1. Structural-Functionalism
2. Marxism
3. Symbolic Interactionism
4. Psychoanalysis
5. Rational Choice
6. Institutionalism
7. Feminist Theory
8. Hermeneutical Phenomenology
9. Human-Environment Systems
Structural-Functionalism
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”
Corporations, factories, university systems, and even communities are groups too.
Structural-Functional Theory (SFT) allows for major institutions, such as economy, religion, politics, education, and family to be considered as groups.
Background and History
The early functionalists were anthropologists (i.e., Levi- Strauss, Radcliff-Brown, Malinowski, and others). Claude Levi-Strauss Alfred Radcliffe-Brown Bronislaw Malinowski
They were seminal ((of a work, event, moment, or figure) strongly influencing later developments)thinkers of the middle 1800s who made direct observations of primitive cultures, theorizing about the organization of these folk in relation to Western society.
Their theories were often quite simple and required only a few assumptions. The point they were making was this: Individual and group behavior, more often than not, serves a FUNCTION for the larger society.
Claude Levi-Strauss (1908 to 2009) is widely regarded as the father of structural anthropology. In the 1940s, he proposed that the proper focus of anthropological investigations was on the underlying patterns of human thought that produce the cultural categories that organize worldviews hitherto studied (McGee and Warms, 2004: 345). He believed these processes were not deterministic of culture, but instead, operated within a culture.
His work was heavily influenced by Emile Durkheim and Marcel Mauss as well as the Prague School of structural linguistics (organized in 1926) which include Roman Jakobson (1896 to 1982), and Nikolai Troubetzkoy (1890 to 1938). From the latter, he derived the concept of binary contrasts, later referred to in his work as binary oppositions, which became fundamental in his theory.
Functionalism was a reaction to the excesses of the evolutionary and diffusionist theories of the nineteenth century and the historicism of the early twentieth (Goldschmidt 1996:510).
Two versions of functionalism developed between 1910 and 1930: Malinowski’s b
iocultural (or psychological) functionalism; and structural-functionalism, the approach advanced by Radcliffe-Brown.
Malinowski suggested that individuals have physiological needs (reproduction, food, shelter) and that social institutions exist to meet these needs.
There are also culturally derived needs and four basic "instrumental needs" (economics, social control, education, and political organization), that require institutional devices. Each institution has the personnel, a charter, a set of norms or rules, activities, material apparatus (technology), and a function.
Radcliffe-Brown focused on social structure rather than biological needs. He suggested that a society is a system of relationships maintaining itself through cybernetic feedback, while institutions are orderly sets of relationships whose function is to maintain the society as a system. Radcliffe-Brown, inspired by Augustus Comte, stated that the social constituted a separate "level" of reality distinct from those of biological forms and inorganic matter.
argued that explanations of social phenomena had to be constructed within the social level. Thus, individuals were replaceable, transient occupants of social roles. Unlike Malinowski's emphasis on individuals, Radcliffe- Brown considered individuals irrelevant (Goldschmidt 1996:510).
The Functionalists Perspectives
A perspective is simply a way of looking at the world.
A theory is a set of interrelated propositions or principles designed to answer a question or explain a particular phenomenon; it provides us with a perspective
Sociological theories - help us to explain and predict the social world in which we live in. The Functionalists Perspectives The Functionalists Perspectives is based largely on the works of Herbert Spencer, Emile Durkheim, Talcott Parsons, and Robert Merton.
According to functionalism, society is a system of interconnected parts that work together in harmony to maintain a state of balance and social equilibrium for the whole.
For example, Each of the social institutions contributes important functions for society: family provides a context for reproducing, nurturing, and socializing children. Education offers a way to transmit a society’s skills, knowledge, and culture to its youth. Politics provides a means of governing members of society. Economics provides for the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. And religion provides moral guidance and an outlet for the worship of a higher power.
The Functionalists perspectives emphasize the interconnectedness of society by focusing on how each part influences and is influenced by other parts. For example, the increase in single-parent and dual-earner families has contributed to the number of children who are failing in school because parents have become less available to supervise their children’s homework.
For example: As a result of changes in technology, colleges are offering more technical programs, and many adults are returning to school to learn new skills that are required in the workplace. The increasing number of women in the workforce has contributed to the formulation of policies against sexual harassment and job discrimination.
Functionalists use the terms functional and dysfunctional to describe the effects of social elements on society.
- Elements of society are functional if they contribute to social stability.
- They are dysfunctional if they disrupt social stability.
Some aspects of society can be both functional and dysfunctional. For example, crime is dysfunctional in that it is associated with physical violence, loss of property, and fear. But according to Durkheim and other functionalists, crime is also functional for society because it leads to the heightened awareness of shared moral bonds and increased social cohesion. Sociologists have identified two types of functions: manifest and latent (Merton 1968).
The Functionalists Perspectives Sociologists have identified two types of functions:
- a. manifest; and b. latent (Merton 1968)
Manifest functions are consequences that are intended and commonly recognized.
Latent functions are consequences that are unintended and often hidden.
For example, The manifest function of education is to transmit knowledge and skills to society’s youth. But public elementary schools also serve as babysitters for employed parents, and colleges offer a place for young adults to meet potential mates. The babysitting and mate-selection functions are not the intended or commonly recognized functions of education; hence they are latent functions
For sociology, many of these functional anthropological notions were drawn together by Talcott Parsons, a young professor at Harvard University around 1950, with considerable input from early social philosophers Max Weber, Herbert Spencer, and Emile Durkheim. Parsons' work was further extended by subsequent sociologists of the time and after. The structural-functional theory became the paradigm theory in sociology for about twenty years or so because it saliently defined society as a system with checks and balances.
