Examine the usefulness of functionalism for an understanding society
Sociology Essay Examine the usefulness of functionalism for an understanding society. This question asks me to look at how functionalism affects everyday society in Britain. This also requires me to look into depth at several other ways of society: Marxism, Feminism and interactionism. Functionalism is a structural theory which highlights the inter-relation of inter-dependant parts that concentrate on the family, education, economy and government. A structural theory is often described as a machine controlling everyone, looks at society in a macro view and the rules in the concepts of structural theory are followed to keep culture stable between generations of people. Functionalism blindly sees society perfectly and examines a society of people rather than individuals. Sociologists often describe this theory as the human body that links the brain to religion, the family to the heart, the lungs represents the economy, the liver is the legal system, the intestines represents the education and the bladder represents the health system. The idea behind this concept is: if any of the institutions break down then the whole of society breaks down. Functionalism occurs through out everyone's life, at the beginning when norms and values are passed on to children using primary socialisation and even during secondary socialisation at school. Functionalism can mean positive. The
Define Psychology using four perspectives; Psychoanalytical, Behaviourist, Humanistic and Cognitive
Define Psychology using three perspectives: Psychoanalytical, Behaviourist and Cognitive. The word 'Psychology' is derived from two Greek root: 'Psyche', meaning 'mind' or 'soul' and 'Logos', meaning 'study of'. A more recent definition is that of Atkinson et al (1991) suggesting that psychology is: 'The scientific study of behaviour and mental processes'. A contradiction to this is the dictionary definition claiming that psychology is 'the study of human and animal behaviour' and the informal term being 'a person's mental makeup'. All definitions are correct in their own rights but as simple definitions are slightly misleading as throughout history, psychologists have not only disagreed about the designation of psychology but what and how it should be studied. I will be concentrating on defining psychology using a variety of perspectives and describing how psychologists have developed them. Firstly, I will introduce, discuss and explain each approach before then deciding on arguments for and against them. Finally, I will give an evaluation of the relevance of each approach, highlighting the bias and flaws and inputting my own ideas and opinions on what I feel best defines psychology. Psychoanalysis is name applied to a specific method of investigating unconscious mental process and to a form of psychotherapy. The term also refers to the systematic structure of
"The body soul distinction is a myth derrived from philosophers such as Plato" - Discuss.
"THE BODY SOUL DISTINCTION IS A MYTH DERRIVED FROM PHILOSOPHERS SUCH AS PLATO." DISCUSS BY OWEN CLAYTON January 9th, 2003 Page 1 of 10 Questions that have plagued mankind for, it seems, almost as long as our existence are ones that cannot be answered in this life. " Will I survive death?" "What am I?" "Am I a unity of the spiritual and the material?" -Traditional church doctrine - "Or am I a mind/soul in a body?" -Typically Plato. There are several different views on the existence of the mind and body, exploring the existence of the mind alone, the body and mind in harmony, the body and mind separate but not linked and so on. Here the following paragraphs describe the main theories behind the body/soul distinction. In order to successfully debate this statement, one must define myth. Aetiological Myth is what is used to try to explain certain events in story form, the Tower of Babylon for example. Normal English usage is a distinction between true and false with myth representing a story, which is made up, e.g. a fairytale. There is no technical usage for the word myth in philosophy, each field of study has its own meaning of the word. The modern usage of the word does not have an inherent link between myth and falsehood, its merely a way of thinking about phenomenon which supersedes modern logical scientific thought, it exceeds the boundaries of time and Page 2 of 10
"As researchers are also members of society it is impossible for them to be objective and value free in planning and conducting their research." To what extent do sociological arguments and evidence support this view?
"As researchers are also members of society it is impossible for them to be objective and value free in planning and conducting their research." To what extent do sociological arguments and evidence support this view? AS defined by Robert Bierstedt 'objectivity means that the conclusions arrived at as the result of inquiry and investigation are independent of the race, colour, religion, creed, occupation, nationality, moral preference and political predisposition of the investigator. If his research is truly objective, it is independent of any subjective elements, any personal desires that he may have.' The term value free means that the research is objective, therefore unbiased. In this essay, I am going to be assessing different viewpoints and trying to establish whether or not sociological research can ever be objective and value free. The methodological approach, anti-positivists, think that sociological research can never be objective and value free. They advocate the use of qualitative (data presented in words) methods. They try to explain the world in terms of individual meanings and motives and so take a micro (small-scale) approach. They believe that sociology cannot be scientific because it is subjective (biased). Therefore, they believe that sociological research cannot be value free. Contemporary sociologists, who support the methods used by anti-positivists,
"Deviant behaviour is behaviour that people so label" Becker. How have symbolic interactionists applied this idea to explain the presence of deviancy in society?
"Deviant behaviour is behaviour that people so label" Becker. How have symbolic interactionists applied this idea to explain the presence of deviancy in society? The definition of the word 'deviant' is explained as; (a person or thing) deviating from normal behaviour. This automatically assumes that 'normal' behaviour is the correct and appropriate actions of society; therefore those who do not conform to this are seen as deviant. The concept of deviance is a relative term, meaning its fluid rather than fixed, changeable rather than static. One can discern that the idea of what is deviant according to the above classification is continually up for reinterpretation depending on the context in which it's set in. for example in the 1950's homosexuality was viewed by the majority of society as an illness but today as a legitimate and accepted lifestyle choice. Symbolic interactionist's translation of 'deviance' is that it is socially constructed, retaining a remnant that is so central to sociologists such as Beccaria, that the social realm is 'constructed' by actors. Becker (1974 pg 51)1 argues that 'deviant action is not an unknown, mystical force but that in fact 'we see that social rules, far from being fixed and immutable, are continually constructed anew in very situation.' Deviance according to deviance and labelling theories is the non-conformity with a set of norms
The links between school bullying and mugging and there affects on individuals lives.Is it possible that school bullying and mugging are closely linked? If so, can they have permanent side - effects on an individual's life?
