Macrosociology vs. Microsociology and Functionalism

Need help preparing for the Psych/Soc section of the MCAT? MedSchoolCoach expert, Ken Tao, will teach everything you need to know about macrosociology vs. microsociology and functionalism within theoretical approaches. Watch this video to get all the MCAT study tips you need to do well on the sociology section of the exam!

Macrosociology and microsociology are two different theoretical perspectives for studying society. Macro sociologists take a big picture view of society and focus on topics such as social institutions. Social institutions are patterns of social relationships, such as a legal system, religion, or education system. The macro sociologist will be interested in determining how large scale social pressures from institutions affect society. A macro sociologist might ask, “How does the prevalence of religiosity in a society affect the crime rate?”

Conversely, microsociology focuses on individual interactions in day to day life. Micro sociologists try to explain how people interact, as well as the meaning of those interactions. Micro sociologists might ask, "Why was an individual motivated to commit a crime?" Micro and macro sociologists can cover the same topic, but take different viewpoints and ask different questions. Both theoretical perspectives have their own sub-branches.

For instance, functionalism is an example of a macro sociological theory, pioneered by Émile Durkheim. Durkheim proposed that society is like a living organism that has social institutions that perform important functions and work together to ensure social stability. We can define two different types of functions: manifest functions and latent functions. Manifest functions are the intended functions of social institutions. For example, the manifest function of school is to increase the knowledge of students. Latent functions are the unintended functions of a social institution. The latent function of a school is to cause students to conform to authority, by putting them into an environment where teachers and administrators have an authoritative rule. Functionalism is useful for understanding the purpose of elements in society, but it is often insufficient to explain social change and conflicts within a society. Other theories have been developed to account for these, including conflict and feminist theory.

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