Consensus, Conflict, Structural, and Social Action Theories (AQA A-Level Sociology): Revision Notes
Consensus, Conflict, Structural, and Social Action Theories
Understanding the major theoretical perspectives in sociology helps explain how sociologists view society and social behaviour. These theories can be broadly categorised into four main approaches: consensus theories (like functionalism), conflict theories (like Marxism and feminism), structural theories (macro-level approaches), and social action theories (micro-level approaches).
This overview covers the fundamental theoretical frameworks that shape sociological thinking. Each perspective offers unique insights into how society operates, from large-scale social structures to individual interactions and meanings.
Functionalism - consensus theory
Functionalism represents a macro, structural approach that views society as a stable system where different parts work together harmoniously. This perspective uses positivist methods to study society scientifically and focuses on how social institutions contribute to social order.
Durkheim's foundations
Émile Durkheim (1897) established the foundations of modern functionalism by demonstrating how suicide rates could be explained through social factors external to individuals, rather than purely personal reasons. This scientific approach treated sociology as a legitimate academic discipline.
Parsons' organic analogy
Talcott Parsons (1951) developed functionalism into a systematic theory using the organic analogy. Just as different organs in the human body (heart, brain, lungs) must work together to maintain health, different social institutions (family, education, economy) must cooperate to maintain social order.
Worked Example: Parsons' AGIL Model
Parsons identified four basic needs that every society must meet, known as functional prerequisites:
A - Adaptation: Society must provide basic living standards through economic institutions like factories and banking systems
G - Goal attainment: Society requires decision-making procedures through political institutions like political parties
I - Integration: Society needs shared goals and conflict reduction through educational, religious and media institutions
L - Latency: Society must help individuals cope over time through kinship institutions like the family
Parsons distinguished between pattern maintenance (socialising people into acceptable behaviour and roles) and tension management (motivating people to perform their roles without opposing society).
Value consensus and social control
Critical Concept: Value Consensus
Functionalists argue that social stability depends on value consensus - shared basic norms and values throughout society. Without this shared foundation, society would collapse into chaos and conflict.
This consensus develops through:
- Primary socialisation in the family, where children learn basic manners and values
- Secondary socialisation through institutions like schools, which teach wider cultural values and workplace skills
Social Control Mechanisms
Social order is maintained through two main types of social control:
- Informal agencies (like family rewards and punishments)
- Formal agencies (like the criminal justice system)
These work together to ensure people conform to societal expectations and maintain stability.
Social change in functionalism
Functionalists view social change as evolutionary rather than revolutionary. Parsons described structural differentiation - a gradual process where institutions develop specialised functions to meet society's changing needs. For example, modern education systems have taken over job training that families once provided.
Merton's internal critique
Robert Merton (1957) challenged some functionalist assumptions while remaining within the perspective. He argued that:
- Some institutions may be dysfunctional, creating conflict rather than stability
- Not all institutions are functionally indispensable - alternatives could perform the same functions
- Parsons' analysis oversimplifies society by ignoring latent (hidden) functions alongside manifest (intended) ones
Marxism - conflict theory
Marxism offers a macro, structural perspective that emphasises conflict rather than consensus. Marx argued that capitalist society is fundamentally based on conflict between two social classes rather than cooperation between institutions.
Basic class structure
Marx identified two main classes in capitalist society:
- Bourgeoisie (Bs) - the ruling class who own the means of production (land, machinery, tools, factories - but not labour)
- Proletariat (Ps) - the working class who sell their labour for wages
The bourgeoisie maximise profits by extracting surplus value - the difference between the value goods produce and the wages paid to workers. This creates increasing inequality and eventually leads to revolution.
Infrastructure vs Superstructure
Marx argued that economic factors (the infrastructure) ultimately control other social institutions (the superstructure). The infrastructure includes the economic base of society, while the superstructure encompasses family, religion, media, and education systems.
The superstructure's function involves reproducing and legitimising inequalities by creating false class consciousness - where the proletariat accept their exploitation as natural and fair.