The links between school bullying and mugging and there affects on individuals lives. Is it possible that school bullying and mugging are closely linked? If so, can they have permanent side - effects on an individual's life? Too tall, too short, too fat, too thin....I hate my hair...I need a better car...I can't wear that dress as I wore it last week....these are the questions I faced the other morning, the silly thing is that I am confident that millions of other people are waking up and lobbying mini arguments within their minds of similar matters. But why are these matters so important? A very open question, yet in all generalisation can be linked to the word SOCIETY. Blumer (1969) identifies this as noted below: "Basically human behaviour is not determined by social forces. Rather, people are simply self - conscious beings..." He states that due to ones self consciousnesses, questions similar to the ones asked above arise. The self consciousness of an individual is induced by those labels attached to us through the sub cultures in which we exist. These are closely linked to our childhood educational experiences. Control theory implies that social services will decrease levels of deviant behaviour by strengthening the bond between the adolescent and society. Labelling theory implies the reverse, that the process of formal adjudication through the juvenile court
According to theories of Symbolic Interactionism, what is and constitutes deviance? Discuss theory, method and 1-2 exemplary works from the tradition
According to theories of Symbolic Interactionism, what is and constitutes deviance? Discuss theory, method and 1-2 exemplary works from the tradition. Symbolic Interactionsim originated as a theory proposed by Blumer, built on the foundations of the philosopher; Mead's and Cooley's work. Symbolic Interactionsim takes the form of an outlook on society from a perspective of looking at the actions amongst those in society rather than looking at social laws and structures which govern society. Blumer's development of this theory was very much influenced by John Dewey's thoughts of society. Dewey stated that 'human beings were best understood in relation to their environment' (Dewey 1977) From this Blumer (1994:1) summarised "Symbolic Interactionism" as a study of human group life and conduct. Blumer (1994:2) came up with three main principles to this theory; meaning, language and thought. The first; meaning, states that individuals act towards people and things based on the meaning they have given to those people or things. The second, language, enables people to express meaning through symbols and meaning arises through social interaction using language. Blumer's ideas are taken from Mead on this principle. Mead (1934) says that naming assigns meaning and therefore naming is the core of human society and knowledge. It is through language that individuals identify meaning.
How has the behavioural consistency debate contributed to the understanding and assessment of personality?
How has the behavioural consistency debate contributed to the understanding and assessment of personality? Behavioural consistency may be defined as the similarity between a person's behaviour on two different occasions. Personality is assumed to explain behavioural consistency because it is assumed to be a major determinant of behaviour and, since personality remains relatively stable the behaviour it determines will be consistent. This essay explores the basis of the behavioural consistency debate, evaluating its contribution to the understanding and assessment of personality. The essay begins with a brief outline of the debate and then reviews the conceptual issue around consistency, providing evidence for and against each type of consistency. Following on from this the essay will discuss the implications the behavioural consistency debate has had on personality. Trait theorists stipulate stable patterns of behaviour are used to infer personality traits which, are subsequently used to explain and predict continuities and coherences in behaviour. The concept of consistency in behaviour is crucial to the trait approach in the sense that, if there is no consistency then there is no need to postulate internal factors and consequently no need for personality. The most damaging criticism of trait theories, if sustained, would be to undermine their basis in consistency.
Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the argument that children have an innate capacity for language. What other explanations of language acquisition by children have been offered?
Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the argument that children have an innate capacity for language. What other explanations of language acquisition by children have been offered? Language acquisition in children is undoubtedly a complex process and has fascinated people all over the world since languages fully developed. Most early endeavours to investigate language were mainly attempting to find the "original" language, such as the experiment by Pharaoh Psammeticus in the 7th century BC. The Pharaoh believed language was inborn and to prove his point, isolated two children to see if they developed the language they had been born with. This experiment was repeated in the 15th century by King James V of Scotland and by Emperor Akhbar of 16th-centiry India. While most of these were phylogenetic as opposed to ontogenetic, the focus is clear- are babies born with the capacity for language development? The nativist theory, which does indeed argue that language is part of our evolutionary inheritance, is challenged by other key schools of thought. These include behaviourism, which follows the theory of behaviour and reinforcement, social interactionism, which states that babies are influenced by, but do not solely learn from, adults, and cognitivism, in which babies' language is said to develop as understanding of the world grows. Although all of these theories have immense
A THEMATIC ANALYSIS ON LIFESPAN DEVELOPMENTWITH REAL LIFE EXPERIENCES OF A COUPLE
A THEMATIC ANALYSIS ON LIFESPAN DEVELOPMENT WITH REAL LIFE EXPERIENCES OF A COUPLE The aim of this research is to explore a married couple's real life experiences and the possible influences that affect their life development. A qualitative thematic analysis was carried out on pre-existing material of three semi-structured interviews and a video. Two main themes were identified : Various Influences and Changeable. This analysis showed support for some research done regarding Erikson's development stages, Peck's contribution on later life, developmental contextualism and Bronfenbrenner's theory. The findings suggest that life development is multi-facet. A reflexive analysis reviews some limitation on this analysis and recommendations are also made. INTRODUCTION Lifespan development is the one among different psychological perspectives. Psychologists are of different views on human development. Some of them split human development into different stages, some of them focus on the people's later development, some are optimistic but some not, and some opined that our development are deterministic but also some do not think so. Erik Erikson has developed a theory named as Psychosocial in which he stated that there would be eight development stages from birth to later adulthood within our life. (Cooper & Roth, 2002). The theory emphasised that our development is a
