1. Functionalism
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2.  Is one of the oldest and still dominant
theories in sociology
 Compares society to the human body
and its needs
 Just as the human body needs to be
stable, so does society
 This stability is achieved through
socialisation of members of society into
basic values and norms of that society
so that consensus is reached
 If individuals do not conform to
values/norms, social control
mechanisms are put in place by
schools, prisons and mental institutions
 Ref: http://web.grinell.edu/courses/soc/s00/soc11-01/Intro
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3.  Some roles or positions are more
functionally important to the system than
others
 These roles require special skills, talents
and abilities in order to be performed
properly
 Talent is in short supply and abilities
require time-consuming and expensive
training
 Differential rewards must therefore be
provided so that the talented can be
attracted into the most needed positions
and so that young people will commit
themselves to the expensive training
required
 (Walters and Crook, 1990:184)
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4.  Begins with assumption that value
consensus is essential for survival of
social systems
 From shared values come collective
goals
 Since goals are shared by all members of
society ………. power will generally be
used to further the collective goals
 Result is that both sides of power
relationship will benefit and everybody
will gain by the arrangement e.g.
politicians promote policies for economic
expansion which will raise living
standards of population as a whole.
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