Week 2 – Structural Theories – consensus theory Sociology Week 2 – Structural Theories – consensus theory

Objectives for Week 2 Review key terms and concepts from week 1 Introduce structural theories – society as constraint Consensus theory – culture and socialisation Conflict theory – social control, power and constraint Introduce Social Action theory

Review of Week 1 Answer the questions on the quiz sheet. Class discussion of key concepts.

Sociological Perspectives Sociology tells us: There is no such thing as ‘human nature’. We learn to become members of a particular society. The most important forces involved in this learning process are social – not biological or instinctual.

Sociological Perspectives Last week we discussed how sociology arose as a discipline and that it’s development has not been uniform, e.g. starting in France and Germany in the eighteenth and nineteenth century, developing in America in the twentieth century and only becoming established as an academic discipline in British Universities in the 1960s.

Sociological Perspectives Similarly, there is no single sociological perspective but rather a variety of perspectives which share the emphasis of seeing social behaviour as the product of social forces, social arrangements and social conditions. However, sociologists themselves disagree in how they explain society and social behaviour because they start with different ideas.

Structural theories – society as constraint Structural sociology argues that: We are born into a social world which is just as real in its consequences as the physical world What we are as individuals is decided by the society and social groups we belong to Because: The social world directs our actions constraining us to act in specific ways As a result of this: Regularities and patterns can be observed in the behaviour of different individuals

What sort of things constrain our actions? On my salary I can’t afford an Aston Martin DB9 - Material Constraint If I could afford one, in the UK I would have to drive on the left side of the road. Why? – it is the legal rule in the UK What if I decide to break the rule? – I can be prosecuted. The rule is not part of my physical or material world but it constrains my actions very effectively. A constraint of the world of ideas.

What sort of things constrain our actions? If I could afford to buy a dozen Aston Martin DB9s I still might not do so. Why? I might believe it is wrong to buy a British sports car. I would be constrained by my beliefs about what is right and what is wrong. Where would these beliefs have come from? I would have learnt them within the society and/or particular social group to which I belong.

Consensus Theory The ways in which ideas and beliefs in societies / social groups constrain the behaviour of members is the main focus of consensus theory. Culture and socialisation are the key concepts in consensus theory.

Culture Learned behaviour in any given society will include the ideas and habits passed down from one generation to the next. These ideas and habits and skills can be viewed as solutions to problems that others have encountered and, in the course of time, solved. This learned behaviour of a society, or ‘social inheritance’, as Bilton et al (1989) describe it, is called culture.

Socialisation The way in which we learn the what is considered acceptable in our society - that is, the process by which we acquire the culture of the society into which we were born is called socialisation. Once individuals through socialisation have accepted the rules and expectations that make up the culture of their society they are said to have internalised society’s cultural rules. Cinema & Lift

Agencies of socialisation Sociologists argue that although we are all constantly learning about ways of thinking and behaving that are thought to be appropriate (or not) by those we come into contact with, it is possible to identify specific agencies of socialisation. The family Peer groups Education system Mass media In your groups research the agency of socialisation allocated and prepare to feedback the main points to the rest of the class. Your feedback sessions should each take approx. 5 minutes