5.1.2

Functionalism

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The Functionalist Theory of Stratification

Davis and Moore put forward a functionalist theory of stratification. They argue that it’s necessary for society to ensure that important roles in society are filled and that some roles are more functionally important than others.

Davis and Moore (1945)

Davis and Moore (1945)

  • According to Davis and Moore, societies need a way of placing people into the many different roles that are important for a society to function.
  • This in known as role allocation.
Functional importance

Functional importance

  • Some roles are functionally more important than other, for example, we might argue that the role of surgeon is more important than some other occupations.
  • Roles that provide essential services and ensure society’s long-term survival are often seen as the most important.
Role allocation

Role allocation

  • Most people lack the talent to fill these roles or the motivation required to train for them, so to attract people to these roles, society must offer higher rewards such as high pay and status.
  • Stratification is therefore necessary for society because it ensures that the most talented people train for and fill the most important jobs.
Importance of inequality

Importance of inequality

  • According to Davis and Moore, all societies must have a degree of inequality built into them, because society needs to treat people differently in regards to their status and rewards.
  • By this logic inequality is functional because people see it as fair.

Criticisms of Davis and Moore

Marxists and feminists are especially critical of Davis and Moore.

Anomalies

Anomalies

  • Not all the jobs that are vital to society attract high salaries (such as nursing), or have high status (e.g. refuse collection).
Status

Status

  • High pay and status might be linked to a group’s power, rather than to the functional importance of the role.
Wealth

Wealth

  • Marxists would argue that society is not meritocratic (based on people’s effort, skills and talents) because those born into wealth and higher status are able to use this to their advantage while exploiting and preventing those with less power, wealth and status from succeeding.
Gender

Gender

  • Feminists argue that women are prevented from succeeding because men have the power and higher status, so society isn’t based on merit but on whether you are male or female.
Marxists

Marxists

  • Marxists don’t view stratification as functional.
  • They argue that the privileged minority simply exploit others and ensure that they are unable to obtain the better paid and higher status roles.
Exploitation

Exploitation

  • Marxist and feminists see stratification as a system in which some groups in society (e.g. the bourgeoisie and men) gain at the expense of other groups.
Jump to other topics
1

The Sociological Approach

1.1

Introduction to Sociology

1.1.1What is Sociology?1.1.2Culture & Socialisation
1.2

Sociological Approaches

1.2.1Marxism1.2.2Marxism 21.2.3Functionalism1.2.4Feminism
1.3

The Consensus vs. Conflict Debate

1.3.1The Consensus vs. Conflict Debate1.3.2End of Topic Test - The Sociological Approach
2

Families

2.1

Functions of Families

2.1.1Functionalist Views on Family2.1.2Marxist Views on Family2.1.3Feminist Views on Family
2.2

Family Forms

2.2.1What is a Family?2.2.2Nuclear Family2.2.3Families in a Global Context2.2.4The Rapoports & Family Diversity2.2.5Causes of Family Diversity2.2.6End of Topic Test - Family Forms
2.3

Conjugal Role Relationships

2.3.1Conjugal Roles
2.4

Changing Relationships Within Families

2.4.1Timeline2.4.2Domestic Abuse2.4.3Symmetrical Family
2.5

Criticisms of Families

2.5.1Functionalist Views of Families2.5.2Marxist Views of Families2.5.3Feminist Views of Families2.5.4Declining Marriage Rate2.5.5End of Topic Test - Criticisms of Families
2.6

Divorce

2.6.1Reasons For Rise in Divorce Rate2.6.2Consequences of Divorce2.6.3Functionalist Views2.6.4Marxist Views2.6.5Feminist Views2.6.6End of Topic Test - Divorce
3

Education

3.1

Roles & Functions of Education

3.1.1The Functionalist Approach3.1.2Evaluating Different Perspectives3.1.3Types of School3.1.4Alternative Education3.1.5State & Private Schools
3.2

Processes Within Schools

3.2.1Internal Processes3.2.2External Processes
3.3

Educational Achievement

3.3.1Measuring Educational Success3.3.2Social Class & Education3.3.3Social Class & External Factors3.3.4Gender & Education3.3.5Ethnicity & Education3.3.6Parental Choice3.3.7History of UK Education Policy3.3.8Recent UK Education Policy3.3.9End of Topic Test - Education
4

Crime & Deviance

4.1

The Social Construction of Crime

4.1.1Defining Crime & Deviance4.1.2Sociological Explanations of Crime4.1.3Interactionist Explanations of Crime4.1.4Alternative Explanations of Crime
4.2

Social Control

4.2.1Informal Social Control4.2.2Formal Social Control4.2.3End of Topic Test - Social Construction of Crime
4.3

Criminal & Deviant Behaviour

4.3.1Explanations of Crime4.3.2Social Class & Crime4.3.3Gender & Crime4.3.4Ethnicity & Crime4.3.5Age & Crime4.3.6Criminal Responsibility4.3.7The Prison System4.3.8Media Reporting of Crime4.3.9Functionalist Explanations of Crime
4.4

Data on Crime

4.4.1Measuring Crime4.4.2End of Topic Test - Criminal & Deviant Behaviour
5

Social Stratification

5.1

Social Stratification

5.1.1What is Social Stratification?5.1.2Functionalism5.1.3Socio-Economic Class5.1.4Socio-Economic Class 25.1.5Life Chances5.1.6The Affluent Worker5.1.7End of Topic Test - Social Stratifictaion
5.2

Poverty as a Social Issue

5.2.1Defining Poverty5.2.2Factors Affecting Poverty5.2.3Explanations of Poverty5.2.4Impact of Globalisation5.2.5End of Topic Test - Poverty as a Social Issue
5.3

Power & Authority

5.3.1Weber5.3.2Sociological Perspectives5.3.3Power Relationships5.3.4End of Topic Test - Power & Authority
6

Sociological Research Methods

6.1

Research Methods

6.1.1Research Design6.1.2The Scientific Method6.1.3Other Considerations6.1.4Primary Sources6.1.5Secondary Sources6.1.6Surveys6.1.7Sampling6.1.8Questionnaires6.1.9Interviews6.1.10Observation6.1.11Statistics6.1.12Case Studies6.1.13Longitudinal Studies6.1.14Ethnography6.1.15Experiments6.1.16Small Scale Research6.1.17End of Topic Test - Research Methods

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What is Social Stratification?

Socio-Economic Class