By the end of this section you should be able to: Describe the ways that sociological theories are used to explain social institutions. Differentiate between functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism. Figure 1.7 Sociologists develop theories to explain social occurrences such as protest rallies. (Credit: David Shankbone/flickr) Sociologists study social events, interactions, and patterns, and they develop theories to explain why things work as they do. In sociology, a theory is a way to explain different aspects of social interactions and to create a testable proposition, called a hypothesis, about society (Allan 2006). For example, although suicide is generally considered an individual phenomenon, Émile Durkheim was interested in studying the social factors that affect it. He studied social solidarity, social ties within a group, and hypothesized that differences in suicide rates might be explained by religious differences. Durkheim gathered a large amount of data about Europeans and found that Protestants were more likely to commit suicide than Catholics. His work supports the utility of theory in sociological research. Theories vary in scope depending on the scale of the issues that they are meant to explain. Macro-level theories relate to large-scale issues and large groups of people, while micro-level theories look at very specific relationships between individuals or small groups. Grand theories attempt to explain large-scale relationships and answer fundamental questions such as why societies form and why they change. Sociological theory is constantly evolving and should never be considered complete. Classic sociological theories are still considered important and current, but new sociological theories build upon the work of their predecessors and add to them (Calhoun, 2002). In sociology, a few theories provide broad perspectives that help explain many different aspects of social life, and these are called paradigms. Paradigms are philosophical and theoretical frameworks used within a discipline to formulate theories, generalizations, and the experiments performed in support of them. Three paradigms have come to dominate sociological thinking because they provide useful explanations: structural functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism. Sociological Theories/Paradigms Level of Analysis Focus Analogies Questions that might be asked Structural Functionalism Macro or Mid The way each part of society functions together to contribute to the functioning of the whole. How each organ works to keep your body healthy (or not.) How does education work to transmit culture? Conflict Theory Macro The way inequities and inequalities contribute to social, political, and power differences and how they perpetuate power. The ones with the most toys wins and they will change the rules to the games to keep winning. Does education transmit only the values of the most dominant groups? Symbolic Interactionism Micro The way one-on-one interactions and communications behave. What’s it mean to be an X? How do students react to cultural messages in school? Table 1.1 Sociological Theories or Perspectives - Different sociological perspectives enable sociologists to view social issues through a variety of useful lenses.

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