A sociological theory is a framework of thought. We use ideas and concepts to explain how the social world functions and interacts. We ask questions about the process of social change or the essence of social hierarchies. Sociological theories also tackle social problems and conflicts in society and offer solutions and different perspectives.
An introduction to sociology theories would not be complete without talking about sociological imagination. In simple terms, it is the function of connecting personal experience to the issues at large. A society is made up of systems working with each other; those systems are made up of individuals. Sociological imagination tries to understand the connection between individuals and systems. Through it, we try to see the world from a perspective, which is broader than personal experience alone.
Below, our experts have detailed how to write a sociological theory essay. We have also provided a breakdown of the key perspectives that you can study in your paper. Plus, you will find some sociological theory essay examples written by students just like you.
3 Sociological Perspectives You Should Know
There are three major perspectives that sociological theory considers. Each one has a distinct viewpoint on society and the behavior of people around us. They provide a different set of frameworks through which we can study the social world. The significance of the sociological perspectives is that they allow us to understand society as a concept rather than an object.
If you are writing a sociological perspective essay, you will likely look at these perspectives:
Functionalist Perspective
A functionalist sociological perspective takes into account the systems installed in place within the society we live in. The logic behind it is that a community consists of different parts. For example, there are educational and political systems. A functionalist perspective deconstructs those parts. It looks at how they interconnect to create something whole. Each part has a function in creating a stable society, but they also influence and change one another.
Conflict Perspective
The conflict perspective is somewhat of a polar opposite to the functionalist one. This view dictates that systems do not work together to reach social stability. Instead, they compete for resources and power. Its origins can be found in Marxism and the notions of class struggle. Besides, it is often utilized in discussions about social justice and other similar sociological concepts.
Interactionist Perspective
In contrast to the two perspectives above that look at the broader picture, the interactionist perspective is more concerned with individuals. According to this one, human behavior is shaped and maintained by our interactions with others. This is referred to as symbolic interactionism. These interactions create meanings through which we define ourselves. Proponents of this perspective suggest that people react to their definition in a situation rather than the situation itself.
You will be able to find sociological perspective essay examples at the bottom of the page.
How to Write a Sociological Theory Essay
Writing assignments such as sociological essays or research papers typically follow the same set format regardless of the topic. We have outlined some advice for you.
These steps can help you start writing straight away:
Startearly. You need to make sure that you have time to conduct your research. Beginning your work earlier gives you sufficient space to think about the applications of sociological theory. Plus, you will be able to fix any mistakes you’ve made along the way.
Get a good topic. Whether you decide to write about the conflict perspective or functionalism, finding an idea that interests you is essential. Read through essay samples or browse online to find the perfect topic for yourself. Try our topic generator if you’re struggling with getting an idea.
Come up with a thesis. A thesis statement is the guiding principle of your sociological theory essay. You will keep referring to it all throughout your work. Make sure it reflects your views and the message you want to deliver in your writing. Our thesis generator can help you formulate one!
Outline your essay. A solid essay structure will always include an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. The body paragraph part is where you will concentrate your discussion of sociology theories. Ascertain that you keep your thesis in mind while writing.
Implement examples in your paper. There is nothing more reliable than real-life instances. If you are unable to conduct first-hand research, browse through existing studies. Evidence is essential to support your claims. Just make sure everything is cited correctly!
Proofread and rewrite. If you’ve followed our advice and began earlier, you should have plenty of time left to edit your work. This is where you polish your writing. Make sure that there are no glaring mistakes. Refer back to your guidelines to make sure everything is in order.
Thank you for reading! We hope that this advice will prove helpful to you in your work. You can now proceed to read the sociological theory essay examples below. You can use them as inspiration or as a reference for how to structure your work and use citations.
Although most individuals may argue that the world is at the verge of destruction, because of the increased civil wars, environmental problems such as global warming, and the ever-increasing gap between the rich and the [...]
Whether under a tree shade, in the bedroom, or wherever, an employee working from home is of their own volition to choose and can relocate the workstation whenever necessary.
Uncontrolled use of smartphone requires users to review the need to respond to smartphone alerts, deactivate the alerts, and consult their colleagues rather than the phone because such actions can reduce anxiety. Smartphone addiction is [...]
Moreover, the principle of the prevalence of individual freedoms over the national security underlies the democratic idea. This essay proposes that the protection of individual freedoms by maintaining national security is a fundamental principle and [...]
