Structuralist Theory

Sociology is the “systematic or scientific study of human society and social behavior” (Ferris and Stein, 2016, p. 9). The study of an individual society and its behaviors can have contrast due to a 20th century event. In the essay Racism and Research: The Tuskegee Syphilis Study, the unethical experiment took place in the year 1932 in Macon County, Alabama. This case can discuss the topics of culture, socialization, deviance, and race. All of which can become visible in a society through the structural functionalism lens. This sociological perspective theory is “a way of looking at the world” through a specific lens (Ferris and Stein, 2016, p. 10).

Structuralism, founded by Wilhelm Wundt, was the beginning of psychology branching away from philosophy featuring human behavior by dividing mental processes into basic components (Ettinger, 2014). Edward Titchener brought this practice to the United States in 1892 and even though structuralism was short-lived, it was a stepping stone making psychology a better science (Ettinger, 2014). During the same period as Titchener’s vision of structuralism, Sigmund Freud came up with a theory called psychoanalysis. (Ettinger, 2014) His idea included catharsis, also known as the talking cure, with his patient Anna O. helping with her symptoms of previous childhood trauma to go away. He believed that your unconscious mind had urges and even when you’re not thinking about them you are in that part of your mind (Ettinger, 2014). Lots of people did criticize Freuds for his work, but he did help those with issues using his “talking cure” and nowadays clinical psychologist still treats emotionally distressed people even though psychoanalysis is no longer used. In 1913 a psychologist by the name John Watson begin the ideology of behaviorism in psychology. Overall behaviorism is seeing how people learn (Ettinger, 2014). His approach to psychology was heavily shaped by Ivan Pavlov by trying new things to figure out behavior. B. F. Skinner is another behaviorist that contributed his work exploring the effects on behavior. He believed that behavior has no ideology of the mind or free will

To cite this article: Lisa Harris, Anne-Marie Coles & Keith Dickson (2000): Building Innovation Networks: Issues of Strategy and Expertise, Technology Analysis &

In my opinion both of the theories structuralism and functionalism involved the study of the human mind and how it works and they were both concerned with the mind at the conscious level. Personally, my feel of the two is that functionalism is more important than structuralism. I believe that functionalism is far better school than structuralism as it is more flexible and scientific in nature which I can relate myself with. I happen to think that functionalism is an object that is designed to determine solely by its function. These are a few of the similarities between structuralism and functionalism. Throughout this paper I will further explore some of the differences between these

Abstract This paper will discuss the different theories of social structures and how it plays into the communities and roles of crime. It will discuss how these theories work and give insight on criminological explanations of crime and delinquency. Ecological analysis of crime has been an important approach on how to analyze the cause of crime. Social Structure Theories

Ever since slavery was abolished, there has been a continuous struggle in the United States between African Americans and Caucasians involving social class, poverty and equality. Although blacks have suffered terribly in the past, they are still commonly looked down upon and even placed in a lower class category. The struggle over slavery opened to flood gates to the Civil War, Reconstruction, segregation, Jim Crow laws, the Civil Rights Movement and is still something we are overcoming as a Nation.

Structural functionalism is a macro level approach to study sociology (Browning, 2015). Structural functionalists believe social consensus is what holds society together; social consensus being a condition in which most members of the society agree on what would be good for everyone. Structural functionalists view society as a web of social structures, each structure being functional to fulfill it’s own needs, but dependent on all other structures for survival (Vago, 2012).

1. The structural functionalist theory of society is of the macro perspective because it focuses on the whole working parts of a society that when working is represented by people following social norms. When these norms or values are not followed, social issues arise. Overall, the social issues of overpopulation in animals shelters would focus on the overall need to own purebred animals and the negative connotation that animal shelters invoke. It is thought today that animals from a shelter are damaged and somehow lesser than purebred animals. Often times, the purebred animals are bought for exorbitant prices and generally come with genetic health issues, depending on the breed. All and all, by buying a purebred, people may feel that they’ve gotten the perfect animal that has been undamaged by previous owners or from development of behavioral issues from time spent in the shelter. However, nothing could be further from the truth.

The idea that the society functions as a whole, comes from the perspective of a structural functionalist. It draws upon the human body as a metaphor, and anyone that has illness or disease it is viewed as threat or deviance. So epistemologists and other fields of medicine study illnesses and disease to identify the risk factors and come up with preventative measures. People are no longer a diabetic; they are now identified as being at risk of diabetes. This has become a new way of identifying a person. A person has now formed an identity without actually having the health issue. From the Foucauldian perspective we can understand health as a source of identity. The notion of identifying ‘risk factor’ can be described as creating a biological

This paper seeks to evaluate two of the theoretical traditions studied during out course period. The first theory that will be emphasized is that of the structural functionist in which the role of the “Occupy Wall Street” protests will be observed and its relation to the Functionist’s theory determined. In understanding the elements of this theory, the paper will categorically weigh the functions of the theory in light of a current contemporary issue. On the other hand, the paper will also address the social exchange theory to explain the social changes and stability that represent a process of negotiated exchanges between individuals. In the social exchange theory, human interaction remains a unique transaction that is determined towards

1) Human nature is a starting point for classical political realism. Realists view human beings as inherently egoistic and self-interested to the extent that self-interest overcomes moral principles.

Poststructuralism mainly criticizes the dependence of structuralism on tradition and opposes traditional structuralism to focus research on objectivity and rationality. It attempts to restore irrational tendencies, pursue from the logic, but produce non-logical results. There is seldom a coherent theory in the field of poststructuralism, but each theory begins with a critique of Structuralism. Take the documentary as an example, in the view of the poststructuralist theorists, there is nothing else other than ideology, and any objective and true claim is doubtful in the documentary expression. For many people, such a poststructuralist approach is disappointing. If the documentary cannot get any form of objectivity or authenticity, even full of "fiction" like other feature film, then, how does documentary confirm its identity and value? For the moment, the response of the theorists to this issue is not sufficient, but I am in favor of Carl's point of view. Carl (1996) argues that the theory of poststructuralism and postmodernism is untenable as a philosophy. Also, as a basis for political analysis and political action, it is a failure. The research on poststructuralism is political, because many poststructuralists believe that the world which people living now is just a social construct, and there are many different ideology promoters who want to be hegemonic. This is obviously not acceptable.

In those days, she said, a lot of men’s violence towards women was not really treated as a crime. The police in the USA and the UK usually treated attacks like this – even very violent ones – as ‘domestic’ incidents and hence private matters. Worse, common wisdom at that time assumed that any woman stupid or brazen enough to be out on the streets at 3 o’clock in the morning was to be regarded as ‘fair game’. According to Cherry, this was not so much about ‘bystander apathy’ in general but, rather, a specific form of ‘turning a blind eye’ to something that is ‘none of your business’, a very different kind of explanation.

subsidiaries. In the nexus of innovation, valuable knowledge can be generated at any level of the

In any political system are structures that have different functions to ensure an effective and smooth running of things in that particular political system. This is why this essay will discuss the problems faced by opposition political parties in Zambia using the structural functionalist theory. First it will explain what structural functionalism is, then it will define structures, functions, a political party and an opposition party then before giving the conclusion it will discuss the problems faced by opposition parties in Zambia.