Deviance And Functionalist Paradigm Analysis

Decent Essays
ildren.The three paradigms all relate to this social problem in each unique ways.
Functionism related to this social problem because it views society as a system of interrelated parts. Functionalism focuses on the entire social system and not just the individual. “If the economy does poorly it doesn’t just affect the money, but families and jobs.” (Sociology book) Single mothers are most likely to lose their job and have no other means to support their family. According to society prostitution is a deviance and Functionalists argue that deviance is a necessary part of all societies. They believe that deviance performs positive functions for the social system because deviance break the social norms and values of society. Functionalists emphasis

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Casey Anthony Case Study

    • 1667 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Americas most hated mother, Casey Anthony, is now living the life of a normal person. A spine-chilling case involving a missing two-year-old child in Florida became one of the biggest murder stories of the decade in 2008 and 2009 according the article, “Murder.” Casey Anthony went weeks before reporting her missing child. Investigators soon charged Casey Anthony for the murder of her two-year-old child after Casey failed to tell the truth in police reports. This case caught the eye of the public, forasmuch bystanders wanted justice for the two-year-old girl.…

    • 1667 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Functionalism is the first macro perspective that as developed as a systematic method of analysis by Bronislaw Malinowski and A.R. Radcliffe-Brown. A principle approach was any social pattern or institute that does not serve a function will cease to exist and any pattern found among people is believed to have innate human needs. (Westphal & Levenson, 1993, pp.44) Malinowski believed that all human needs were satisfied by a way that does not cause social chaos, such as sex drive, hunger, and the need to relieve oneself that satisfied in ways controlled by society. As explained in the textbook a need requires a social pattern or institute that has consequences that satisfy the need.…

    • 492 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Of the three prominent sociological perspectives, I have chosen to cover the functionalist perspective for this paper. According to functionalism, society is a system of interconnected parts that work together to maintain peace and equivalence. Functionalists believe society is held together by social consensus in which the members of society comply to and work to achieve, what is best for society altogether. I chose this perspective because I identify with it and find this perspective to be very interesting. This perspective became popular in the nineteen forties and nineteen fifties, Robert Merton and Emile Durkheim were big functionalist in this perspective.…

    • 839 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Functionalists view the family unit as an integral part of society as it enables social culture to be instilled into young children creating well-integrated individuals in society. In contrast, the conflict perspectives views families as a negative concept as they believe that through families, inequalities such as gender inequality are maintained throughout…

    • 53 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Great Essays

    Based off class discussion, functionalism theory associates with groups within the same social system whose parts work together to benefit the whole. The social problem begins when the failure of some part to fulfill its function, which interferes with the smooth functioning of the system. According to Peter M. Miller (2011) the most common causes of the various forms of homelessness are insufficient affordable housing and shortages of jobs that pay just wage (p.310). Miller (2011) mentioned, “poor families are most at risk of becoming homeless, in part because their limited supplies of economic capital tend to be accompanied by shortages in social capital to help them get through difficult times” (p.310). The functionalism theory helps explain the McKinney-Vento Education for Homeless Children and Youth Program because the community/school systems uses the funds from this program to work with children to make up for their families who experienced shortages of jobs that pay just wage that may have resulted in homelessness.…

    • 1653 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Double Deviancy Theory

    • 668 Words
    • 3 Pages

    much outside the local press. This supports the overriding conceptions of appropriate and ideal victims. The young girls were archetypal ‘ideal victims’, as they were bright, young girls from devoted, middle-class domestic backgrounds, each holding model school records. Whereas, ‘David’ and ‘Patrick’ were both ‘working class young boys who had grown up on a rough West Midlands council estate’, the boys had been troublesome within school and ‘David’, had been caught stealing. While ‘Holly’ and ‘Jessica’ grasped the hearts of a nation, being noted in such widespread news reports, ‘Patrick’ and ‘David’’ did not appeal the same media or public interest.…

    • 668 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Examining a functionalism point of view would be looking at patterns of society on macro level. A good way to think of functionalism is like a body…

    • 840 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The weaknesses present with the functionalism theory is that the theory ignores the lack of consensus within the society such as the influences of power and wealth on the formation of society. Another weakness present when analysing this theory is that it fails to recognise that social inequalities cause an imbalance within the society. For example, the rich are more capable of receiving a better education than the poor or working class. This then provides the higher socio-economic class to receive higher wages and the opportunity to dictate structures within society such as learning curriculums in schools (Covington, 2008). A strength of the functionalism theory is that it focuses on social structures, not individual motivations.…

    • 1484 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Deviance and the Three Sociology Perspectives Despite the negative connotation that is usually bestowed upon the word , according to The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology, deviance is defined as a behavior, trait, or belief that departs from a norm and generates a negative reaction in a particular group (Ferris and Stein 153). This could be anything talking to oneself in public or leading a civil rights movement like Martin Luther King Jr. to change the world forever. The three different sociological perspectives, symbolic interaction, functional analysis, and conflict can be applied to the idea of deviance.…

    • 1105 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Sociology 1301 Courtney Baldwin Sociological Theories: Compare and Contrast The Structural-Functional theory definition: “Functionalism addresses the society as a whole in terms of function of its constituent elements such as norms, customs, traditions, and institutions. ”(Subedi) The structural-functional theory looks at society as many different parts and how they work together to form a stable society; it is a macro-level oriented theory. One important component of the structural-functional approach is the idea of social structure.…

    • 877 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Deviance is found in all types of societies. Some sociologists such as, Emile Durkheim, believe that deviance is universal and not abnormal in a society. Durkheim puts his ideas of deviance into a structural-functional theory, which sees society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote solidarity and stability. Whereas other sociologists, such as Alexander Liazos, believe that deviance is a result of social inequality. Liazos ideas fit into a social-conflict theory, which sees society as an arena of inequality that generates conflict and change.…

    • 937 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The structural-functionalist perspective, marriage and family are a basic building block of society. Marriage and family, are necessities for a stable society. Marriage and family perform a number of necessary functions, which provide a structure that children can be produced and raised. They also provide a way in which sexual relations can be in some way regulated so that people can fulfill their sexual desires without causing conflict.…

    • 611 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Functionalists believe the family contributes to society’s basic needs and helps maintain social order. Functionalists have been criticised for placing too much emphasis on the nuclear family. George Murdock and Talcott Parsonss were two of the most influential figures to contribute to the functionalist perspectives of the family. They both agreed the family is the…

    • 1081 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Structural functionalism is the theory that as a society grows larger the parts become a more complex and more specialized. The structural-functionalist approach is the idea in sociology that sees society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote equilibrium and stability. The theory says that our lives are led by social structures, which are based off of patterns of social behavior. Social structures help give form to our lives and society through families, the community, and religious establishments. The orientation of functionalism is on a macro type of scale.…

    • 839 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Throughout these last few weeks I have learned a lot in this class. What I have learned has made me think more about the world around me, broadening my mindset. I was very excited to take this course because my favorite course in high school was sociology. I knew I would like this course because I am interested in the material and it allows me to think outside of the box. I really like how it isn’t as cut and dry as other subjects may be; sociology allows you to have an open mind.…

    • 2209 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Superior Essays