Living in a multicultural city provides one with multiple benefits such as having opportunities to learn about other cultures, developing a better understanding of different cultures, and having more chances to improve one's personality.
The problem of understanding culture and its use by people was first considered in the concept of symbolic interactionism, which was formed in the 1920s and 1930s as a reaction to the behaviorists' "stimulus-response" approach.
With the help of social science, I can conduct research and come up with a logical finding. With the knowledge I have in social science, I can research our political system and patterns of leadership.
The idea of childhood is not to be confused with affection for children: it corresponds to an awareness of a particular nature which distinguishes the child from the adult, even the young adult"..
Sending a positive message to the society regarding one's behavior and conduct is the aim of every person. Appearance of a person can tell whether the person is a crook or not.
As regarding social distance and the concept of orientalism, both seem to argue that there is a drift in the way individuals in society relate to each other.
Also, the essay seeks to explain why people commit crimes in reference to a social and political transition, poverty, globalization of crime and state bureaucracy in order to evaluate the most effective conceptual approach to [...]
This perception commonly referred to as methodological individualism, attests that "individual human action is the elementary unit that makes up social and that explaining of social institutions and social change is necessitated by a demonstration [...]
Action is referred to as social when it is attached to the actions of individuals, their behaviors, and interactions with other social units. The modern focus of sociology is on organizations, social instructions, and interactions.
The other reason why I disagree with tattoos is that they lower the self-esteem of the person wearing them. Thirdly, I disagree with the idea of getting tattoos because they negatively affect the health of [...]
Community development theory is a framework of how the whole process should be carried out including the identification of the problems, the indicators of measuring development and the procedure of involving people in the projects.
In conclusion, it is true that children growing up today are at greater risk for obesity than their parents that were not exposed to the same hazards and had more active lifestyle.
Change within a society may have political, social and economic effects on the society. This essay examines the negative economic and social impacts of changes that are associated with urbanization.
Bing in his description of habitus states, "The habitus embodied history internalized as a second nature and so forgotten as history is the active presence of the whole past of which it is the product".
Thus, as someone who has engaged actively in the process of data management, I have also had to learn to discern between important information and the data that could be described as irrelevant or unnecessary. [...]
This situation forced many employees in the company to become less effective. Every employee wanted the company to hire a new manager in order to emerge successful.
The services are critical in fostering civil associations, private education institutes, and the government to cooperate with the jails for the well-being of the inmates.
In other words, individuals are the ones that create and maintain the social systems. Giddens' objective is to comprehend power dynamics as an interaction between the structure and the actor.
He contrasts the others in the ads put up in that he tries to be more receptive and hospitable to the potential roommate although he is the most particular of all in terms of cooking, [...]
Sociology refers to the study of the society in terms of prototypes of how humans relate, interact socially as well as the study of their cultural beliefs and practices.
To begin with, it should be stated that the main idea of the title is to show that the social point of view and the rules which exist in the society are known for all [...]
Thus, the state is considered to be a political structure which is thoroughly organized and fulfills the tasks of the complex societies connected with the increase of the geographic size and population, resolution of some [...]
The essential tenets underlying the symbolic interaction method, based on Mead's approach, are as follows: people utilize symbols as a means of communication within their social settings; through social interactions, the self is created; and [...]
Thus, in Marx's opinion, Capitalism causes the alienation of the masses and the constantly growing indignation of the proletariat for being exploited by the bourgeois.
This process involves the identification of a friend to determine if potential partners share some aspects in life before the friendship can grow to a relationship and if the relationship works for the partners, it [...]
Thus, one of the main postulates of the positivist approach is that the reality existing "out there" should be analyzed by science, and the essential objective of science is "to predict and control natural phenomena".
The social values in any individual are as a result of informal social control which is exercised without stating the rules and expressed by use of customs and norms.
In his article titled "Urbanism as a way of life," Wirth starts formulating the understanding of the city by contending that the element of urbanism gives a unique flavor to people's lives in metropolitan areas.
Therefore, the actions of people in the society are shaped, not by the strength of the locus of authority, but the fear of sanctions from those in power.
There should be well-built leadership structures within the society to ensure that all the people in the society adhere to the laws that are in place. People will be allowed to interact and work with [...]
Originally, the theory was used in studies by conservative thinkers to explain the declining impact of family and community after the rise of industrial society.
People tend to behave in a way that is beneficial for the development of the system. This theoretical paradigm explains people's choice to obtain the higher education as this enables them to contribute to the [...]