Marxism
Begin in the 19th century as a pragmatic view of history that offered the working classes of society an opportunity to change their world
It offered humanity a social, political, economic, and cultural understanding of the nature of reality, society and the individual.
The root of Marxist literary theory
Born in Tier, Germany in 1818
His writings became the basis of the Marxism Approach. The Communist Manifesto
Died on 14 March 1883
Marxism Our place in society determines our consciousness study the relationship between a text and the society that reads it. focuses on class relations and societal conflict People’s experiences are responsible for shaping and developing an individual person’s consciousness
Marx declares that “consciousness does not determine life: life determines consciousness.”
Humans define themselves.
He said that our ideas and concepts about ourselves fashioned in everyday discourse in the language of real life.
The core belief of Marxism
Marx believed that society had progressed from one economic system to another
As society progresses from a feudal system to a more market-based economy, the actual process from producing, distributing, and consuming goods becomes more complex
People’s functions within the economic system become differentiated.
- 1. Base -Engenders and controls all human institutions and ideologies
- 2. Superstructure - all social and legal institutions, political and educational systems, religions, and art
Feudalism (Social System)
Capitalism (Production for profit)
Socialism (Social Ownership)
Communism (Society’s ultimate goal “the worker’s paradise”)
Proletariat • class of society which does not have ownership of the means of production.
Bourgeoisie • wealthy class that rules society.
States that the history of all existing societies is the history of class struggle
They declare that the capitalists, or the bourgeoisie, had successfully enslaved the working class, or the proletariat through economic policies and production of goods.
History became the basis for 20th century Marxism, socialism, and communism • History, an understanding of people and their actions and beliefs is determined by economic conditions. • Marx maintains that an intricate web of social relationships emerges when any group of people engages in the production of goods.
The ideology of society such as the beliefs, values, and culture is determined by the upper class.
The rich become richer, while the poor become poorer
Symbolic Interactionism
The symbolic interaction perspective, also called symbolic interactionism, is a major framework of sociological theory. This perspective relies on the symbolic meaning that people develop and rely upon in the process of social interaction.
Symbolic interaction theory analyzes society by addressing the subjective meanings that people impose on objects, events, and behaviors. Subjective meanings are given primacy because it is believed that people behave based on what they believe and not just on what is objectively true.
Symbolic interactionism looks at individual and group meaning-making, focusing on human action instead of large-scale social structures.
George Herbert MeadPioneered the development of a symbolic interaction perspective
He is the one who argued that “people's selves are social products, but that these selves are also purposive and creative.”
The Three Basic Premises
Herbert Blumer (1969) set out three basic premises of the perspective:
- "Humans act toward things on the basis of the meanings they ascribe to those things."
- "The meaning of such things is derived from, or arises out of, the social interaction that one has with others and society."
- "These meanings are handled in, and modified through, an interpretative process used by the person in dealing with the things he/she encounters."
The first premise: "Humans act toward things on the basis of the meanings they ascribe to those things."
Includes everything that a human being may note in their world, including physical objects, actions, and concepts. Essentially, individuals behave towards objects and others based on the personal meanings that the individuals have already given these items.
The second premise: "The meaning of such things is derived from, or arises out of, the social interaction that one has with others and the society."
Arises out of, the social interaction that one has with other humans. People interact with each other by interpreting or defining each other's actions instead of merely reacting to each other's actions.
The third premise: "These meanings are handled in, and modified through, an interpretative process used by the person in dealing with the things he/she encounters."
We naturally talk to ourselves in order to sort out the meaning of a difficult situation. But first, we need language. Before we can think, we must be able to interact symbolically. emphasis on symbols, negotiated meaning, and social construction of society brought on attention to the roles people play.
- Symbolic interaction has roots in phenomenology, which emphasizes the subjective meaning of reality.
- Symbolic interactionism proposes a social theory of the self or a looking glass self.
- Symbolic interactionists study meaning and communication; they tend to use qualitative methods.
- Symbolic interactionism has been criticized for failing to take into account large-scale macro-social structures and forces.
Example: • Studies find that teenagers are well informed about the risks of tobacco, but they also think that smoking is cool, that they themselves will be safe from harm, and that smoking projects a positive image to their peers. So, the symbolic meaning of smoking overrides the actual facts regarding smoking and risk.
Psychoanalysis
BACKGROUND
Sigmund Freud
He was born in Freiberg, Moravia (now part of the Czech Republic). Freud was the firstborn of Jacob and Amalie Nathanson Freud. Although Freud’s family had limited finances, his parents made every effort to support his intellectual capacities. The most creative phase of Freud’s life was when he experienced severe emotional problems. He analyzed himself and discovered the “royal road to the unconscious.” Freud was very rigid and show very little tolerance to other colleagues who diverged from his psychoanalytic doctrines. Freud was highly creative and productive. Freud considered himself an intellectual giant.
VIEW OF HUMAN NATURE
Freud basically views human nature as deterministic. (Corey, 2009).
Freud was mostly neutral or pessimistic about the nature of humans. (Flanagan & Flanagan, 2004). According to six dimensions (Feist & Feist, 2009), Freud’s view of human nature can be summarized as follows: deterministic, causal, pessimistic, unconscious, biological and both unique/similar.
