What are the 3 major theoretical perspectives in sociology?

If you have ever taken a Sociology class, you know there are three major basic theories.  Symbolic interactionism, Functionalism and Conflict theory. Symbolic Interactionism theory focuses on the individual and the way they relate to symbols.  Functionalism theory, is the idea that society is composed of many parts working together to create a functional society, also meaning that When these parts are not working properly, society is dysfunctional. Then there is Conflict Theory, which explains that society is comprised of many groups, each competing with one another for scarce resources.

This video gives a basic refresher over the three main theories for those who have taken a Sociology class before. For those who have not, it names the three theories and gives detailed information on each topic. I believe simple videos like these are good ways to learn the basics principles of an idea in a short amount of time.

Figure 1. Sociologists develop theories to explain social occurrences such as protest rallies. (Photo courtesy of voanews.com/Wikimedia Commons)

Sociologists study social events, interactions, and patterns, and they develop a theory in an attempt to explain why things work as they do. A sociological theory seeks to explain social phenomena. Theories can be used to create a testable proposition, called a hypothesis, about society (Allan 2006).

Theories vary in scope depending on the scale of the issues that they are meant to explain. Macro-level theories relate to large-scale issues and large groups of people, while micro-level theories look at very specific relationships between individuals or small groups. Grand theories attempt to explain large-scale relationships and answer fundamental questions such as why societies form and why they change. Sociological theory is constantly evolving and should never be considered complete. Classic sociological theories are still considered important and current, but new sociological theories build upon the work of their predecessors and add to them (Calhoun 2002).

In sociology, a few theories provide broad perspectives that help explain many different aspects of social life, and these are called paradigms. Paradigms are philosophical and theoretical frameworks used within a discipline to formulate theories, generalizations, and the experiments performed in support of them. Three paradigms have come to dominate sociological thinking, because they provide useful explanations: structural functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism.

Table 1. Sociological Theories or Perspectives. Different sociological perspectives enable sociologists to view social issues through a variety of useful lenses.Sociological Theories/ParadigmsLevel of AnalysisFocusAnalogiesQuestions that might be askedStructural FunctionalismMacro or MidThe way each part of society functions together to contribute to the functioning of the whole.How each organ works to keep your body healthy (or not.)How does education work to transmit culture?Conflict TheoryMacroThe way inequities and inequalities contribute to social, political, and power differences and how they perpetuate power.The people with the most toys win, and they will change the rules of the game to keep winning.Does education transmit only the dominant certain cultures?Symbolic InteractionismMicroThe way one-on-one interactions and communications behave.What does it mean to be an X?How do students react to cultural messages in school?

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Watch the following video for an overview of each of the sociological paradigms. First, the video introduces major sociological theories in general terms, then gives an overview of structural-functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism. Structural functionalism views society as an organism in which the various parts, or social structures, fulfill certain functions to meet the needs of the society. Conflict theory imagines society as a struggle for scarce resources and focuses on the conflicts created by competition and power differences. Conflict theory includes sub-categories such as class conflict theory, race conflict theory, and gender conflict theory. Symbolic interactionism focuses more on individuals and the shared reality that people create through their own experiences.

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grand theories:an attempt to explain large-scale relationships and answer fundamental questions such as why societies form and why they changehypothesis:a testable propositionmacro-level theories:a wide-scale view of the role of social structures within a societymicro-level theories:the study of specific relationships between individuals or small groupsparadigms:philosophical and theoretical frameworks used within a discipline to formulate theories, generalizations, and the experiments performed in support of themtheory:a proposed explanation about social interactions or society

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