STRUCTURAL-FUNCTIONALISM,

MARXISM,
SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM

MRS. STEPHANIE GAYLE P. RUIZ

At the end of the week, learners are expected to:

1. Analyze basic concepts and principles of the major

social science theories

2. Explain social phenomena from the perspective of

the major social science theories.
3. Appreciate basic concepts and principles of the
major social science theories
LET'S DISCUSS THE DIFFERENT CONCEPTS AND PRINCIPLES OF THE MAJOR
SOCIAL SCIENCE THEORIES.

• 1. STRUCTURAL- FUNCTIONALISM

• -is “A framework for building a theory that sees society as a complex system whose parts
work together to promote solidarity and stability” (Macionis 2007,15)

• -Such parts of the whole system may vary in terms of functions but they are all related to
each other.

• -Interdependent as they are, they all have one GOAL and that is to maintain or keep the
whole system.

• -Therefore, working of one part would have effects on the other parts
HISTORICAL CONTEXT

• The beginning of Structural Functionalism can be traced back to the works of sociologist

• The foundations of this theory were laid by the French sociologist

• 1. EMILE DURKHEIM – he laid the foundations of this theory in the late 19th centrury

• 2. BRONISLAW MALINOWSKI – contributor of structural-functionalism.

• he speculated that cultural practices had psychological and physiological functions.

• 3. A.R. RADCLIFFE-BROWN - focused on social structure.

• 4 TALCOTT PARSONS – introduced the idea of homeostasis that there are constant types of
structures which compose the inter-reliant systems of a society and worked to maintain society.
• KEY CONCEPTS IN STRUCTURAL-FUNCTIONALISM

• 1. SOCIAL STRUCTURE

• -Radcliffe- Brown subscribed to the sociological tradition that society is systematically structured.
He argued that explanations of social phenomena could be constructed at the societal level, meaning
that people were only temporal occupants of social roles.

•-People were merely important in relation to their positions in the overall structure of social roles
in society. It also suggests that people’s lives are steered by social structures, or relatively steady
models of social actions.

• Our lives are governed by social structures in families, community and political institutions.
• 2. SOCIAL FUNCTIONS

•- it refers to results or effects for the operation of the society in general.

•-For an instance, education has a number of significant purposes in a society, such socialization
and learning.

•The family can be treated as having essential functions for society such as providing sexual,
reproductive, economic, and educational needs for its members.

•Media provides the social function of mirroring the concerns of the audience.

•Religion contributes to the well-being of society by teaching morality thus providing social stability
and order.

•-may be intended or unintended consequences, thus they can be classified into manifest and latent
functions.
• 3.MANIFEST FUNCTIONS (Robert K. Merton)

•-are those that are intentional or known, referring to functions which people suppose and anticipate to be
fulfilled by the institutions.

•Example : in religion

•The manifest function of religion is to provide meaning and purpose for a society by offering the comforting
sense that we come from and will be back to higher being. It is also promotes social unity by binding people through
codes, morals, and customs.

• 4.LATENT FUNCTIONS (Robert K. Merton)

•- are those that are neither recognized nor intended.

•Example : education

•The manifest function of education is to transmit cultural norms and values to future generations and one of the
latent functions was to keep the youth off the streets.

•Manifest and latent functions are social scientific concepts first clarified for sociology by Robert K. Merton. ...
While FUNCTIONS are intended (manifest) or unintended (latent), and have a positive effect on society,
DYSFUNCTIONS are unintended or unrecognized (latent) and have a negative effect on society.
• 5.SOCIAL DYSFUNCTIONS

•- Dysfunctions may also be Manifest or latent

•- Manifest dysfunctions are expected disruptions of social life.

•For an instance,

- A manifest dysfunction of heavy migration from rural to urban areas might include overpopulation and
unemployment.
- The latent dysfunction might include rise in crime rate due to massive unemployment generated by said
migration.

•  

• HERBERT SPENCER – conceptualized another important concept in in structural functionalism which is

the idea of

• “SOCIAL EQUILIBRIUM” - In sociology, a system is said to be social equilibrium when there is a dynamic

working balance among its interdependent parts.
• STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF STRUCTURAL-FUNCTIONALISM

• STRENGTH

•1. Existence of general agreement on the values and norms of the society by majority. For example: Sharing is good
stealing is bad .This helps keep order and harmony in society.This also makes people accept their roles in society

•2. The belief that society is made up of integrated parts that are bound together, and that if something is wrong with
one part of it will affect the other parts.

•3. Structural-functionalism tends to seek stability and avoid conflict, thus supporting the status quo and in effect,
maintaining social order.

• WEAKNESSES

1. Being wary of social change due to its focus on integration and consensus, and in

• doing ignores independence and conflict.

1. Tendency to ignore inequality in terms of race, gender, and class, which causes

• conflict.

1. It was only able to explain the development of institutions through recourse to the

• consequences attributed to them.

