Examples of structural functionalism in the following topics:
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- A prominent sociological theory that is often contrasted with structural-functionalism is conflict theory.
- Conflict theory was developed in part to illustrate the limitations of structural-functionalism.
- One of the primary contributions conflict theory presents over the structural-functional approach is that it is ideally suited for explaining social change, a significant problem in the structural-functional approach.
- This is particularly true of structural-functionalism and social-conflict theories.
- Structural-functionalism focuses on equilibrium and solidarity; conflict-theory focuses on change and conflict.
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- Later it came to focus on the ways social institutions meet social needs (structural-functionalism).
- Structural-functionalism draws its inspiration primarily from the ideas of Emile Durkheim.
- Structural-functionalism was the dominant perspective of sociology between World War II and the Vietnam War.
- As structural-functionalism thinks about elements of social life in relation to their present function and not their past functions, structural-functionalism has a difficult time explaining why a function of some element of society might change or how such change occurs.
- However, structural-functionalism could, in fact, offer an explanation in this case.
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- Sociologists take two opposing approaches to explaining economic stratification: structural-functionalism and conflict theory.
- Two classic sociological approaches to poverty and social stratification are structural-functionalism and conflict theory.
- The structural-functionalist approach to stratification asks the question: what function or purpose does stratification serve?
- The conflict-theory approach offers a critique of structural-functionalism.
- First, the critique asserts that it is difficult to determine the functional importance of any job, as a system of interdependence makes every position necessary to the functioning of society.
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- Structural functionalism is a framework that sees society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote solidarity and stability.
- Functionalism addresses society in terms of the function of its constituent elements: norms, customs, traditions and institutions.
- Structural functionalism also took on the argument that the basic building block of society is the nuclear family, and that the clan is an outgrowth, not vice versa .
- Structural functionalism also took on the argument that the basic building block of society is the nuclear family, and that the clan is an outgrowth, not vice versa.
- Explain the social functions of the family through the perspective of structural functionalism
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- What function does deviance play in society?
- This is a question asked by sociologists subscribing to the school of structural functionalism.
- Structural functionalism has its roots in the very origins of sociological thought and the development of sociology as a discipline.
- Though precursors of structural functionalism have been in existence since the mid-1800's, structural functionalism was solidified by Émile Durkheim in the late nineteenth century .
- A structural functionalist approach emphasizes social solidarity, divided into organic and mechanical typologies, and stability in social structures.
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- What function does the notion of deviance play in society?
- Sociologists who identify with the tradition of structural-functionalism ask this type of question.
- Structural functionalism has its roots embedded in the very origins of sociological thought and the development of sociology as a discipline.
- A structural functionalist approach emphasizes social solidarity and stability in social structures.
- Describe how structural functionalism views the relation between deviance and social change
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- Structural functionalism, or simply functionalism, is a framework for building theory that sees society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote solidarity and stability.
- This approach looks at both social structure and social functions.
- For Talcott Parsons (1902–1979), an American sociologist, "structural-functionalism" came to describe a particular stage in the methodological development of social science, rather than a specific school of thought.
- Structural functionalism reached the peak of its influence in the 1940s and 1950s, and by the 1960s was in rapid decline.
- To most sociologists, functionalism is now obsolete.
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- It is sometimes called structural-functionalism because it often focuses on the ways social structures (e.g., social institutions) meet social needs.
- Manifest functions are the intended functions of an institution or a phenomenon in a social system.
- Latent functions are its unintended functions.
- By delineating the functions of elements of society, of the social structure, we can better understand social life.
- The focus of functionalism on elements of social life in relation to their present function, and not their past functions, makes it difficult to use functionalism to explain why a function of some element of society might change, or how such change occurs.
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- This approach looks at society through a macro-level orientation, which is a broad focus on the social structures that shape society as a whole, and looks at both social structure and social functions.
- Functionalism addresses society as a whole in terms of the function of its constituent elements, namely: norms, customs, traditions, and institutions.
- Functional prerequisites may also refer to the factors that allow a society to maintain social order.
- According to structural functionalists, gender serves to maintain social order by providing and ensuring the stability of such functional prerequisites.
- The feminist movement, which was on the rise at the same time that functionalism began to decline, takes the position that functionalism neglects the suppression of women within the family structure.
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- In this section we have discussed the idea of "structural equivalence" of actors, and seen some of the methodologies that are most commonly used to measure structural equivalence, find patterns in empirical data, and describe the sets of "substitutable" actors.
- Structural equivalence of two actors is the degree to which the two actors have the same profile of relations across alters (all other actors in the network).
- Exact structural equivalence is rare in most social structures (one interpretation of exact structural equivalence is that it represents systematic redundancy of actors; which may be functional in some way to the network).
- The first step in examining structural equivalence is to produce a "similarity" or a "distance" matrix for all pairs of actors.
- And, structural analysis, is primarily concerned with the more general and abstract idea of the roles or positions that define the structure of the group -- rather than the locations of specific actors with regard to specific others.