THERAPEUTIC PROCESS
- To make the unconscious conscious or increase client awareness.
- To help the client develop greater ego-control or self-control over unhealthy or maladaptive impulses.
- To help the client dispose of maladaptive or unhealthy internalized objects and replace them with more adaptive internalized objects.
- To repair self-defects through mirroring, presenting a potentially idealized object, and expressing empathy during optimal therapeutic failures.
THERAPEUTIC TECHNIQUES
There is a number of techniques that evolve over time in order to accommodate the dynamic individual and to help the counselor in facilitating deeper understanding by counselees and these are the following:
- Creating a trusting atmosphere, free association
- Interpretation of resistance
- Dream analysis
- Interpretation of parapraxes
- Interpretation of the transference relationship
Creating a Trusting Atmosphere All external stimuli are minimized.
Free Association
The basic rule in traditional psychoanalysis, “Say whatever comes to mind.” This is designed to facilitate the emergence of unconscious impulses and conflicts.
The patient’s internal stimuli are minimized. Cognitive selection or conscious planning is reduced.
Dream Analysis
An important procedure for uncovering unconscious material and giving the client insight into some areas of unresolved problems (Corey, 2009).
Interpretation of Parapraxes Parapraxes
is a general term for minor errors such as slips of the tongue, mistakes in writing, motor movements, forgetting things, and small accidents. Freud called such phenomena the “Psychopathology of Everyday Life” and attributed them to the unconscious forces (Chaplin, 1985).
Interpretation of the Transference Relationships
Transference is a client distortion that involves re-experiencing Oedipal issues in the therapeutic relationship. Countertransference is the therapist’s tendency to see the client in terms of his or her own previous relationships. This is a negative factor in therapy. “Recognize this counter-transference…and overcome it. No psychoanalyst goes further than his own complexes and internal resistances permit.”
CULTURAL ISSUES
Freud was a member of western society, dominated by males. He came from the majority of European well-off males, and so his approach of viewing things came from his membership of this kind of class
he was a Jew who faced an ongoing prejudice among people in Vienna. He was struggling with conflicts between his cultural heritage as well as his religion and the pervasive influence of anti-Semitism during his time
Freud’s theory grew out based on a small and unrepresentative sample of people, restricted to him and to those who sought psychoanalysis with him.
SOCIAL ISSUES
In relation to women, some feminists have challenged Freud’s view of women, suggesting he looked at them as second-class citizens who were somehow lacking as compared to his male companions (Neukrug, 2011). Given his upbringing during the middle of the 19th century, parental acceptance of his domination of his sisters, a tendency to exaggerate differences between women and men, and his belief that women inhabited the dark continent of humanity, it seems unlikely that Freud possessed the essential experiences to understand women (Feist & Feist, 2009).
SPIRITUAL ISSUES
Freud admitted that he was an atheist. Although an Atheist, he had complex views of religion. According to him, belief in God was partly remnants of projections from early tribes. He believed that early tribes needed to find an external force that would control their primal urges. In order to do so, they find a way to prevent in killing one another which is to create a God to pray to and to bestow everything to God as an agent to control their internal drives.
UNCONSCIOUS AND CONSCIOUS
Freud’s greatest contribution is his exploration of the unconscious and his insistence that people are motivated primarily by drives of which they have little or no awareness (Feist & Feist, 2009).
STRUCTURE OF PERSONALITY
The personality consists of three systems: the id, the ego, and the superego. These are names for psychological structures and should not be thought of as manikins that separately operate the personality; one’s personality functions as a whole rather than as three discrete segments. The id is the biological component, the ego is the psychological component, and the superego is the social component (Corey, 2009).
DRIVES AND INSTINCTS
According to Freud, humans are born with coexisting instincts namely life instincts (Eros) and death instincts (Thanatos). The life instinct functions to meet basic needs for love and intimacy, sex, and survival of the individual and species. He believed that the aim of life is death (Neukrug, 2011). Instincts are raw, possess no conscience, and are largely unconscious. Thus, humans must find ways to restrict these, especially if living in the civilized world.
ANXIETY
Anxiety is a feeling of dread that results from repressed feelings, memories, desires, and experiences that emerge to the surface of awareness. It can be considered as a state of tension that motivates us to do something (Corey, 2009).
EGO DEFENSE MECHANISMS
It serves a useful function by protecting the ego against this kind of conflict or pain of anxiety (Feist & Feist, 2009). Ego defenses are normal behaviors that can have adaptive value provided they do not become a style of life that enables the individual to avoid facing reality (Corey, 2009).
PSYCHOSEXUAL STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT
One of Freud’s contributions is that he believed that childhood experiences strongly influence adult personality. Personality development involves a series of conflicts between individual, who wants to satisfy his or her instinctual impulses, and the social environment (especially the family), which restricts this kind of desire. Through development, the individual finds ways to get as much hedonic gratification as possible, given the constraints in society. These adaptational strategies constitute personality (Cloniger, 2004). These stages are known as the Oral phase, Anal phase, Phallic phase, Latency Period, Genital Period.
Rational Choice
Overview of the Topic
1. Introduction of RCT ( Rational Choice Theory)
2. Growth of RCT
3. Assumption of the RCT
a. Individualism b. Optimality c. Structures d. Self-Regarding Interest e. Rationality
4. Steps in RCT Process
5. Strength of RCT
6. Application of RCT
a. Gaming b. Party Politics c. Legislation d. Public Good e. Coalition Building
7. RCT and Collective Action
8. Criticism of RCT
INTRODUCTION
The rational choice theory, also known as choice theory or rational action theory, is a theory for understanding and often modeling social and economic as well as individual behavior. It is the main paradigm in the currently-dominant microeconomics school of thought. It is also central to modern political science, as well as other disciplines such as sociology and philosophy.
