Three Major Sociological Approaches

Many sociologists use different theories to help them understand the diverse behaviors in society. Sociologist often use the most three important theoretical approaches, structural-functional approach, the social-conflict approach, and the symbolic-interaction approach. These three approaches majorly contribute to the understanding of how our society works. Sociologist also apply these three theoretical approaches to how families function and their operations. Structural-functional approach and social-conflict approach are on the macro-level of analysis, while symbolic-interaction approach is on a micro-level of analysis. These approaches are different from each other in the way they view society and the different questions that each approach …show more content…
While both social-conflict and structural-functional approach are on the macro-level of analysis, symbolic-interaction is on a micro-level of analysis. This means that symbolic-interaction approach views society in a deeper and closer look. This approach defines society as the result of the daily decisions and actions when individuals interact with each other’s. In society, each and every individual put a connotation on nearly everything we interact with. Symbolic-interaction approach describes this as how human place symbols on their surroundings. These symbols makes up what we called “reality”. For symbolic-interactionist, symbols in a family are determined by how each members communicate and interact towards one another. These interactions generate meanings and symbols in a …show more content…
Each of these approaches have different perspectives on how society works and how it can influence the individual in a society. The structural-functional approach focus on the relation between how each part of society cooperate and keeps the society organize. Functionalists think that individual in a society works together and acknowledge each other’s decisions help control the society. In contrast, the social-conflict approach have a more negative outlook on society and its conflicts. The social-conflict approach consists of several different categories, gender-conflict approach, class-conflict, and race-conflict approach. This theory believes that society classify individual based on their race, gender, race, social rank, and wealth. These factors then leads to the conflicts and changes in society that could affects each individual and how society operate. The last theoretical approach is the symbolic-interaction approach. This approach look at society with a closer and deeper perspective. They look at the daily communications and actions of individuals to define society. These three primary theoretical approache guides us to how individual in society can influence the society, also how society and affect the