbolic interactionists may miss the larger issues of society by focusing too closely on the small pieces. For example, the sizes of the diamond in the wedding ring, rather than the big picture, the quality of the marriage. The perspective also receives criticism for rejection of the influence of social forces and institutions on individual

interactions.

According to functionalism, each aspect of society is codependent and contributes to a functioning society. The state requires and provides education for the children of each family; the family pays taxes, which the state depends on to keep itself running. So, the family is dependent on the schools to help children get good jobs so that they can raise and support their own families while the government is dependent on the family to pay taxes. The parts of society are supposed to produce order, stability, and productivity. If they do not work well together, the parts of society must find a new way of working.

Functionalists believe that society is held together by social cohesion, which is defined as the willingness of members of a society to cooperate with each other in order to survive and prosper. Emile Durkheim suggested that social consensus takes one of two forms:
First, mechanical solidarity is the social integration of members of a society who have common values and beliefs. These common values and beliefs work internally in individual members to cause them to cooperate. Mechanical solidarity most commonly occurs in traditional societies such as those where everyone herds cattle or farms. Amish society exemplifies mechanical solidarity. On the other hand, organic solidarity is a form of social cohesion that arises when the people in a society are interdependent, but holds to varying values and beliefs and engages in varying types of work. Organic solidarity most commonly occurs in industrialized, complex societies such those in large American cities.

Functionalism is looked down on for neglecting the negative functions of an event such as divorce. Functionalism does not encourage people to take an active role in changing their social environment, even when such change may benefit them. Instead, functionalism sees active social change as undesirable because the various parts of society will compensate naturally for any problems that may arise.