society is seen as a system of societal establishments such as the economic system. If you fit this description, you can use our free essay samples to generate ideas, get inspired and figure out a title or outline for your paper. For example, under a functionalist point of view the newspaper deliverer and the sewer worker all contribute to the function of the entire unit--without serving these purposes, the social structure would not function properly. This is particularly useful when observing society in order to understand the way in which it functions and the way in which all the institutions (organic analogy: organs within the body) work together to sustain society as a whole. which come in ‘clusters’ called position functions ; known as establishments. However, other approaches, such as Marxism and Feminism acknowledge that there are inequalities within society which raises the question as to whether functionalism is the most appropriate approach to use when studying society. One functionalist, Parsons, calls this agreement value consensus- the glue that holds society together. Also, as functionalism is a consensus theory where all individuals within a particular society share the same or similar norms and values and sees society as being fair and just; however, it fails to acknowledge that there are inequalities within society, these inequalities could be present amounts social class, gender or ethnicity. (21 marks)
(Your answer should focus on the strengths and weaknesses of functionalist and Marxist perspectives)
It was Durkheim who was concerned with the rapid societal alteration which was happening. Having trouble finding the perfect essay? Functionalism Inside the theory, plays a various parts on the society, which consist mainly of social institutions, and contributes to the sociality of the society. You can do this statement. For functionalists, society is seen as a system of social institutions such as the economy, religion and the family all of which perform socialisation functions. so the theory can non be disproved and is unscientific. which could take to anomie. whose map is to run into society’s stuff demands. These perspectives are important for a social worker to understand in order to create, Strengths and Weaknesses of the Functionalist View on Society, Assess the strengths and weaknesses of the functionalist view on society. Merton also criticises Parsons’ idea about indispensability, he assumes that everything is necessary in the way that it is; for example, children can only be socialised adequately in a two parent, nuclear family, however, Merton rejects this claim as he argues that adequate socialisation can occur even within a single parent family. Functionalism is a consensus perspective, whereby society is based on shared values and norms into which members are socialised. chloe_reidxo. Due to this. The Strengths and Weaknesses of Functionalism in Psychology As we mentioned, the concept of structuralism is no longer practiced in psychology and functionalism has evolved into applied psychology and behaviorism that are still relevant. The System being organisms such as the human body, and society which fit together in fixed ways. Functionalism has also been an influence on how our children are taught in our schools. Structuralism was responsible for influencing the advent of experimental psychology. which all form portion of the economic system. This could therefore be seen as a weakness of functionalism as it fails to acknowledge that there are minority groups within society. We use cookies to give you the best experience possible. Functionalism also influenced the educational system, especially with regards to John Dewey’s belief that children should learn at the level for which they are developmentally prepared. For functionalists. Rather than focusing on the elements of consciousness, functionalists focused on the purpose of consciousness and behavior. nevertheless in modern society the division of labour promotes differences between groups and weakens societal solidarity. and society which fit together in fixed ways.