The second one is that the youth might engage in criminal activities and violence due to misappropriation of resources, lack of jobs, and inadequate strategies to meet their social needs.
Examples are personal choices and social forces: while the former contributes to one's personality and psychology, the latter is connected with social norms and influences of other people.
The functionalist perspective is a theory that affirms that the world is a structure of interconnected parts in which every part is essential in ensuring that the structure works. The main aim of all the [...]
Parsons' contributions to social theories and social actions include his analysis of social institutions, outlining systemic theory into sociology, description of the voluntaristic theory of action and analysis of anti-Semitism, fascism and aggression as the [...]
This is often done in the form of a dogmatic proclamation of Marxism as an all-powerful doctrine: "Marxism is one of the most influential intellectual movements in the history of ideas".
Durkheim considered the idea of community as important to explaining the existence of society: it develops and maintains social bonds. Adherence is the act of aligning one's attitudes, ideas, and actions to the standards of [...]
In the context of working with people subject to a state of social isolation, this will mean a complete consideration of all the client's circumstances.
It is for this reason, that Berger defines a sociologist as an individual intensively, ceaselessly, and audaciously interested in the activities of humans.
Putting into perspectives the various scholarly approaches in the interpretation of the purposes of education, especially bearing in mind the social changes impacts of education, the modern perceptions of education attracts mixed reactions.
According to Durkheim, there is vital interconnectivity of all the elements of any society that share common ideas and principles, and the sum of these elements is not as great as the society itself.
The middle-range theories were developed by Robert Merton, and the main aim was to enable the explanation of social phenomena as an alternative to the general theory of inquiry.
One of the most important aspects of obtaining physical wellness is the realization that behaviors, choices, and decisions affect the quality of life in various ways. In contrast, lack of emotional wellness results in destructive [...]
It helps in monitoring and evaluation of population and social trends within society. Population growth will manifest in various cultural and social aspects that determine existence and propagation of population trends.
The feudal basically comprised of the serfs and the clergy and they owned most of the land. The basic function of a social institution in the society is to help that particular society or nation [...]
Levinson and Brown points out circumstances, which contradict with the notion of the face through the verbal and the non-verbal communication styles of the speakers, a situation is referred to as 'face threatening act'.
The first effective side of the competition involves the desire of individuals to achieve greater results and motivation to persist. For example, with the help of competition, students become more productive since the incentive to [...]
Thesis statement: because of the rapid changes that the world has gone through from 2000s to 2010s, as well as the increased effects of modern popular media, present-day children differ considerably from the ones from [...]
The author's major thesis is that sociology is not limited to statistics, to which many people often reduce the importance of this science, and it is not even limited to being a particular scientific discipline [...]
Thus, Goffman discusses the social order as a result of the people's everyday practices, interactions, and activities; on the contrary, Foucault states that the social order is a result of the historical processes, authority's impact, [...]
Some people believe that the disease is a making of the government, meant to eliminate the Africans, Homosexuals, and the Africa-Americans who many perceive to be sexually hyperactive.
This theory is based on the idea that the hegemonic influence of the West is still key in the development of culture, economics, and politics of the world, although it is destructive for most of [...]
This is because of the society, the development which has taken place in the human beings is present in the society and the individuals learn from it, the past information is overwritten with the updated [...]
Durkheim was not the first sociologist to distinguish between agricultural society and industrial society; nevertheless, he was the first to analyze the difference between the two in respect to social solidarity, collective conscience, and law.
This theory incorporates the strain theory as well as the social disorganization it points out that as a result of strain and societal segregation there is a particular culture that establishes for the low income [...]
Further more, their optimistic seeing of social that is scientific, supposes that the study of the globe of social could be without value, in the sense that the investigating people's values will not in essence [...]
The discovery of the mobile phone is one of the most interesting scientific innovations around the globe. The dynamism of technology has diversified the use of the cellular phone.
One of the main differences between the actor network theory and the Social Construction of Technology theory is that the former involves objects and organizations in the framework while the latter does not.
For example, in capitalism, the social conflict stems from the inequalities between the working class and the bourgeoisie, and it is assumed to lead to social change in the future.
This author claims that most societies are homogeneous and have tightly cohesive elements; however, the need for their members to satisfy their needs propel them to look for effective ways of ensuring they are not [...]
For instance, Germany's propaganda Minister declared war on art criticism and burnt the books of some of the most intelligent writers in the world. The NEA article demonstrates that television watching is one of the [...]