Hangga’tmarami ang lugmok sa kahirapan
At ang hustisya ay para lang sa mayaman
Habang may tatsulok at sila ang nasa tuktok
Di matatapos itong gulo ♫♪
• 2.MARXISM

• It Is an intellectual process which tries to unify scientific analysis and emancipatory social movements for the purpose of revolutionizing
human society.

• It is one of the theoreticall approaches in social science that is associated with conflict theory, or the view that society is divided into social
class which are always in conflict with one another.

• Based on Karl Heinrich Marx own observations of the early decades of industrial capitalism in Europe, Marx set out to expose the inherent
economic, social, and political contradictions of capitalism, how these contradictions lead to unforeseen and unintended consequences such
as the intensification of class conflict and the of the proletariat, and ultimately, to the overthrow of capitalism. Bourgeoisie is the term for the
capitalists who own the means and buy services from Proletariat for production, compensating them through wages

• Also, refers to the political and economic theories of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in which the concept of class struggle plays an
important role in abolishing class oppression.

• The theory of the nature of history and politics as well as a prescription for revolutionary action to

• bring the industrial working class to power and create a classless society.

• Society divided into two distinct classes

1. Bourgeoisie- class of capitalists (ruling class)

2. Proletariat - class of wage laborers (working class)

• Economics formed basis of human activities, determined who had power in society. Believes

• working class (proletariat) was oppressed by the ruling class (bourgeoisie)

• STRENGTH AND WEAKNESSES

• Strength

1. A social science theoretical approach is the view that conflicts in the society are caused by
the battle over power to control not only the resources but also the norms and values of
society.
2. Its claim that as long as there are classes in society, there will always be conflict and
oppression, with the dominant group power over the oppressed group
3. It emphasizes the need for social change through class struggle
4. Advocates a macro-level analysis of society by emphasizing that social structures such as
social classes affect human behavior and the material conditions created by the said
structures influence how people think, behave and act.
• Weaknesses

1. It is sometimes seen as focusing on the negative, always-changing, and nature of society instead of
focusing on the positive aspects of society as as defense of the status quo and how people cooperate
to cerate social order.

2. It tends to emphasize conflict and social change as opposed to harmony and social stability

3. It sees society as being composed of stratified groups of people who have their own agenda and
interests, and the group with more access to economic resources tend to dominate the other groups.

4. Its macro-level analysis of society, with critics arguing that its view of social structures affecting the
way people behave ignores the complexities and nuances of everyday life and power relations.

5. It is also criticized for losing scientific objectivity for it encourages researchers to be activists of social
change instead of just merely analyzing the social issues they are dealing with.
• 3.SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM

•- It focuses on a small scale perspective of the interactions between individuals, like when you hang
out with a friend, instead of looking at large scale structures, like education or law.

•-Theory which depends on the symbolic meaning developed by people in the process of interaction.

•3 Tenets/principles contained on symbolic interactionism

• We act based on the meaning we have given something or particularly action depends on meaning.

• We give meaning to things based on our social interaction in other words different meanings for other
people.

• The meaning that we give something is not permanent. It can be changed according to our social
interaction with others or things.
• Historical context

• The theory was compiled from the teachings of George Herbert Mead in the early
20th century and on the latter part, continued by Herbert Blumer.
• Mead believed that the development of the individual was a social process in other

• words, people change based on their interactions with objects, events, ideas, or
people.
• He differentiated the humans from infrahumans (also called as animals) which
states
• that the cooperation in humans are cognitive, while in animals determined
physiologically.
• Key concepts

1. Symbols – refer to the means by which people creatively communicate whose meaning
came from social interaction.
– Meaning (based upon the meaning that they have given to them)
– Language (helps in formulating beliefs)
– Thought (discusses meanings in mind)

2. Self –refers to the conscious personality of the individual. It answers the questions, “Why
do I exist?” and “What’s my role on society?”
- Plays a unique role for social interaction when evaluated correctly
- Maintains social order in a system

- Me (how others perceive you) and I (how you perceive others)

• Strengths and Criticisms

• Strengths:
– Recognizable by people who are also symbol users meaning that other people could
also understand the meaning imposed on things, actions, or incidents.
– People respond to others based on their understanding of the situation despite their
multicultural differences and dissimilarity of opinions.
– Gives insight into small-scale human interactions
– Emphasizes the relationship between the meaning of symbols and a person’s behavior.
In a way, certain behaviors may be predicted.
1. Mind – mental aspect of individuals which materializes from
human communication
- Exploring possible outcomes of actions before proceeding with
actions
- Processes symbols
- Mostly works when evaluating one’s self
• Criticisms
– Not applicable to large-scale social structures
– Focuses on the power of individuals to create their own realities, ignoring
the info to which humans inhabit a world not of their own making.
– Not able to explain how structures affect individual meanings,
perceptions and interpretations.
– Does not meet the criteria in judging social theories.
•