Sociology Perspectives

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structural - functionalist

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views society as a set of interrelated parts that work together to produce a stable social system.

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conflict

Back 2

views society as divided into groups that are competing for limited resources. this struggle leads to social change.

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symbolic-interactionist perspective

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focuses on how individuals interact with one another. People interpret what happens to them subjectively, attempts
to understand peoples' individual interpretations of the world around them.

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dysfunction

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negative consequence an element has for the stability of a social system.

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Max Weber

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German sociologist. Studied groups in society and the affect of society on the individual.

Interactionist perspective

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symbol

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anything that stands for something else and has a shared meaning attached to it.

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Social Darwinism

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a perspective that holds that society evolves towards stability and perfection.

This theory is rejected by sociologists today.

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Herbert Spencer

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coined the term, "social Darwinism".

His theories were important in the early development of the functionalist perspective of sociology.

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Auguste Comte

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coined the term sociology. Considered the "father" of sociology.

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Karl Marx

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a theorist of the conflict perspective. He believed that a primary motivator for social change was competition between the social classes.

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manifest function

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Intended and recognized consequence of some element of society.

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latent function

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unintended and unrecognized consequence of some element of society.

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Emily Durkheim

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A functionalist sociologist who was instrumental in establishing sociology as a social science. He did a study of the social factors that contribute to suicide.