According to the functionalist perspective, each aspect of society is interdependent and contributes to society’s stability and functioning as a whole. Thus, they are necessary for the survival of that society. – Comparison of Key Differences Key TermsĬonflict Theory, Functionalism, Society, Sociology, Social Science, Structural Functionalismįunctionalism (also known as Structural Functionalism) is the theory that states all aspects of a society are dependent and they serve a function. What is the Difference Between Functionalism and Conflict Theory What is the Similarity Between Functionalism and Conflict TheoryĤ. Therefore, these two demonstrate two distinct approaches to understand what society is like. These two different theories or approaches analyze how the concept of society is created and how it works. Accordingly, functionalism and conflict theory are two fundamental approaches used in sociology. Sociology is an inter-discipline of social science, which studies and analyses the concept of society and the human behaviour. The main difference between functionalism and conflict theory is that the functionalism states that each aspect of a society serves a function and are necessary for the survival of that society while the conflict theory states that a society is in perpetual class conflict due to the limitation and the unequal distribution of resources.

Structural functional theory definition