Free Sociological Theory Essay Examples & Topics

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.

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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:

  1. Start early. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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!
  4. 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.
  5. 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!
  6. 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.

1136 Best Essay Examples on Sociological Theories

Life Is Better Today than in the Past Essay

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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 [...]
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Hofstede: South Korea Analysis

On the other hand, the United States scores 46 on the scale that describes this country as a society that accepts uncertainty.
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Individual Freedoms and National Security

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 [...]
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The Process of Getting a Job

The process of getting a job remains one of the most challenging tasks for many job seekers in the United States.
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Contemporary sociological theory

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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 [...]
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Smartphone Addiction Problem Statement

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 [...]
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Symbolic Interaction Theory Applied to COVID-19 Pandemic

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.
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The Advantages of Living in a Multicultural City

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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.
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Work to Live and Live to Work

To better explore and understand the "work to live and live to work" debate, it is important to understand each concept involved.
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A Reflection of Marxism in the Modern World

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".
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Tattoo Disadvantages

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 [...]
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Social Issues: Choosing a Life Partner

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 [...]
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Highly Competitive Environment

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 [...]
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Marxists and Functionalists’ Views on Crime and Deviance

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 [...]
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Social Sciences as a Career Field

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.
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What Is the Functionalist Perspective?

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 [...]
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Common Misconceptions in Science

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.
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Why Appearance Is So Important?

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.
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Urbanization Negative Impacts

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.
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Child Behavior Today and Ten Years Ago

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 [...]
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Bourdieu’s Concept of Habitus, Capital and Field

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".
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Young Generation Healthy Lifestyle

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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.
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Why Working From Home Is Better

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.
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Parsons and Weber: Tools and Trade

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 [...]
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“Urbanism as a Way of Life” Article by Wirth

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.
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The Design of Perfect Society

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 [...]
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Community Development in Theory and Practice

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.
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Social Stratification Forms and Functions

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 [...]
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Merton’s Role Theory Definition

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.
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State and Its Role Within Society

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 [...]
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Human Freedom in Relation to Society

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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').
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Max Weber: Natural and Social Sciences

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.
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Obstacles in the Society to Accept the Change

The changes taking place in the society has also been triggered by the improvement in the level of technology. The rate at which the society accommodates change is determined by how the people are receptive [...]
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The Lessons We Take from Obstacles

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. [...]
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Subject Matter of Sociology

It is for this reason, that Berger defines a sociologist as an individual intensively, ceaselessly, and audaciously interested in the activities of humans.
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How Cellular Phones Have Changed Us Socially?

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.
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Brown and Levinson Theory of Politeness

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'.
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Social Theories of Crime in Explaining Gang Violence

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 [...]
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Social System: Key Elements and Notions

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 [...]
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The Future of Marriage

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 [...]
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Individualism vs. Collectivism

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 [...]
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The Functionalist Perspective and Functionalisms

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 [...]
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Definition of a good roommate

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, [...]
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“The Metropolis and Mental Life” by Simmel

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.
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Review of the Multidimensional Theory

The context of a person's life is broad, and it comprises multiple elements, which is reflected in the nature of the multidimensional approach.
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What Is a Parent?

In the cases wherein the egg and sperm do not come from the couple, and a surrogate is used to carry the child, who is the real parent of the child?
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Unabomber: Ted Kaczynski Case Study

The purpose of this paper is to describe and analyze the case of Unabomber through the lens of general strain theory as well as social control theory.
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Durkheim’s Concept of Social Integration

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 [...]
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Wellness and Its Five Dimensions

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 [...]
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Parental Involvement in Teenage Relationships

Parents can monitor their child's academic progress, engage them in conversations about romance and relationships, and give them career advice and guidance. Parental involvement in their children's academic and social lives helps parents to understand [...]
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Social Theories of Technology

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 [...]
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Max Weber’s Rationality Theory

They have defined rationality as the process and success in the pursuit of a given objective regardless of the nature of the objectives.
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Karl Marx’s Sociology and Conflict Theory

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.
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Youth Crime According to Conflict Theory

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.
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Youth Crime in Functionalism and Conflict Theories

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 [...]
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What Defines Us as Human? – Social Issues

Although the particular features of the people's skeletal structure and other physical qualities cannot be discussed as determining to speak about persons as human, it is important to focus on differences in the mental and [...]
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  • Words: 555
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Psychological and Sociological Theories in Life

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 [...]
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Social Construction of Illness

The social construction of illness relates to various perceptions and attitudes that define how people react to its existence in contemporary society.
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The Social Construction of Difference

In essence, what humans' regards and take to be experience of the world does not in itself dictate the terms by which the world is understood neither does what is regarded to be knowledge of [...]
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Generational Trends in Fashion

Although the development of the present-day generation of young people should be discussed as the complex phenomenon, it is possible to focus on analyzing fashion, technology, and parenting skills as the most remarkable elements which [...]
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Cyber Bullying and Positivist Theory of Crime

Learning theory approaches to the explanation of criminal behavior have been associated with one of the major sociological theories of crime, the differential association theory.
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The Theory of Social Transformation

The essay will try to demonstrate the meaning of social justice and the requirements which academicians believe will fulfill the criteria of meeting a state of social justice. According to Pharr liberation is the process [...]
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Sociology and Its Impact on Society

With that said, sociology also helps to view and analyze social factors in order to see benefits and difficulties of a given society.
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Respect in Daily Lives

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 [...]
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Nature Intervenes: Organizations as Organisms

In this paper, the critique of the chapter is developed in order to clarify the strengths and weaknesses of the work, as well as to explore the changes Morgan promotes in the field of organizational [...]
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Social Issues: Leisure Lifestyle

Erickson confirmed through research that leisure activities originate from the mind, and an individual is motivated to engage in it whenever he or she feels that it would be beneficial.
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“Future Shlock” by Neil Postman

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 [...]
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  • Words: 676

Social Equality and Economic Growth

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.
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  • Words: 2214

Demographic Transition Theory

The demographic transition model shows the stages that are involved in the reduction of these rates. The revolution enhanced the improvement of the living standards of the people hence the decrease in death rates.
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The ROPES Social Work Model Report

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.
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Arguments for Animal Rights

Instead of using shared pain and pleasure to show the similarities between people and animals, he strives to elevate animals to human status.
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Wearing Strange Clothes in Public

To explain the occurrence of the deviant behavior of wearing strange clothes and describe societal responses to the deviant behavior, the experiment utilizes the labeling theory.
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Interpersonal Relationship Theories

The attraction theory states that people form relationships based on five principles of attraction: similarity, proximity, reinforcement, physical attractiveness and personality, socioeconomic and educational status, and reciprocity of liking. It is based on the economic [...]
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Positivism, Post-Positivism, and Constructivism

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".
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Social Issues of Families in Poverty

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With the tightened budget, parents of the families living in poverty struggle to make ends meet, and in the course of their struggles, they experience many stresses and depressions.
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  • Words: 1174
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Subculture Theories: Response to the Dominant Culture

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 [...]
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Erving Goffman Theory

Both claim that "there is no gender identity", as evidenced by the following excerpts: Gender is performative, gender is always doing, "though not a doing by a subject who might be said to pre-exist the [...]
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Second Child Effects on the Family

The interferences to personal schedules of parents, with the responsibility of taking care of children, affects personal concentration and productivity of the parent and may lead to cases of high stress that further complicate their [...]
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Conflict: Theories and Examples

The needs and problems of individuals in a society have to be understood and addressed so that the issues that preoccupy the groups and people lose significance and therefore conflict can be resolved.
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