Sociology

Sociology Study Guide

Functionalist Point of View: Originating with the thoughts of Spencer and Durkheim, the functionalist perspective views society as a whole consisting of various parts, each of which have different functions necessary for the stability of the whole; it also focuses on why societies assume the particular forms that they each do. As noted previously, Spencer compared societies to living organisms in terms of structure and function; he posited that societies have structure, or sets of interrelated parts that contribute to the overall stability of the structure. The functionalist perspective was refined by Talcott Parsons and Robert Merton, Parsons’ student, in more modern times as they, among other functionalist theorists, insisted that society tends to be organized and stable (when most members of the society are in agreement on the same set of basic beliefs) because of the inter-relationship between its parts. This stability is known as equilibrium, or balance. Social change is considered negative unless it is a slow moving change. Small changes in one portion of the system instigate small changes in other parts of the system, thus leading to small changes throughout the social organism. Rapid change, however, in one portion tends to leave other parts unable to catch up and disequilibria results. Robert Merton defined two terms used when distinguishing what is the function of a particular element of a social system. First, to define a function, sociologists identify what the consequence of the action is, rather than what the purposes are believed to be. A manifest function is an obvious consequence, and a latent function is an unintended consequence. Merton also differentiated negative consequences. Figure 1: Example of Manifest and Latent Functions Such dysfunctions could disrupt the social balance. It is possible that a function could be both functional and dysfunctional simultaneously. Some sociological theorists criticize the functionalist viewpoint as being too conservative. They claim that the emphasis on order and stability forces functionalists to dismiss negative consequences as dysfunctional even if those particular functions are necessary or inevitable, or in the long run (but not immediately) beneficial. The functionalist perspective is sometimes referred to as order perspective, structural functionalism, or systems theory. Schools Manifest Function: Teaching children necessary skills Latent Function: Providing childcare to children

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