“The rational choice theory was early popularized by a 1992 Nobel Memorial Prize Laureate in Economics Science, Gary Becker, who was one of the first to apply rational actor models more widely”. Elster (1989) stated the essence of rational choice theory when he said that “when faced with several courses of action, people usually do what they believe is likely to have the best overall outcome”.
Contemporary political theory, the so-called rational choice model, starts with the assumption that actors know what they want and can order their wants transitively. (These formulations are probably equivalent. To know what one wants requires one to choose the best from among several goals and, failing to attain it, to choose the second-best, etc. To order three goals is to decide that one is better than either of the other two and that a second is better than a third, which is exactly a transitive ordering
The concept of rationality used in rational choice theory is different from the colloquial and most philosophical use of the word. Colloquially, "rational" behavior typically means "sensible", "predictable", or "in a thoughtful, clear-headed manner." The rational choice theory uses a narrower definition of rationality. At its most basic level, the behavior is rational if it is goal-oriented, reflective (evaluative), and consistent (across time and different choice situations). This contrasts with behavior that is random, impulsive, conditioned or adopted by (unevaluated) imitation.
GROWTH OF THE RATIONAL CHOICE THEORY
Rational choice is argued to have developed as part of the behavioral revolution in American political science of the 1950s and 1960s which sought to investigate how individuals behaved, using empirical methods.
Olson (1965) showed that individuals with self-interest would not always take part in collective action to accomplish a common goal, for instance, why would some of us refuse to pay our tax despite the fact that the monies derived from taxes are used to develop our society; improve basic amenities and security. This has lead to the development of the collective action theory, which can assist us to explain how collective action failures can be grossly reduced if the decision-makers involved are small.
Upon the foundation of individualism, the rational choice theory may go further to portray how sharing, cooperation, or norms emerge, and the role they play in the decision-making process.
The rational choice theory begins, firstly, from the viewpoint of the individual, as opposed to viewing several individuals interacting together, social situations, or groups.
It begins with a few simple assumptions about the individual and the relationship among individuals, and then builds models of social action and interaction that describe and explain the complexities of larger groups, systems, and whole societies.
This approach is very different from the systems and structural approaches of Durkheim or Parsons, who make social norms and values at the societal level an essential feature of their perspective. It also differs from the writers in the Marxian and Weberian traditions that emphasize large-scale, global, and historical social forces. The rational choice theory also runs opposed to the symbolic interaction, interpretive, and feminist approaches that adopt a dense and complex view of social actors and social interaction.
The latter considers meaning, interpretation, emotions, experiences, and a wide variety of aspects of human existence, none of which can be reduced to the other, nor is it capable of simple explanation. Contrastingly, the theory adopts a relatively spare and simple model of the individual, one that can be applied across time and space, so that it is a universal model.
ASSUMPTIONS OF THE RATIONAL CHOICE THEORY
There are a few assumptions made by rational choice theorists. Abell (2000) noted three assumptions made by rational choice theorists. These assumptions include:
1. Individualism – it is individuals who ultimately take action. Individuals, as actors in the society and everywhere, behave and act always as rational beings, self calculating, self-interested and self-maximizing, these individual social actions are the ultimate source of larger social outcomes.
2. Optimality – Individuals choose their actions optimally, given their individual preferences as well as the opportunities or constraints with which the individual faced. Abell (2000) defines optimality as taking place when no other course of social action would be preferred by the individual over the course of action the individual has chosen. This does not mean that the course of action that the actor adopts is the best in terms of some objective, and outside judgment. The rational choice theory, therefore assumes, according to Abell (2000), that individuals “do the best they can, given their circumstances as they see them”.
3. Structures - Abell argues that structures and norms that dictate a single course of action are merely special cases of rational choice theory. Although these structures may be damaging to the rational choice model, individuals will often find a way to exercise action optimally, hence the rational choice model may not necessarily show harmony, consensus, or equality in courses of action.
4. Self-Regarding Interest – This assumption states that the actions of the individual are concerned entirely with his or her own welfare. Abell (2000) noted that in as much as this is a key assumption in the rational choice approach, it is not as essential to the approach as the assumption on optimality. He also noted that various types of group sentiments could exist, such as cooperation, unselfishness, charity, which initially may seem to be contrary to individual optimality. The rational choice theorist may argue that these sentiments can be incorporated into the rational choice model by observing that such sentiments may ultimately be aimed at pursuing some form of self-interest.
5. Rationality – This appears the most predominant assumption of the rational theory. All individuals, according to this assumption act in ways that would benefit them more; every individual is most like to undertake courses of actions that they perceive to be the best possible option and one that would immensely be to their own advantage.
STEPS IN THE RATIONAL CHOICE PROCESS
In order for a decision or choice process to be accepted as rational outside the individual, such a choice process must be arrived at based on certain steps that form the guideline for concluding such actions as rational. Green (2002) outlined certain steps which he believes the rational choice analysis should follow:
- (1) Identify the relevant agents and make assumptions about their objectives.
- (2) Identify the constraints faced by each agent.