Social change and revolution
Unlike functionalists, Marx viewed social change as revolutionary. He predicted that increasing exploitation would lead to polarisation - the rich getting richer while the poor become poorer. Eventually, the proletariat would develop class consciousness, recognise their exploitation, and overthrow capitalism to establish a classless communist society.
Historical Materialism
Marx developed historical materialism as his method for studying how human societies produce life's necessities over time. He traced social development through different epochs, arguing that each contained contradictions leading to the next stage.
Neo-marxism
Neo-Marxist theorists updated traditional Marxism while maintaining its core conflict perspective. These developments recognised that capitalism had evolved beyond Marx's original analysis, incorporating cultural and ideological factors alongside economic ones.
Gramsci's hegemony
Antonio Gramsci developed the concept of hegemony - how ruling class ideas become dominant throughout society via institutions like media, education and religion. Unlike traditional Marxism's economic determinism, Gramsci argued that individuals could potentially see through dominant ideology and challenge it.
Althusser's state apparatus
State Control Mechanisms
Louis Althusser distinguished between:
- Repressive State Apparatuses (RSAs) like police and prisons that use force
- Ideological State Apparatuses (ISAs) like education and media that manipulate consciousness
This shows how the state maintains control through both physical force and ideological manipulation.
The Frankfurt School
The Frankfurt School, including Herbert Marcuse (1964), examined how media shapes and manipulates people's needs through advertising and trivial entertainment, diverting attention from capitalism's injustices.
Harvey's flexible accumulation
David Harvey (1990) used a postmodern framework to describe how capitalism evolved since the 1970s. Flexible accumulation involves exploiting cheap labour in developing countries, flexible workforces on zero-hour contracts, and technology-based products. This has made class divisions more complex, with factors like gender, ethnicity and religion becoming increasingly important alongside traditional nation-states.
Social action theory
Social action theories reject structural, macro approaches and argue that society results from people's interactions and meanings rather than being determined by social forces beyond individual control.
Weber's verstehen
Max Weber (1905) argued that sociologists should uncover verstehen - the subjective meanings individuals attach to their behaviour. He advocated interpretivist methods to understand social action rather than treating people as puppets controlled by social forces.
Symbolic interactionism
Worked Example: Understanding Symbolic Interactionism
Symbolic interactionism examines how people acquire knowledge about appropriate behaviour in different social situations.
George Herbert Mead (1934) argued that human behaviour involves interpreting symbols with flexible meanings.
Step 1: Consider the symbol - a kiss
Step 2: Examine different contexts - first date vs greeting relative at funeral
Step 3: Understand meaning varies - romantic gesture vs respectful greeting
This shows how the same symbol can have completely different meanings depending on social context.
Herbert Blumer (1962) developed the concept of the self - partly formed through individual interpretation of experiences, but also shaped by how others perceive us. Charles Horton Cooley (1922) called this the looking-glass self - we see ourselves as others see us.
Labelling theory
Labelling theory, applied by Howard Becker (1961), examines how agents of social control (teachers, police) apply negative labels during interactions. These labels can negatively impact self-esteem and create self-fulfilling prophecies where individuals accept and act according to their labels.
Erving Goffman (1963) developed dramaturgical analysis - viewing social interaction as theatrical performance where people play roles that are only loosely scripted by society. Through impression management, individuals actively seek to present themselves as they wish others to perceive them.
Phenomenology and ethnomethodology
Understanding Social Construction of Reality
Phenomenologists argue that society is not 'real' but socially constructed. Alfred Schultz (1899-1959) claimed that people use shared categories or typifications to make sense of the world and clarify unclear meanings.
Harold Garfinkel (1967) developed ethnomethodology - studying the methods people use to create meanings rather than explaining meanings' effects. He introduced reflexivity - using common-sense knowledge to make sense of social reality when confusion arises.
Giddens' structuration theory
Anthony Giddens (1984) combined structural and social action approaches in his structuration theory. While individuals face structural constraints (norms, customs, laws), they retain choice and can respond differently. He argued that social structures are increasingly open to change through individual actions in late-modern society.
Feminism
Feminism represents a conflict theory focusing on inequalities based on patriarchy (male dominance) rather than social class. Feminists argue that traditional sociology has been malestream - ignoring women's perspectives and experiences.
