Structural Functionalism Essay

Mid-Term Study Guide
Functionalism: all parts of society work together in order to function as a whole.
Herbert Spencer: he inspired functionalism from his writings that said the various parts of society worked together like the human body.
Durkheim: helped make functionalism. He believed that society affects people’s behaviors (example of being rejected by society and the rejection being like a punishment). He also did a research study on suicide.
Conflict Theory: sees society as a competition for limited resources (like social, political, and material resources).
Karl Marx: helped make Conflict Theory. He was in favor of communism. He said the rich and the poor are in competition for things/resources.
Symbolic Interactionism: communication is
how people make sense of their social world; rationalization, logic, and efficiency. It helps understand the thinking and behavior of people.
Weber: anti-positivism; rationalization, logic, and efficiency. Iron cage: people trapped by the bosses.
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: you believe something so much that you act upon it and make it real.
Robert K. Merton: self-fulfilling prophecy (reality made by an idea).
Sapir-Worf Hypothesis: Culture is within language. Any interpretation of what reality is, is based on a society’s language. Every language has words and expressions that are specific to the language.
Thomas Theorem: if someone believes in something, then it is truly real to them.
False Consciousness: a condition when the beliefs, ideas, or ideology of a person aren’t in their best interest.
Ethnocentrism: judging other cultures based on how it compares to their own.
Xenocentrism: believing that another culture is superior to your own.
Cultural Relativism: judging a culture by its own standards instead of your culture’s standards.
Subculture: a smaller cultural group within the larger culture that has their own specific traits.
Counterculture: a type of subculture that rejects some of the larger culture’s values.
Ascribed Social Status: status that you don’t choose, like being old or female.
Achieved Social Status: status that is achieved by choice, like being a high school dropout.
Alienation: means that a person has no control over their
life.
Anecdote: a one-time occurrence that someone uses for or against the general population to try and prove a point.
Industrial Revolution: happened after the invention of the steam engine.
Types of Society
Hunter-Gatherer Society: relied on their surroundings for survival; moved to find more sources when they became scarce.
Pastoral Society: relied on the domestication of animals for survival; “Herding Societies.”
Horticulture Society: relied on the environment for survival; didn’t have to move to follow resources; they started permanent settlements.
Agricultural Society: relied on permanent tools for survival; tools for digging and harvesting; referred to as the Dawn of Civilization.
Feudal Society: contained a strict family descent system of power based on land ownership and protection; family placed someone in charge of maintaining the land in return for protection and a place to live.