- (3) Determine the “decision rules” of each agent, which characterize how an agent’s choices respond to changes of one kind or another – for example, how the number of tomatoes purchased might change with price or income. This task is usually accomplished mathematically by the solution of a constrained optimization problem.
- (4) Determine how the decision rules of various agents may be made consistent with one another and thereby characterize the equilibrium of the model. Effective analysis of complex interactions between agents normally involves the use of mathematical methods, which can sometimes be quite sophisticated.
- (5) Explore how the equilibrium of the model changes in response to various external events. That is, determine the predictions or implications of the model. Again, this step can involve substantial use of mathematics.
- (6) Examine whether the predictions determined in step (5) above are consistent with actual experience. (7) Draw conclusions and any implications (for government policy, for example) implied by (6).
STRENGTHS OF THE RATIONAL CHOICE THEORY
The rational choice theory has largely emerged in the political science subfield. It has been commended as the prototype for a more deductive approach to political analysis. Becker (1976) has described the rational choice model as “a unified framework for understanding all human behavior”. Other advantages of the rational choice theory can be summarized as;
Generality; This means that one set of assumptions relating to each type of actor in a given circumstance, is compatible with any set of structural assumptions about the environmental setting in which the actor is present.
Parsimony; The common knowledge of rationality assumption, the assumption of the isomorphic and self-regarding utility function, when combined with the rational optimization model, allows rational choice theories to treat variations in choices among actors and by an actor over time as entirely a function of their structural position. Preferences and beliefs are simply perceived as the only relevant variables for determining the action.
Predictive; Assumptions of the rational choice model have been used to produce a wide variety of decisive theories, whose predictions about the measurable real-world phenomena rule out a much larger set of outcomes than what is already generally accepted to be unlikely. The decisiveness of rational choice theories depends on structural as well as the individual actor’s assumptions.
APPLICATION OF RATIONAL CHOICE
The rational choice theory is a growing paradigm in political science and can be applied to a range of areas in the discipline, especially, voting behavior, policy formulation and implementation, rule formation, among others.
Gaming: This is a mathematical means of viewing competitions between small numbers of ‘players’. These players have to compete in such a way that the result of such competition would satisfy the interest of each member of the team. In reaching this result, every member of the team is assumed to be rational and would hence seek his/her own interest first before that of the team to which he/she belongs.
Party Politics: Competition among political parties can be dismissed as rational, based on the assumptions of the rational choice model. Every political party will always engage in activities that will ultimately lead to the realization of their own interests may be alongside pursuing democratic or other purposes of governance.
Legislation: Most of the time, if not all of the time, bills and policy suggestions made by members of the legislative chamber are made with the aim of achieving some form of personal interests first, and maybe the interest of the public could follow. Individuals, in the first place, get appointed into legislative offices to fulfill some form of personal interests as against the intention to serve the public.
Public Good: Collective actions have been described as activities that are pursued in the interest of the public. However, arguments have arisen indicating that the only conditions under which individuals will pursue public interest are cohesion, small public and increase in compensation, against these conditions, individuals will ultimately pursue their individual interests.
Coalition Building: The place of rationality in building coalitions cannot be overemphasized. Coalitions are built for the purpose of gaining more influence and power which may be difficult for the individual organization to develop on its own. Some instances of coalitions in politics could include combining votes in an elected body or combining resources during a political or civic campaign.
RATIONAL CHOICE AND COLLECTIVE ACTION
Individuals are perceived by the rational choice approach as being rational, self-calculating, self-interested and self maximizing, hence, it is difficult for individuals to participate in collective action or work towards the good of the public unless the public good would lead ultimately to their own interests. Olson (1965) identified three different types of groups within which an individual can exist, namely;
Privileged groups: These are groups in which members are most likely to gain more from a public good than they would have gained if they had to provide for such good by themselves.
Latent groups: Member of the latent group could free ride (withhold his contribution to the public good), without causing any observable reduction in the supply of such goods.
Intermediate groups: (if any member of this group withholds his contribution, it will cause a noticeable decrease in the supply of the good or a noticeable rise in cost to other contributors)
CRITICISMS
Several critiques and scholars have identified certain shortfalls of the rational choice approach. Aside, some of the disagreements that have been associated with accepting the basic assumptions of the approach, there are a number of other weaknesses that have been attributed to the rational choice theory. Some of these weaknesses are:
- Problems associated with inadequate information and uncertainty. This may make it difficult for individuals to make rational decisions. As a result, they may rely on other ways of making decisions.
- Human social activities and interactions are complex, and many of the theories examined earlier may provide better guides to how these take place.
- Theorists of rational choice argue that macro-level structures and institutions can be explained from the models of individual social action. But there are problems of aggregation of the individual to societal level phenomena. These same difficulties exist in well developed economic models.
- Norms and habits may guide much action, and once these take root people may not question them but use them to pursue meaningful social action.
- One problem of RCT is that some theorists argue that almost everything humans do is rational, even philanthropy and self-sacrifice. By expanding to include all forms of action as rational, an action that is non-rational or irrational becomes part of the model. By including every possible form of action in rational choice, it is not clear how the standards of what is rational and what is not being constructed.
InstitutionalismScope of Presentation
- Introduction
- The Traditional Institutional Approach
- Features of Traditional Institutionalism
- Criticisms of Traditional Institutionalism
- New Institutionalism
- Assumptions of New Institutionalism
- Approaches to New Institutionalism
- The Strengths of New Institutionalism
- The shortcomings of New Institutionalism
Institutionalism has been a very important approach within Political Science for decades
Outside of Political Theory, the core activity within Political Science was the description of:
- Constitutions
- Legal systems
Government structures and their comparison over time and across countries.
