Tracyone Qualls

Sociology 1
Professor Prior
28 March 2015
Sociological Perspectives Assignment

1. The Functionalist Perspective is a macro/mid-level sociological paradigm which is based off

of the idea that society is a system that is operated by many different parts, and each of
those parts contribute to the optimal operation of this system. The different functions in
society are family, religion, the police force,the media, the medical field, etc. There was an
analogy comparing this theory to the human body, each organ playing a part, but they are all
vital to maintaing stable health.

2. The Conflict Perspective is a macro/mid-level sociological paradigm which is based off of the
idea that society is a competition for limited resources. Those who have control over the
limited resources hold power and are able to shape societal norms at their will. An example
of this paradigm is the master/slave dynamic. Since the master holds the power due to his
wealth and the social facts based on that wealth, the slave is forced to subserviency which is
acceptable by society due to social norms.

3. The Symbolic Interactionist Perspective is a micro-level sociological paradigm that examines

the relationship between individuals and society. This paradigm is based off of the idea that
communication is how people make sense of the world. This paradigm focuses more on
individual one-on-one interactions. An example of this paradigm would be a researcher
studying the speeches of individual people at ceremony, or protest.