Sociological Perspectives

There are many social theories . Three theories include Structural Functionalist Theory , Social Conflict Theory , and Symbolic Interactionism . These theories differ greatly in how they describe society . Comparing the models gives one a sense of how society interacts

Structural Functionalism

Writings of theories coinciding with structural functionalist ideals date back to Socratic dialogue documented by Plato in the Republic There was a theory that organizations in society decided how ideas would flow . Each individual contributed to the success of this system In his Republic , Plato posed an analogy between society and

an organism , a system of related parts in dynamic equilibrium . In the ideal society he described , each category of participants in the social structure performed activities that contributed to the overall attainment of social harmony (DeFleur , 29 . In 1957 Robert Merton examined these varied structural functionalist theories and combined them into a set of rules in which we borrow from today .Rules are the basis of the structural functionalist theory

Society today is based on mass communication . Ideas not superior are not generally adopted by society . The best ideas win approval . It is the role of media 's repetitive activities that distributes ideas for society to either accept or reject

Social Conflict Theory

Social conflict theorists believe that the best ideas arise out of conflicting ideas

Symbolic Interactionism is an interesting concept . Everyone has a place . We all learn to adjust the interpretations of the world in which we live . Learning common symbols understanding of the roles in which we play socially . Symbolic Interactionism explains this by exploring the symbols we assign . The effects of Symbolic Interactionism are in the media . Television , radio , and internet allow for symbols to be transmitted all over

Symbolic Interactionism

People within the same society learn behaviors by studying actions posed by others . People learn what is accepted as well as meanings given to the item

This behavior helps to bring the person into their culture . The Symbolic Interactionism Theory can be defined as a theory where .people give meaning to symbols and those meanings come to control those people (Baran ,

238

Symbolic Interactionism can then be talked about in terms of it being a part of society rather than having an effect on society . In SIT the media helps to disseminate the information which is already present in a society

References

Baran , Stanley J . and Davis , Dennis K , Mass Communication Theory Foundations , Ferment , and Future , Wadsworth , Page 238-234 , 2003

Defleur , Melvin L , Theories of Mass Communication , 5th Edition Longman , Pages 29-38 , Social Paradigms : The Organization of Society...