The behavioral revolution in the 1960s and 1970s sought to understand how and why individuals acted as they did in real life.
The rational choice model also in the 1960s and 1070s explained politics in terms of the interplay of the individual’s self-interest
The major contention of rational choice theorists is that when faced with several courses of action, people usually do what they believe is likely to have the best overall effect.
Neo-Marxists focused on how systemic power largely derived from capital-labor relationship play in the structuring of government.
Most analysts before the 1980s believed that there was more to politics than the formal arrangements for representation, decision-making, and policy implementation.
Others also continued to practice their art on the assumption that “you need to sit still, it all comes round again”.
By the 1980s institutionalism emerged with more potency and rigor.
Institutionalism is now used to examine systems ranging from micro interpersonal interactions to macro global frameworks.
Traditional Institutional Approach
It deals with the deeper and more resilient aspect of social structure
It considers the processes by which structures, including schemas, rules and norms and routines become established as authoritative guidelines for social behaviour.
It inquires into how these elements are created, diffused, adopted and adapted over time and space, and how they fall into disuse and decline.
Institutions are regular, stable, recurring patterns of behaviour.
Institutionalism is an approach to the study of political institutions, a set of theoretical ideas and hypothesis concerning the relations between institutional characteristics and political agency, performance and change.
Institutionalism is considered the “historic heart” of Political Science and part of the toolkit of every political scientist.
Institutionalism covers the rules, procedures, and formal organization of government.
Embedded in the definition of institutionalism is a formal structure whose existence has both symbolic and action-generating properties.
- Formal structure include mission statements, structural arrangements, and top level, members
- Formal structures also signal the commitment of an organization to rational, efficient standards of organizing, etc.
Features of Traditional Institutional Approach
Features of Traditional Institutional Approach include the following:
Legalism-it deals with the dominant role of law in governance. law constitutes both the framework of the public sector itself and the major way by which the government can affect the behaviour of people.
Structuralism- the contention here is that structure not only mattered but also determined behaviour. It concentrated on the major institutional features of political systems and undertook comparative analysis of different political systems.
Holism- it was also concerned with constitutions and formal structures.
The analysis of political institutions was done within their
- historical development
- Socio-economic milieu
Normative – Political Science emerged from normative roots and so traditional institutionalists linked their descriptive analysis of politics with the concern for “good government”
Criticisms of Traditional Institutionalism
The over reliance on structure by old institutionalists leaves very little room for the impact of individuals, which is not good enough.
The concentration of old institutionalists on whole systems as the basis of comparison made generalization and theory building too difficult.
The concentration of traditional institutionalists on normative analysis undermines the subject matter of political science. The institionalists concern with norms and values meant that this work could not be scientific
The focus on formal governmental institutions, constitutional issues and public law was unpalatably formalistic and old-fashion
It was insensitive to the non-political determinants of political behaviour and hence to the non-political bases of governmental institutions.
New Institutionalism
The term ‘new institutionalism’ was coined by March and Olsen to emphasize the theoretical importance of institutions.
The new interest in institutionalism has been expressed in the slogan ‘bringing the state back in’ and ‘structuring politics’.
The new institutionalism is relatively new theoretical perspective that has been accepted by social scientists.
New institutionalists have made a case for giving institutions analytical primacy.
Institutions play a more autonomous role in shaping political outcomes because the organization of political life makes a difference.
Institutions are political actors in their own right.
Assumptions of New Institutionalism
Institutions create order and predictability in the actions of governments and individuals
The translation of structures into political action and action into institutional continuity and change, are generated by comprehensive and routine process.
Political order is created by a collection of institutions that fit more or less into a coherent system.
Institutions give order to social relations, reduce flexibility and variability of behaviour, and restrict the possibility of a one-sided pursuit of self-interest drives.
Institutions are not static and institutionalization is not an inevitable process, nor is it unidirectional, monotonic or irreversible.
Approaches to New Institutionalism
There are three main variants of the new institutionalism. These are:
- Normative institutionalism
- Historical institutionalism
- Rational choice institutionalism
Normative institutionalism
Normative institutionalism was advanced by March and Olsen.
They posit that the best way to understand political behaviour at both the individual and collective levels is to through the “logic of appropriateness” that individuals acquire through their membership of institutions.
People functioning within institutions behave as they do because of normative standards rather than because of their desire to maximize individual taste and preference.
Normative institutionalism reflects the important role assigned to norms and values within an organization in explaining behaviour of actors.
Historical institutionalism
This approach is associated with the writings of Steinmo, Thelen and Longstreth.
The proponents of historical institutionalism built on the old tradition of political science that assigned importance to formal political institutions.
The argument of this approach is that the policy and structural choices made at the inception of the institution will have a persistent influence over its behaviour for the remainder of its existence.
The basic explanatory principle of historical institutionalism is “path dependency”.
It is concerned about the persistence of organization after they are formed.
It argues for the historical analysis of institutions by adapting the concept of path dependency.
Institutions are regarded as somewhat stable and rigid for reforms and environmental changes.
They can range from;
- the rules of a constitutional order or the standard operating procedures of bureaucracy to;
- the conventions governing trade union behavior.
This approach is well-suited to explaining the persistence of policies but less promising as a means of explaining the change in policies or structures.
