Scociological - 1136 Words

Three Major Sociological Paradigms There are three sociological perspectives that shape the structure of society as a whole. Functionalist perspective, symbolic interactionism and conflict theory. Sociologists develop these theories to explain social phenomena. In this essay I will explain the origins and evolution of the three main sociological perspectives and listing the sociologists that made major contributions to these disciplines. â€Å"The functionalist perspective is a sociological approach which emphasizes the way that parts of a society are structure to maintain its stability,† (Schaefer amp; Lamm, 1998). This perspective takes a look at society in a positive manner and sees it as stable, when all the parts are working†¦show more content†¦The conflict perspective sees society as being full of tension and struggle between groups. It also, like functionalist, analyzes society on the macro-sociological level. As for the individual, they are perceived as being shaped by power and authority. Social order is viewed as being maintained not through cooperation, but through force. And social change is not predictable, but is constantly taking place. The conflict perspectives main idea is that there are competing interests between groups and social inequality exists, therefore there is always conflict of some kind. The interactionist perspective is a sociological approach which generalizes about fundamental or everyday forms of social interaction, (Schaefer amp; Lamm, 1998). Interactionist perspective focuses on the way that small group act, in order to understand society as a whole. Interactionists study people in their everyday behavior and how they react to their surroundings. Such surroundings may include material things, actions, other people, and symbols. George Herbert Mead is most often credited with founding the interactionist perspective, but Charles Horton Cooley also shared Meads views. Mead was a professor at the University of Chicago, and he focused on the analysis of one-to-one situations and other small groups. He paid particular attention to