Sociology: Theories, Identity & Health

Sociological Theories

Theory	Key Thinker	Focus	Level
Functionalism	Durkheim	Society as interdependent parts; stability	Macro
Conflict theory	Marx	Power, inequality, class struggle	Macro
Symbolic interactionism	Mead, Blumer	Meaning through symbols, interaction	Micro
Feminist theory	Various	Gender inequality, patriarchy	Macro/Micro
Social constructionism	Berger, Luckmann	Reality is socially constructed	Micro

Key Point: Weber: 3 dimensions — Class (economic), Status (prestige), Party (political power). Marx: bourgeoisie vs proletariat.

Concept	Definition
Fundamental attribution error	Overattribute others' behavior to disposition, underattribute to situation
Self-serving bias	Attribute success to self, failure to external factors
Cognitive dissonance	Discomfort when attitudes ≠ behavior → change attitude
Conformity	Adjust behavior to group norms (Asch line experiment)
Obedience	Follow authority (Milgram shock experiment)
Bystander effect	More bystanders → less likely to help (diffusion of responsibility)
In-group bias	Favor own group members over out-group
Stereotype threat	Anxiety from confirming negative stereotype → poorer performance

Key Point: Social determinants of health: SES, education, neighborhood, access to healthcare, social support, discrimination.

Sick role (Parsons): Patient is exempt from duties but must seek help and try to recover.