Society in itself is one giant machine. There are many cogs and gears and levers that make it go around. However, there are several different theories about how these cogs and gears go about making society flow smoothly. Following are four of these theories discussed briefly. The groundwork for functionalism is the belief that society is a stable, orderly system. It is characterized by "societal consensus," meaning that a majority of its members share a common belief system including their values, beliefs, and behavioral expectations. The theorists behind functionalism are Robert Merton and Talcott Parsons. Functionalism is macro, due to the fact that it focuses on institutions as a whole, instead of the individuals involved. This theory views
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Its main focus is on the different interactions between members of society, and the importance symbols play in these interactions. (Symbols are defined as being anything from a facial expression to a gift given.) Theorists Herbert Blumer and George Herbert Mead were among the founders of symbolic interactionist theory, with Charles H. Cooley coming along later to further the development of the theory. In contrast to the aforementioned theories, symbolic interactionist theory is micro. This is because it focuses on individuals instead of society as a whole. It tends to each cog and gear instead of the whole machine. It views society as a bustling hub of activity that differs for each individual depending on the symbols they understand in each interaction. It goes along with the idea that each person's reality is different. For example, a driver gets cut off on the interstate and becomes agitated, assuming that it was on purpose, and they retaliate by blowing their horn at the offending vehicle. However, the driver who committed the offense knows it was an accident, and feels slightly ashamed that they cut off the other driver. Each driver's reality was different; one was irate while the other was embarrassed. It maintains the idea that society takes its shape by the way people interact with each other. Even though economic and government factors are important, the individuals have the biggest
Its main focus is on the different interactions between members of society, and the importance symbols play in these interactions. (Symbols are defined as being anything from a facial expression to a gift given.) Theorists Herbert Blumer and George Herbert Mead were among the founders of symbolic interactionist theory, with Charles H. Cooley coming along later to further the development of the theory. In contrast to the aforementioned theories, symbolic interactionist theory is micro. This is because it focuses on individuals instead of society as a whole. It tends to each cog and gear instead of the whole machine. It views society as a bustling hub of activity that differs for each individual depending on the symbols they understand in each interaction. It goes along with the idea that each person's reality is different. For example, a driver gets cut off on the interstate and becomes agitated, assuming that it was on purpose, and they retaliate by blowing their horn at the offending vehicle. However, the driver who committed the offense knows it was an accident, and feels slightly ashamed that they cut off the other driver. Each driver's reality was different; one was irate while the other was embarrassed. It maintains the idea that society takes its shape by the way people interact with each other. Even though economic and government factors are important, the individuals have the biggest