Rational choice institutionalism
Rational choice institutionalism (RCI) emerged from the study on the Congress in the United States.
It sought to explain the unusual stability associated with congressional outcomes.
The basic tenet of rational choice institutionalism is that institutions are arrangements of rules and incentives, and that the members of the institutions behave in response to those basic components of institutional structures.
The goal of rational choice institutionalism is to uncover the laws of political behavior and action.
Scholars in RCI generally believe that once these laws are discovered, models can be constructed that will help social scientists understand and predict political behavior.
RCI drew very useful analytical tools from the ‘new economics of organization’ which emphasizes the primacy of property rights, rent-seeking and transaction cost to the operation and development of institutions.
In recent years, RCIs have turned their attention to a variety of other phenomena, including;
- cross-national coalition behavior,
- the development of political institutions,
- the intensity of ethnic conflict.
Rational Choice Institutionalism is used to explain;
- the rise or fall of international regimes,
- the kind of responsibilities that states delegate to international organizations, and
- the shape of such organizations.
The Strengths of New Institutionalism
New institutionalism emphasizes that institutions are central makers in the process of preference formation.
It suggests that actors adapt their behavior to existing institutional frameworks thereby legitimizing institutions and favoring institutional continuity.
New institutionalism provides analytical tools for determining institutional change.
Rational choice institutionalists have adopted the utilitarian view of institutional change-institutions are demanded because they enhance the welfare of rational actors, and are transformed when they become dysfunctional or yield suboptimal results.
Even though the new institutionalists return to the institutional root of political science, they also stress the importance of individual actors in the political process.
Individual’s actions are affected by the values that are advanced by institutions.
New institutionalism helps us to really examine the nature of institutions in a political system.
Finally, new institutionalism demonstrates the primacy of institutions. The theory is very helpful in explaining how existing institutions continue to exist, since the persistence of an institution often depends on the benefits it can deliver.
The weaknesses of new institutionalism
Guy Peters has argued that there is an apparent theoretical inconsistency within new institutionalism.
It is contended that institutions tend to be inherently static, while the world of politics it seeks to explain, is almost always changing.
There is the difficulty in falsifying the predictions coming from this body of theory, especially rational choice theory.
Feminist Theory
“Feminist theory is a major branch of theory within sociology that shifts its assumptions, analytic lens, and topical focus away from the male viewpoint and experience and toward that of women. In doing so, feminist theory shines a light on social problems, trends, and issues that are otherwise overlooked or misidentified by the historically dominant male perspective within social theory.”
Key areas of focus within feminist theory include discrimination and exclusion on the basis of sex and gender, objectification, structural and economic inequality, power and oppression, and gender roles and stereotypes, among others.
Gender Differences Some feminist theory provides an analytic framework for understanding how women's location in, and experience of, social situations differ from men's. For example, cultural feminists look at the different values associated with womanhood and femininity as a reason why men and women experience the social world differently.
Other feminist theorists believe that the different roles assigned to women and men within institutions better explain gender differences, including the sexual division of labor in the household. Existential and phenomenological feminists focus on how women have been marginalized and defined as “other” in patriarchal societies. Some feminist theorists focus specifically on how masculinity is developed through socialization, and how its development interacts with the process of developing feminity in girls.
Gender Inequality Feminist theories that focus on gender inequality recognize that women's location in, and experience of, social situations are not only different but also unequal to men's. Liberal feminists argue that women have the same capacity as men for moral reasoning and agency, but that patriarchy, particularly the sexist division of labor, has historically denied women the opportunity to express and practice this reasoning.
These dynamics serve to shove women into the private sphere of the household and to exclude them from full participation in public life. Liberal feminists point out that gender inequality exists for women in a heterosexual marriage and that women do not benefit from being married.
Indeed, these feminist theorists claim, married women have higher levels of stress than unmarried women and married men. Therefore, the sexual division of labor in both the public and private spheres needs to be altered in order for women to achieve equality in marriage.
Structural Oppression Structural oppression theories posit that women's oppression and inequality are a result of capitalism, patriarchy, and racism. Socialist feminists agree with Karl Marx and Freidrich Engels that the working class is exploited as a consequence of capitalism, but they seek to extend this exploitation not just to class but also to gender.
Intersectionality theorists seek to explain oppression and inequality across a variety of variables, including class, gender, race, ethnicity, and age. They offer the important insight that not all women experience oppression in the same way, and that the same forces that work to oppress women and girls also oppress people of color and other marginalized groups. One way in which structural oppression of women, specifically the economic kind, manifests in society is in the gender wage gap, which shows that men routinely earn more for the same work than women.
Hermeneutical Phenomenology
HERMENEUTICAL PHENOMENOLOGY – is a qualitative research methodology that arose out of and remains closely tied to phenomenological philosophy, a strand of continent philosophy. Phenomenology refers to a person’s perception of the meaning of an event, as opposed to the event as existing externally to (outside of) that person
HERMENEUTICS - In the study of literary texts, scholars frequently adhere to a set of rules or a specific system on which to base their interpretation. Similarly, the interpretation of non- literary texts, such as art or philosophy, may also require adherence to such a method. The specific rules used to interpret and understand a text are known collectively as hermeneutics.
In ancient Greek mythology, the god Hermes served to interpret messages from the other gods. Like Hermes' name, the term hermeneutics comes from the Greek word for 'interpreter'. The concept of utilizing a system to interpret texts was first noted in early writings by Aristotle.
