The two theoretical approaches that will be discussed and compared in this activity are the functionalist theory and the conflict theory.

The functionalist theory states that the society is made up of different parts which are responsible for performing certain societal functions, and if one part doesn't perform its given duty it causes the whole society to suffer, for example, the governmental system is responsible for taking care of the security and the welfare of the citizens, while the teachers are responsible for passing education to the juveniles etc. but if the government and the teachers don't perform their duty, the whole society is at risk of experiencing social problems like unemployment, smash-and-grab, rape, depression etc.

The conflict theory however emphasise on inequality of gender, race, class as being the ultimate cause for social problems in societies. The conflict theory explains that those who are being ranked as superior are in conflict with the ones who are ranked inferior, This is due to the fact that the capitalists who are superior exploit the subordinate who are ranked as inferior. when the workers get exploited by the capitalists who seek to gain  profit, that exploitation creates conflict between the two, and this results to the formation of certain social problems like, crime due to unemployment and poverty, and alcoholism due to mental health issues. Social problems like rape, suicide also erupts as results of these inequalities.

In terms of finding solutions for social problems in societies, the functionalist theory emphasises that in order to reach for a better change and improvement the solutions for social problems must not be rushed and the changes should be minor changes every time, while the conflict theory emphasises on major social changes like eliminating inequality immediately.