Although today marriage is still a significant stage in the personal life and family is discussed as the fundamental factor for the social development, the role of marriage declines, the rate of divorces increases, and [...]
Human freedom has to do with the freedom of one's will, which is the freedom of man to choose and act by following his path through life freely by exercising his 'freedom').
Social equality provides individuals with equal opportunities to contribute to the growth of the economy. Equality also ensures that the potential of the society is fully exploited to enhance the development of the entire community.
Thus, the subject matter of the book is "the condition of knowledge in the most highly developed societies". The major concepts of this theory are used to consider the types of knowledge and the role [...]
The overview of the mass society theory connotes the influence of industrialization on independence, the deterioration of religious principles, and the significance of propaganda.
As such it has been viewed by many as the core impetus of transformation and development in society and it has resulted into emergence of the philosophical and scholarly belief referred to as technological determinism [...]
According to the description given to this social class as those professionals whose earnings and their level of education is considerably of a higher standing in comparison to those of the lower middle class workers. [...]
The diverse understandings of the socio-cultural approach can show how important it is, especially in the contemporary setting, to grasp the ideas of multiculturality.
The show of respect is very important especially to the adults, as they act as role models to the young children. Without respect, it would be hard to settle such differences, as no one would [...]
According to Honigsheim, the concept explains that the differences between natural and social science lies in the intentions of the researcher as opposed to inapplicability of empirical principles of research.
The phenomenon of the community asset mapping is typically defined as "an important tool for building community, for understanding community strengths and assets, and for sustaining economic viability" and serves the purpose of identifying the [...]
According to Hebdige, subcultures develop as a response to the dominant culture and exist in situations where there is recognized and organized collection of actions, values, as well as behavior that differ from the customary [...]
Merton wrote in this report that the distinction between explicit and latent functions has several aspects. Moreover, these functions can be fixed directly in the design of roles and statuses of individuals.
There are many ways in how human society could be understood and examined, and the application of a sociological theory is one of the available options.
The core objective behind this study is to talk about the theory of family Universal Social Institution that erects on the progressions made in the field of the schematic illustration of relational acquaintance in human [...]
The authors go further to argue that people tend to negotiate and comply with obligations of relationship building. In order to support the theory, the book uses the analogy of monetary value and exchange.
According to Johnson, when defining the sociology of religion we look at the definition of the term religion as well as the task sociology has in the study of religion.
From the perspective of collectivism, the society forms the fundamental element of moral concern, and a person has to serve the group to get value. In conclusion, collectivism and individualism are cultural aspects that have [...]
The analysis will focus on determining factors contributing to youth engagement in criminal acts, examining the types of delinquencies they are likely to commit, and establishing the socio-psychological facets associated with the teenagers in the [...]
It is a perception based on the necessity to ensure the optimal exploitation of opportunities to establish the compatibility and the ability to determine the significance and relevance of inspirations.
In conclusion, Blau's work on intrinsic and extrinsic rewards, power, and imbalanced exchange contributed to constructing a theoretical bridge that vastly links sociological studies of daily interaction between individuals and the structural parameters of society.
The validity of the provided definition can be well illustrated, in regards to the fact that, unlike what it used to be the case with them, even as recently as a hundred years ago, today's [...]
The process motivated the interns to put in a lot of effort and reach even beyond the company's objectives. The intern's motivation resulted from positive attention, which made the intended conduct more likely to occur [...]
George describes the shift in the family decision-making process and how children have been involved in decision-making on issues affecting the entire family.
A theory is a connected system of general concepts, constructs, or propositions presenting a systematic view of phenomena through the specification of variables to explain the phenomena.
Despite this, their actions of utilizing poison and the introduction of geckos led directly to a change in the population of both mosquitos and flies in the area.
Using material from DD102, making lives and connecting lives, this essay discusses the different choices and constraints that influence people's decision-making and how they affect their way of living.
Some prolific people in this field have summarized technological as: "The belief in technology as a key governing force in society"., ".the belief that social progress is driven by technological innovation, which in turn follows [...]
Paragraph three of section five continues the comparison addressed in the previous paragraph, where Weick indicates the likeliness of the relationship between theory construction and natural selection to the relationship between marine navigation and the [...]
Diversity is one of positive effects of competition on the society. Competition that fails to satisfy the needs of consumers and entire society fosters negative human aspects.
According to the theory, the society is taken as a living organism, with different organs, which are mandated to perform different duties for the general welfare of the community.
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