Republic of the Philippines

Department of Education
Region VII, Central Visayas
Division of Bohol

DISCIPLINES AND IDEAS IN APPLIED SOCIAL SCIENCES

FIRST QUARTER: WEEK 5
Competency : Analyze the basic concepts and principles of the major social science theories.

Reference : Abulencia, Arthur S.,et.al. Discipline and Ideas in the Social Sciences Teachers
Guide. Pasig City. DepEd-BLR. 2017. p.34-36

Copyright For classroom use only

LESSON 1 STRUCTURAL-FUNCTIONLISM

Develop by Herbert Spencer and Emile Durkheim. It sees society as a system; a set of
interconnected parts which together form a whole. There is a relationship between all these parts and
agents of socialization and together they all contribute to the maintenance of society as a whole. Just like
a living organism, a human body’s parts and organs perform very specific task to sustain itself. Applied to
society, the organic analogy of society follows the same logic of a complex organism whose parts are
highly differentiated yet work interdependently.

Focus
The organization of society and the relationships between broad social units, such as Institutions.
The group is the unit of analysis. A group could be a crowd of people in a movie theater, or the members
of a family sitting around the dinner table, what some call “small groups”. Structural functionalism, or,
simply, functionalism, is a framework for building theory that sees society as a complex system whose
parts work together to promote solidarity and stability. Two theorists, Herbert Spencer and Robert
Merton, were major contributors to this perspective. The Advantages of structural functionalism. Provides
a wide-ranging explanation for many social phenomena. Has guided a great deal of valuable research. Has
contributed useful concepts to the field.
The disadvantages of structural functionalism are: this an ideal model of society rather than an
empirically derived one and operational definitions are hard to come by.

LESSON 2 MARXISM

A system of economic, social, and political philosophy based on ideas that view social change in
terms of economic factors. A central tenet is that the means of production is the economic base that
influences or determines the political life. Develop by Karl Marx in the 19th century. In Marxist theory,
the capitalist mode of production consists of two main economic parts: the substructure and
superstructure. In a capitalist society, the ruling class, or the bourgeoisie, owns the mean of production,
such as machines or tools that can be used to produce valuable objects.
 The working class, or the proletariat, only possess their own labour power, which they sell to the
ruling class in the form of wage labor to survive. This relations of production—employer—employee
relations, the technical division of labor, and property relations—form the base of society or, in Marxist
terms, the substructure. From this material substructure, the superstructure emerges. The superstructure
includes the ideas, philosophies and cultural of a society. In a capitalist society, the ruling class promotes
its own ideologist and values as the norm for the entire society, and values are accepted by the working
class.
A temporary status could be achieved by employing various methods of social control—
consciously and unconsciously—by the bourgeoisie in various aspect of social life. Eventually, however,
Marx believed the capitalist economic order would erode, through its own internal conflict; this would
lead to revolutionary consciousness and the development of egalitarian communist society, in this
communist society, the state would own the means of production, and it would equally distribute
resources to all citizens. The means of production would be shared by all members of society, and social
satisfaction would be abolished.

LESSON 3 SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM

Symbolic interaction theories focus on the interpretation (social meaning) that is given to
behavior, and on the way such interpretation helps to construct the social world, the identities of people,
and, ultimately how they behave. George Herbert Mead is widely recognized as the father of this thought.
The theory consists of three core principles:
Meaning states that humans act toward people and things according to the meanings that give to those
people or things. Symbolic Interactionism holds the principal of meaning to be the central aspect of
human behavior.
Language gives humans a means by which to negotiate meaning through symbols. Humans identify
meaning in speech acts with others.
Thought modifies each individual’s interpretation of symbols. Thought is a mental conversation that
requires different points of view.

ACTIVITY: Determine if what theory does the situation falls.

 Marxism
Structural- Symbolic-
functionalism Interaction

In a company: there is a harmonious work collaboration among the

supervisors and the laborers even though their functions are different
from each other.

In a company: there is an existing misunderstanding between the

management and labor union.

In a company: when the Manager raised the placards written with:

ClayGo/C.A.Y.G.O

ASSESSMENT:
Multiple choice: Read and analyze the following questions carefully. Choose the letter that corresponds
to the correct answer.

1. Who is considered as the Father of Conflict Theory?

A. Adam Smith B. Alexander Graham C. Karl Marx D. Bell Marx

2. Who developed Structural- Functionalism Theory?

A. Herbert Spencer and Charles Darwin C. Herbert Spencer and Karl Marx
B. Herbert Spencer and Emile Durkheim D. Karl Marx and Emile Durkheim
3. What theory sees society as a system; a set of interconnected parts which together form a whole?
A. Conflict Theory B. Structural- functionalism theory

B. Symbolic-Interaction D. None of these

4. He is widely recognized as the father of Symbolic interactionism.
A. Adam Smith B. Alexander Graham C. George Herbert Mead D. Gregor Mendel

5. What theory in Social Science focuses on the interpretation (social meaning)?

A. Conflict Theory B. Structural- functionalism theory

B. Symbolic-Interaction D. None of the these

6. The following are the focus of Symbolic interactionism EXCEPT:

A. Language B. Meaning C. Philosophy D. Thought

7. Which theory emphasizes on a central tenet that the means of production is the economic base that
influences or determines political life?
A. Conflict Theory B. Structural- Functionalism Theory
B. Symbolic-Interaction D. None of these
8. The following are advantages of structural functionalism, EXCEPT;
 A. Has contributed useful concepts to the field
B. Has guided a great deal of valuable research
C. Provides a wide-ranging explanation for many social phenomena
D. Stress on perpetual conflict that exists.
9. Tina is a teacher and a mother of three children. At home, she manages and assigns the house chores
among her three daughters. At school, she accomplishes the tasks assigns by her principal. Which theory
is applied from the situation?
A. Conflict Theory B. Structural- functionalism theory
B. Symbolic-Interaction D. None of these

10. Celestino is a factory worker. He then realized that the workers of the factory suffered from
oppression due to the mismanagement of the owner of the factory. Which theory is applied on the
following situation?
A. Conflict Theory B. Structural- functionalism theory

B. Symbolic-Interaction D. None of these

ANSWER KEY:
1) C
2) B
3) B
4) C
5) B
6) C
7) A
8) D
9) A
10) B