Sociological theories

Sociological theories

Thesis statement

Functionalism has the greatest importance of all the three sociological theories as without the important functions it explains, neither the family nor an individual, and therefore the society on a whole will be able to survive and sustain itself.

Introduction

The three sociological theories, functionalism, conflict and interaction have an impact on the social institution of family. These theories are important for understanding how a society operates. Also, these theories help in understanding how the people in the society tend to relate to one another. These theories have been helpful in understanding the different social issues that are faced by the society, and how easy it is for developing the solution to the problem. Different theories are used for explaining the ways in which a society operates and how people are interacting with one another. Examples are the functionalism theory, the conflict theory, and the interaction theory. These theories help in examining the different institutions that are present in the society and how they are operating. These theories outlined above have impacted families in many different ways. These theories have an impact on how the family functions and how the family members interact with each other. Sociology and family go hand in hand and a family cannot be whole without understanding each other first (Calhoun, 2007).

The sociology of the family covers a broad variety of subjects that include childbearing of teenage, juvenile delinquency, the experience of mothering, domestic violence, abuse of substance, abuse experienced by elder and child, and the issues such as divorce. It also comes out to have a close link to other fields like the sociology of childhood, sociology of sexuality, sociology of death and dying, sociology of gender, social gerontology and the sociology of emotions. These theories apply to the institution of family with many similarities and differences at the same time. They also affect the views of the individuals who are part of the institution of marriage and they also affect the approach to social change with regards to this institution. They also affect the views of the society (Calhoun, 2007).

Discussion

The three Sociological theories have a deep impact on the institution of family. Their importance cannot be underestimated. They all are equally important in terms of applications to the institution of family and how they impact family, thereby affecting the views of the society on a whole. Despite the differences and similarities they have with each other, the underlying point is the impact that they individually have on the family institution (Waters, 2000).

Starting with the functionalism theory, it is a literal view of the structural and functional aspect of the family. This theory views family not only as itself but as also collectively as a large part of society. It bears similarity to Darwin's theory in the sense that it explores the possibility of looking at the way in which the family would be organizing itself for surviving as a sub system of the society. This theory depicts men as being the ...