Types of feminist theory
Liberal feminism
Liberal feminists like Ann Oakley (1974) argue that women's oppression results from lack of opportunities in education, employment and politics. Gender socialisation, particularly the belief that housewife-mother represents women's primary role, maintains this oppression.
Liberal feminists advocate changing socialisation patterns, positive female role models in media, and legislation like the Equal Pay Act to combat gender discrimination.
Marxist feminism
Marxist feminists like Michele Barrett (1980) argue that capitalism and its patriarchal ideology control and exploit women in multiple ways:
- Unpaid housework and childcare supporting current and future workers
- Absorbing male workers' anger and frustration
- Forming part of the reserve army of labour - hired during economic booms, fired during recessions
They argue that overthrowing capitalism is necessary to end women's oppression, as capitalism and patriarchy are intertwined in patriarchal capitalism.
Radical feminism
Radical Feminist Perspective
Radical feminists like Shulamith Firestone (1972) view men as 'the enemy'. They argue that patriarchy exists in all areas of society, with women dependent on men who oppress and exploit them in all life areas, from sexual relations to workplace discrimination.
Radical feminists advocate revolutionary change, including separation from men and political lesbianism as ways for women to escape male oppression in personal and sexual relationships.
Contemporary feminist perspectives
Diversity in Feminist Thought
Difference feminists argue that theories assuming universal patriarchy fail to recognise that women's experiences vary according to social class, ethnicity, religion, and age.
Black feminists contend that mainstream feminism focuses on overcoming patriarchy and class oppression while ignoring how ethnicity creates discrimination through racial bias.
Postmodern feminists argue that previous feminist theories fail to reflect the diversity of women's experiences, claiming that terms like patriarchy don't affect all women identically.
Evaluation of theoretical approaches
Strengths of different approaches
Functionalism effectively demonstrates society's macro influence over individuals and shows how different institutions work together cooperatively. Value consensus does exist in society to some degree.
Marxism provides compelling explanations for inequality and workplace exploitation while showing how society (particularly economic factors) influences individuals. It offers a clear account of how conflict developed historically.
Social action theories demonstrate human agency and people's ability to shape society. They provide rich insights into small-scale interaction processes and avoid the deterministic assumptions of structural theories.
Feminism has successfully highlighted gender inequality and patriarchal structures that previous theories ignored, leading to important social and legal changes.
Limitations and criticisms
Functionalism faces criticism from Marxists for ignoring conflict and power differences. The predicted revolution hasn't occurred, capitalism has grown stronger through globalisation, and communist regimes have proved unsuccessful. Interactionists and postmodernists argue that people are more reflexive than functionalists suggest.
Marxism is criticised for overemphasising conflict while ignoring examples where capitalism benefits all society (welfare state improvements). Weber's argument about middle class growth contradicts Marx's polarisation prediction. Feminists highlight Marxism's neglect of gender inequality, while social action theorists argue it ignores individual agency.
Social Action Theory Limitations
Social action theories are criticised by structural theorists for failing to account for the wider social context influencing interactions. They struggle to explain the origins of labels and symbolic meanings. Functionalists argue they ignore consistent pattern influences like shared norms.
Feminism faces criticism for over-deterministic structural approaches that don't account for individual women's varied interpretations of their situations. Liberal and Marxist feminists argue about whether changing socialisation or overthrowing capitalism represents the priority for ending oppression.
Key Points to Remember:
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Functionalism views society as a stable organism where institutions work together through value consensus and social control mechanisms
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Marxism focuses on conflict between bourgeoisie and proletariat, with economic infrastructure controlling social superstructure and false class consciousness
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Neo-Marxism updates traditional Marxism by incorporating concepts like hegemony, state apparatuses, and flexible accumulation in modern capitalism
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Social action theories emphasise individual agency, meanings, and interactions through concepts like verstehen, symbolic interactionism, and labelling theory
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Feminism examines patriarchal oppression through liberal (opportunity focus), Marxist (capitalism focus), and radical (male dominance focus) approaches