HERMENEUTIC ANALYSIS is a name for various methods of analysis, which are based on interpreting. The strategy forms an opposition to those research strategies which stress objectivity and independence of interpretations in the information of the formation of knowledge.
You can combine hermeneutic analysis with other methods of analysis that aim to interpret and understand meanings. A combination of the rules of hermeneutics and phenomenology forms phenomenological hermeneutic analysis. The hermeneutic analysis also forms the basis of various discipline-specific methods of analysis and close readings methods.
HERMENEUTIC RESEARCH enables you to make interpretations and gain an in-depth understanding of the researched phenomenon. Hermeneutic research emphasizes subjective interpretations in the research of meanings of texts, art, culture, social phenomena, and thinking.
Thus, the strategy forms an opposition to those research strategies which stress objectivity and independence from interpretations in the formation of knowledge. You can use a variety of approaches and methods of analysis, as well as discipline-specific methods, to interpret phenomena but you need to bear in mind that hermeneutic research is a qualitative research strategy.
INFORMATION: Ethnographic analysis – Ethnographic, a method of research in social science, often involves a researcher’s direct, personal observation of a group of people. Scholars from many academic fields, most notably anthropology and sociology, utilize such data in a wide variety of research projects. Features – Ethnographic analysis is a qualitative approach for studying human societies in terms of their distinctive cultures. The defining aspects of this approach involve the in-depth study of all aspects of a given human society Types – Researchers use such methods as direct observation, questionnaires, and interviews to obtain data for ethnographic analysis. Functions – Researchers use ethnographic analysis to study people's behavior in the context of their daily lives. This type of research provides a detailed understanding of how different societies evolve over time. History – Ethnographic analysis developed in the disciplines of sociology and anthropology. Later, scholars in other fields such as history, economics, law, and education began to used this approach in their studies. Consideration – Because their conclusions are based on the subjective analysis of data, researchers must be careful when making generalizations about other societies based on their findings. The findings usually only apply to the group under study.
PHENOMENOLOGICAL ANALYSIS is based on discussions and reflections of direct sense perception and experiences of the researched phenomenon. A starting point of the strategy is your ability to approach a project without a priori assumptions, definitions or theoretical frameworks. A key aspect of this method of analysis is phenomenological reduction.
a broad and loose name for various types of analysis based on the phenomenological orientation of the Philosophy of science. These orientations lay emphasis on experiences, interpretations and bodily sensations. You can combine phenomenological analysis with other modes of analysis. A combination of the rules of phenomenological analysis and hermeneutics is known as phenomenological hermeneutic analysis.
PHENOMENOLOGICAL RESEARCH enables you to explore experiences and sensory perception (different to abstract perceptions) of a researched phenomenon, and the formation of understanding based on these experiences and perceptions. Your research strategy is based, therefore, on either your own or other people’s experiences and sensory perceptions.
The aim of your strategy is: Either to use your own direct experiences acquired during the research process to describe and analyze the phenomenon, in order to produce in-depth knowledge of the phenomenon.
Human-Environment Systems
Humans have the capacity to interact with their environment.
Humans and the environment have “mutual” interaction with each other.
Humans have the capacity to change or influence the balance of society.
Humans always have the capacity to adapt to its
ENVIRONMENT
It is a complex of many variables that surrounds man as well as living organisms.
Environment includes water, air and land and the interrelationships which exist among and
SYSTEMS It may be described as a complex of interacting components together with the relationships among them that permit the identification of a boundary-maintaining entity or process.
HUMAN- ENVIRONMENT SYSTEM
It is also known as the Coupled Human and Natural System, or CHANS)
It is an integrated scientific
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES (ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION AND EFFECTS)
Many of the environmental issues today relate to human's overuse of finite resources for economic development. As a species, humans tend to regard the environment as a never-ending source of materials and Healthy ecosystems and environments are necessary to the survival of humans and other organisms. Ways of reducing negative human impact are environmental resources management, environmental protection, and environmentally- friendly chemical engineering.
HUMAN ACTIONS AND ITS ENVIRONMENT
1.
HUMAN OVERPOPULATION occurs when the ecological footprint of a human population in a specific geographical location exceeds the carrying capacity of the
- Water Scarcity
- Land reclamation
- Waste Disposal Management
- Urbanization
2.
INTENSIVE FARMING Intensive farming or intensive agriculture is a kind of agriculture where a lot of capital and labor are used to increase the yield that can be obtained per area. The use of large amounts of pesticides for crops, and for medication for
- Intensive animal farming
- Intensive crop farming
- Pesticide drift
- Plasticulture
- Slash and burn
- Deforestation
- Environmental effects of meat production
3.
EXHAUSTIVE LAND USE It involves exhaustive management and modification of natural environment or wilderness into built environment such as settlements and semi-natural habitats such as arable fields, arrangements, activities, and inputs that people undertake in a certain land cover type.
- Habitat fragmentation
- Habitat destruction
- Land Degradation
- Built Environment
- Desertification
4.
HYDROLOGY It is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and quality of water on Earth and other planets, including the water cycle, water resources, and environmental watershed sustainability.
- Tile drainage
- Flooding
- Landslide
STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF HUMAN
STRENGTHS
It provides a bigger and wider view of looking at environmental issues
It highlights the importance of synergy and interconnection or interdependence of the human society and the environment
It looks at the human agency as not just a user of environmental resources but also protectors of the environment and other species.
WEAKNESSES
It rests on the idea that individually and collectively, humans can resolve
