Conflict Theory - Karl Marx - Each group in society wants to further their own interests, even at the expense of others. Social problems stem from exploitation and resistance to exploitation.

Strain Theory - Robert Merton - Functionalist theory that stresses how people adapt when their access to the cultural means to reach cultural goals is blocked.

Labeling Theory - Howard Becker - Behaviors are deviant only when society labels them as deviant. Who applies what label to whom, why they do this, and what happens as a result of this labeling.

Symbolic Interaction Theory - George Herbert Mead and Herbert Blumer - The meanings that objects and events have for people, and how problems are not objects are not objective conditions but, rather, the conditions that people have decided to call social problems.

Functionalist Theory - Herbert Spencer, Talcott Parsons, Kinsgley Davis and Wilbert E. Moore - How a system consists of interconnected parts, each part contributing in some way to the equilibrium or stability of the system. The contribution of each part is its function. Functionalists view social problems as dysfunction, the failure of some parts of the system to function correctly.

Exchange Theory - George Homans and Peter Blau - Social change and stability are a process of negotiated exchanges between parties. All human relationships are formed by the use of a subjective cost-benefit analysis an

Malthusian Theory - Thomas Robert Malthus - Population increase would outpace increases in the means of subsistence.

Power Elite Model - C. Wright Mills - A small group made up of the top military, political, and business leaders makes decisions that direct the country. It is not a formal group, they meet neither in secret nor in public. It consists of top leaders whose elite gains cohesion.

Modeling Theory - Alfred Tarski - Study of the interpretation of any language, formal or natural, by means of set theoretic structures

Social Learning Theory - Albert Bandura - People learn within a social context and it is facilitated through concepts of modeling and observational learning.

Looking Glass Self - Charles Horton Cooley - A person’s self grows out of society’s interpersonal interactions and perceptions of others. People shaping themselves based on other people’s perception, which leads the people to reinforce other people’s perspectives on themselves. People shape themselves based on what other people perceive and confirm other people’s opinion on themselves.

Disengagement Theory - Cummings and Henry - In every society, the elderly undergo a process of adjustment in which