Main menu For students For teachers Explore our subjects Student events & courses

Free Sociology resources

Topics

Sociological Theory

Sociological theory refers to the ideas about society that sociologists hold. These can be large, overarching theories like functionalism or Marxism (what postmodernists would criticise as metanarratives) or theories that seek to explain or understand specific aspects of society, such as Talcott Parsons' Warm Bath Theory or Robert Merton's Strain Theory.