paradigms, structural functionalism, dysfunctional societies

define theoretical paradigm:

a body of accumulated understanding and concepts that frame the investigations within an academic field

what is the difference between macro and micro:

macro investigates phenomenon at the level of the society/large social group. whereas micro investigates interactions and structure between individuals or within small groups

does structural functionalism conflict theory usually belong to macro or micro:

macro

does symbolic interactionism usually belong to macro or micro:

micro

explain symbolic interactionism:

members of social groups share meaning and orientation towards action through shared symbols and concepts that structure social action 

the focus here is usually at the micro level

explain symbolic interactionism:

an important idea in symbolic interactionism (SI) is that culture-sharing humans can take other humans-and themselves-as social “objects”, imbued with meaning and expectations that shapes how we formulate our interactions. we can consider our “self” in social context by “taking the role of the other”

define conflict theory:

societies encompass unequal groups with different interests that struggle over power and resources

define common/collective consciousness:

beliefs that have coercive power; they’re the ideas that people give life to in their interactions with one another

define anomie:

a sense of normlessness that can afflict folks in times of change

list the criteria of causality:

1. the independent variable and dependent variable must be statistically related (correlated)

2. the independent variable must precede the dependent variable in time and/or in logic

3. the relationship between the independent variable and dependent variable must not be spurious

4. no better explanation exists for the relationship between the independent variable and the dependent variable