Review and Assessment » Practice Questions - Perspectives

Understanding Sociological Perspectives

Sociological perspectives are different ways of looking at and explaining how society works. Think of them as different pairs of glasses that help you see the social world in particular ways. In your exam, you'll often be asked to apply these perspectives to various social issues.

Key Definitions:

• Sociological perspective: A framework used by sociologists to understand and explain social phenomena.
• Theory: A set of ideas that explains why something happens in a particular way.
• Social institution: An established pattern of behaviour organised around a particular social need (e.g., family, education, religion).

The Major Perspectives

🏢 Functionalism

Functionalism sees society as a system of interconnected parts that work together to maintain stability and social order. It focuses on how different parts of society contribute to the whole.

Key concepts:

• Social consensus: Agreement on values and norms
• Social institutions: Structures that meet society's needs
• Functional prerequisites: Basic needs that must be met for society to survive

Key thinkers: Emile Durkheim, Talcott Parsons, Robert Merton

Example application: A functionalist might see education as serving to socialise young people into shared values and prepare them for future work roles, thus maintaining social stability.

✊ Marxism

Marxism views society as characterised by class conflict. It focuses on how the capitalist economic system creates inequality and exploitation.

Key concepts:

• Bourgeoisie: The ruling class who own the means of production
• Proletariat: The working class who sell their labour
• False consciousness: When workers fail to recognise their exploitation
• Ideology: Ideas that justify the power of the ruling class

Key thinkers: Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Louis Althusser

Example application: A Marxist might argue that education reproduces class inequality by preparing working-class children for working-class jobs while helping middle-class children maintain their privilege.

♀ Feminism

Feminism examines gender inequality and women's experiences in society. It focuses on patriarchy – the system of male dominance.

Key concepts:

• Patriarchy: A system of social structures and practices where men dominate women
• Gender socialisation: How we learn gender roles
• Double burden: Women's responsibility for both paid work and unpaid domestic labour

Key thinkers: Ann Oakley, Sylvia Walby, bell hooks

Example application: A feminist might argue that family structures often disadvantage women through unequal distribution of domestic labour and childcare responsibilities.

🗣 Interactionism

Interactionism (also called symbolic interactionism) focuses on small-scale interactions between individuals and how people create meaning through these interactions.

Key concepts:

• Symbols: Things that represent something else (like words or gestures)
• Labelling: How people's identities are shaped by labels given to them
• Self-concept: How we see ourselves based on interactions with others

Key thinkers: George Herbert Mead, Erving Goffman, Howard Becker

Example application: An interactionist might study how teacher expectations and labelling can affect student performance and identity in the classroom.

Tackling Perspective Questions

Exam questions about perspectives typically ask you to:

• Explain how a specific perspective views a social issue
• Compare different perspectives on a social issue
• Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of a perspective

Comparing Perspectives

Many questions will ask you to compare how different perspectives view the same issue. The key is to identify the fundamental differences in their approaches.

Evaluating Perspectives

Higher-mark questions often require you to evaluate perspectives. This means discussing their strengths and limitations.

When evaluating, consider:

• Is the perspective supported by evidence?
• Does it explain all aspects of the issue or only some?
• Is it outdated or still relevant today?
• Does it overlook important factors?

Practice Techniques

To improve your ability to answer perspective questions:

1. Create comparison tables showing how different perspectives view the same issue
2. Practise identifying perspectives from descriptions of viewpoints
3. Apply perspectives to current events in the news
4. Learn key concepts and thinkers associated with each perspective
5. Time yourself answering practice questions