Social Conflict Theory, Structural Functionalist Theory and Symbolic Interactionist Theory

Discuss the differences between social conflict theory, structural functionalist theory and symbolic interactionist theory, and illustrate how the theories would apply to a real-life problem such as teen pregnancy. 

Social conflict theory, structural functionalist theory, and symbolic interactionist theory are three particular and familiar sociological points of view or perspectives that offer contrasts and similarities because of the techniques in which they assess society. A few sociologists, including Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim, and Max Weber, added to these broad, various speculations.

Despite the fact that all three help evaluate society, each one has differences and similarities between each other. Hypothetically, both social conflict and structural-functionalist theory are full-scale sociological perceptions that generally comprise society’s bigger components, for example, organizations. On the other hand, however, functionalism expect that organizations consequently modify themselves to make dependability, while the social conflict theory noticed that organizations, similar to religion, are utilized by the capitalists to control others. Additionally, such a disparity is not the same as symbolic interactionism’s support of people’s belief in comparable symbols and meanings. In spite of this distinction, both theories are obviously successful in gathering people together, by class or symbols. Likewise, symbolic interactionism imparts a hypothetical similitude of reliance to functionalism since functionalism and interactionism allocate society’s relationship with organizations and attributed communication, separately. In any case, interactionism ascribes circumstances to people’s implications, though functionalists would accentuate the general capacities that assumed a part.

To further understand those theories, it is just right to apply it to a real-life situation like teen pregnancy. Social conflict theory – which focuses on the negative, conflicted, and ever-changing nature of society – would look at it that most probably, those involved with teen pregnancy are poor people and that time will come that the population will be effortlessly manipulated by the wealthy. It may also perceive teen pregnancy as a rebellion of teenagers against the oppressive forces of the generation.