FRHD 3060 Chapter Notes - Chapter 5: Disengagement Theory, Social Constructionism, Deconstruction

• School: University of Guelph
• Department: Family Relations and Human Development
• Course: FRHD 3060
• Professor: Jacobi Elliott

Document Summary

Individuals learn social rules by internalizing shared norms and values through socialization. When rules are broken, some type of sanction is imposed by those in control to bring back order. This approach uses cause and effect to explain outcomes. Individuals create and change the social order through agency (their own decisions and actions) The world is composed of meaning not things (ie. one"s interpretation of a situation is more important than the situation itself: conflict perspective. Conflict is inevitable since society is composed of competing groups. Main concepts are norms, rules, and socialization. Focuses on the relationship between social structures and social institutions, and their effect on individuals. Views aging as a process in which an individual adjusts to inevitable new roles, and failure to adapt represents an inability to fit into the existing social structure: the social constructionist perspective. An interpretive perspective that looks at social situations in terms of what they mean to individuals.