SOCIAL THEORIES AND FAMILY

Social Theories and Family

Abstract

Social theories are systematic concepts that endeavor to study and interpret the social phenomenon. The paper explicates that the social theories have immense influence on the social institution of family; it affects the views of individuals who are part of the institution and each theory affects the social change. Family is a social institution that binds people together through blood, marriage, law or social norms. Functionalists ask: 'How is social order in society maintained?" Conflict theorists seek to identify dominant and disadvantaged groups to document structural inequalities. Symbolic interactionists focus on social interaction everyday encounters in which people communicate, interpret and respond to each other's words and actions. The family may become a living space and learning for social change

Table of Contents

Introduction4

Family4

Functionalism5

Applications and Effects6

Conflict Theory7

Applications and Effects7

Interactionism Theory8

Applications and Effects9

Social Change10

Family and Social Change11

Conclusion12

Reference13

Social Theories and Family

Introduction

Social theories are systematic concepts that endeavor to study and interpret the social phenomenon. There are basically three main social theories: Functionalism, Conflict Theory, and Interactionism. The paper explicates that the social theories have immense influence on the social institution of family; it affects the views of individuals who are part of the institution and each theory affects the social change.

Family

Family is a social institution that binds people together through blood, marriage, law or social norms. Family members are generally expected to care for and support each other. This definition is very general because getting people to agree on a definition is surprisingly difficult. The difficulty is rooted in the fact that even though every person is a member of a family (if only in the biological sense). Instead an amazing variety of family arrangements exists worldwide-a variety reflected in the numerous norms that specify how two or more people can become a family. These norms govern family-related matters such as who can marry. The number of spouse people can have, the way people connect with spouses, and the ways people trace their ancestors and descendants. In light of this variability, we should not be surprised that when people think of family, they often emphasize different dimensions, such as kinship, ideal members, or legal ties (Adler, 1975).

Functionalism

Functionalists ask: 'How is social order in society maintained?" Their answer is that social order is possible because all the parts of society contribute to order: Functionalists see society as a system of interdependent parts. To illustrate, they use the human body as an analogy. The human body is composed of parts such as bones, ligaments, muscles, a brain, a spinal cord, a heart, and lungs. They all work together in impressive harmony. Society, like the human body, is made up of interdependent parts, such as schools, automobiles, sports teams, cell phones, funeral rites, laws, and languages. Like the various body parts, each of society`s parts performs a function. A function is the contribution a part makes to maintain the stability of an existing social order. In the most controversial form of this perspective, functionalists argue that all parts of society-even something like ...