Exploration of Sociological Theories
Conflict Theory by Karl Marx claims that due to the competition for the limited resources, the society is in a state of constant struggle. Those in possession of power and wealth strive to maintain it by suppressing the poor. Strain theory by Robert Merton proposes that the pressures from poverty and insufficient resources drive people to commit a crime. The stresses initiate negative emotions like anger and frustration. Labeling Theory, founded by Howard Becker, suggests that people identify themselves and adopt behaviors based on how others describe them. Identifying someone as a criminal makes them act suggestively as one (Liebling et al., 65). Symbolic Interaction Theory by Herbert Blumer claims that people derive the meaning of things regarding the interaction with them. Associating with something provides a basis to ascribe its meaning. Functionalist Theory, by Emily Durkheim, claims that society is a network of interconnected parts that harmonize to achieve equilibrium. Every part influences and is influenced by others to attain a social balance.
Additionally, Exchange Theory is a concept articulating that the relationship among people develops through the cost-benefit analysis process. The Theory by George Homans indicates that in establishing a relationship, people assess the potential risks and benefits. Sociological Imagination is a theory that allows people to understand their social world beyond the idea of common sense. The Theory by Wright Mills involves establishing a connection between broader social issues and personal challenges. Malthusian Theory, by Thomas Robert Malthus describes the positive control measures of the population to fit the available food supply. The people should be in balance with the food supply. Additionally, False Class Consciousness, based on Karl Marx theory, articulates the self-appreciation of the social class members. People misperceive their real interests and position under the concept of capitalism.
Modeling Theory describes the change in emotions, behavior, and cognition, in a replica of other’s actions. Albert Bandura articulates that by observing others, an individual adopts a guide for new practices. Social Learning Theory by Albert Bandura claims that people learn through responding to environmental stimuli. By observing and imitating, people gain exemplary behaviors. Looking Glass Self describes the phenomenon wherein people assess their values and worth based on how people judge them. Charles Horton Cooley claims that people respond to their assumption of how people perceive them. Intersectionality Theory asserts that the overlap of social identities causes the state of discrimination and oppression experienced by people. Founded by Kimberle Crenshaw, the aspect of social status initiates some kinds of discrimination. Human Ecology is a theory that studies the relationship between human beings and their surroundings. Paul Erhlich, Anne Erhlich, and John Holdren described the Theory as a basis to understand the reciprocal correlation between man and the environment.
Further, reinforcement Theory by BF Skinner describes the process of influencing the consequences of actions by shaping a behavior. Behaviors with constructive effects are maintained, while eliminating those with harmful impacts. Feminist Theory focuses on the misidentified social trends by the dominant male perspective. Mary Wollstonecraft. The Theory illuminates the forces causing injustice, inequality, and oppression to promote the solutions to these concepts. Concentric Zone Model developed by Earnest Burgess explains the concentration of various social groups in an urban centre. The concept describes the tendency of people to settle in a certain areas. Social Disorganization Theory describes the disorderly occurrences of crime rates and incidences in various places. Clifford Shaw and Henry McKay, explains the different levels of crime due to multiple factors across communities. Oedipus Complex by Sigmund Freud explains the feelings of anger and jealousy by children towards their same-gender parent, and desire towards the opposite-gender parents (Schroeder, 5). Queer Theory by Judith Butler, Michael Foucault, Gayle Rubin, and Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick opposes the ordinary groupings of sexuality and gender. The Theory explores the despotic power of dominant customs and the misery imposed on the victims of such oppression. I’ and the ‘Me’ Theory, by George Herbet Mead is the process of incorporating one’s personality. The Theory designates the psychology of an individual. Survival of the Fittest theory by Charles Darwin suggests that the organisms that best adjust to the environment attain a successful reproduction and survival. The most robust species are the ones that survive while the weak ones perish.
Control Theory indicates that an individual’s outer and inner controls collaborate to refute aberrant propensities. Walter Reckless claims that the individual’s most prominent desires influence their behavior. Culture of Poverty Theory suggests that people’s values and norms influence poverty. People brought up in poverty tend to remain weak, according to the founder, Oscar Lewis. Ethnic Succession explains the process of displacing the occupational or political forte of a racial group by another. Nathan Glazer and Daniel Moynihan suggest that racial and ethnic groups are subjected to neighborhood segregation until economic equivalence is attained. The Theory of Oedipus Complex interested me more due to the concept of a child’s ability to discriminate one parent, regardless of the same level of love they express to the child.
Works Cited
Liebling, Alison, Shadd Maruna, and Lesley McAra. The Oxford Handbook of Criminology. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017. Print.
Schroeder, Karmen. “To perform Freudian psychoanalysis on existing work, one must first begin to understand the Oedipus complex. According to Writing about Literature through Theory, “Freud’s [Oedipus Complex] approximates the tragedy of Oedipus Rex: the boy, as Freud tells us, has a desire for the mother and begins to see the father as a threat to this desire”(Pennington.” (, 2019).