Sociology 2259 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Early Warning System, Manifest And Latent Functions And Dysfunctions, Social Control
18 Jan 2015
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Document Summary
3 main points of functionalism: consensus: what is good for some is assumed to be good for all, equilibrium: assumes system (society) must run smoothly. E. g. , a thermostat; deviance as excessive heat, which triggers cooling off period. If there is too little deviance, the system will adjust itself to create more, justifying agents of control. Assumption is that the relationship between deviance and social control is a continuous loop; they feed off and to each other: status quo: don"t fix what isn"t broken, conservative theory, and highly resistant to social change. Good for those who have power in society and benefit, people with cultural capital class. Not good for those who are not straight, those in middle and lower. First theory to place blame on society, not individual: durkheim: we need rules and regulations, as they are part of the process that holds the social system together.
