Transcript Part I: The Tradition of Positivism: Positivism, Sociologism and

Structural Functionalism
Content
• Parsons: Functional Imperatives , Structure of
the General Action System and Pattern Variables
• Merton: Clarifying functional analysis,
Dysfunctions, and Manifest and Latent functions.
The debate between
“consensus theories and conflict theories
• Consensus theories see shared norms and values as fundamental to
society ,focus on social order based on tacit agreements, and view
social change as occurring in a slow and orderly fashion. In contrast,
conflict theories emphasize the dominance of some social groups by
others, see social order as based on manipulation and control by
dominant groups, and view social change as occurring rapidly and
in a disorderly fashion as subordinate groups overthrow dominant
groups.
• Representatives of the debate: Marx and Comte, Simmel and
Durkheim, Dahrendorf and Parsons.
Function and functional imperatives
• Function
A function is a complex of activities directed
towards meeting a need or needs of the system
• Functional imperatives
There are four functional imperatives that are
necessary for all systems—adaptation(A), goal
attainment(G), integration(I), and latency(L),or
pattern maintenance.
A set of assumptions
of Structural functionalism
• Systems have the property of order and interdependence of parts
• System tend toward self-maintaining order, or equilibrium.
• The system may be static or involved in an ordered process of
change.
• The nature of one part of the system has an impact on the form that
the other state of equilibrium of system.
• Systems maintain boundaries with environments.
• Allocation and integration are two fundamental processes necessary
for a given state of equilibrium of a system.
• System tend toward self-maintenance involving the maintenance of
boundaries and of the relationship of parts to the whole, control of
environmental variations, and control of tendencies to change the
system.
Structure of the General Action System
L
I
Cultural
System
Social
System
Behavioral
Organism
Personality
System
A
G
• Adaptation: a system must cope with
external situational exigencies. It
must adapt to its environment and
adapt the environment to its needs.
• Goal attainment: a system must
define and achieve its primary goals.
• Integration: a system must regulate
the interrelationship of its
component parts. It also must
manage the relationship among the
other three functional imperatives
• Latency (pattern maintenance): a
system must furnish, maintain, and
renew both the motivation of
individuals and the cultural patterns
that create and sustain that
motivation.
Society and its Subsystems
L
I
Fiduciary
System
Societal
Community
Economy
Polity
A
G
• Adaptation: The economy is the
subsystem that performs the function for
society of adapting to the environment
through labor, production, and allocation.
• Goal attainment: The polity(or political
system) performs the function of goal
attainment by pursuing societal objectives
and mobilizing actors and resources to
that end.
• Integration: The integration function is
performed by the societal community
(law), which coordinates the various
components of society
• Latency (pattern maintenance): The
fiduciary system (schools, family) handles
the latency function by transmitting
culture to actors and allowing it to be
internalized by them.
Pattern Variables
• Pattern variables are ''the principle tools of structural
analysis outlining the derivation of these categories from
the intrinsic logic of social action -- the inherent
dilemmas of choice facing actors'' . Parsons argues that
there are a strictly limited and defined set of alternatives
or choices that can be made, and the relative primacies
given to choices constitute the ''patterning of relational
institutions.'' These choices or alternatives are called
orientation-selection.
Affectivity vs. Affective-neutrality
• There are five pattern variables of role-definition that Parsons
discusses, although he says that there are many more
possibilities. The first is the gratification-discipline dilemma:
affectivity vs. affective-neutrality. The dilemma here is in
deciding whether one expresses their orientation in terms of
immediate gratification (affectivity) or whether they renounce
immediate gratification in favor of moral interests (affectiveneutrality). parsons says, ''no actor can subsist without
gratifications, while at the same time no action system can be
organized or integrated without the renunciation of some
gratifications which are available in the given situation'' .
Self-orientation vs.
Collectivity orientation.
• The second set of pattern variables of role-definition
are the private vs. collective interest dilemma: selforientation vs. collectivity orientation. In this case,
one's role orientation is either in terms of her
private interests or in terms of the interests of the
collectivity. Parsons explains, ''a role, then, may
define certain areas of pursuit of private interests as
legitimate, and in other areas obligate the actor to
pursuit of the common interests of the collectivity.
The primacy of the former alternative may be called
''self-orientation,'' that of the latter, ''collectivityorientation'' .
Universalism vs. Particularism
• The third pair of pattern variables are the choice
between types of value-orientation standard:
universalism vs. particularism. Simply put, ''in the
former case the standard is derived from the validity
of a set of existential ideas, or the generality of a
normative rule, in the latter from the particularity of
... an object or of the status of the object in a
relational system'' . Example: the obligation to fulfill
contractual agreements vs. helping someone
because she is your friend.
Achievement vs.
Ascriptive role behavior
• The fourth pair of pattern variables are achievement vs.
ascriptive role behavior: the choice between modalities
of the social object. Achievement-orientation roles are
those which place an emphasis on the performances of
the people, whereas ascribed roles, the qualities or
attributes of people are emphasized independently of
specific expected performances.
Specificity vs. Diffuseness
• The final pair of pattern variables are specificity vs.
diffuseness: the definition of scope of interest in the
object. If one adopts an orientation of specificity towards
an object, it means that the definition of the role as
orienting to the social object in specific terms. In
contrast, in a diffuse orientation, the mode of orientation
is outside the range of obligations defined by the roleexpectation.
Clarifying functional analysis
• Merton argues that the central orientation of
functionalism is in interpreting data by their
consequences for larger structures in which they are
implicated. Like Durkheim and Parsons he analyzes
society with reference to whether cultural and social
structures are well or badly integrated. Merton is
also interested in the persistence of societies and
defines functions that make for the adaptation of a
given social system. Finally, Merton thinks that
shared values are central in explaining how societies
and institutions work , however he disagrees with
Parsons on some issues.
Clarifying functional analysis
• Merton persisting talk about "functionalist theory" although the
term is misleading and generally useless as a description of any
concept school and direction. Merton generally presented a
misconception of a nature of Parsons' theory, which he never fully
understood or appreciate despite the intellectual influence in
general. According to Merton's perception of "functionalism," the
functional unity of society which states that all standardized social
and cultural beliefs and practices are functional for both society as a
whole as well as individuals in society. This outlook maintains that
various parts of social systems must show a high level of integration,
but Merton argues that a generalization like this cannot be extended
to larger, more complex societies.
Clarifying functional analysis
• The second claim has to do with universal functionalism. This
claim argues that all standardized social and cultural
structures and forms have a positive function. Merton argues
that this is a contradiction to what is seen in the real world;
not every structure, idea, belief, etc, has positive functions.
The third claim of functional analysis that Merton argues is
that of indispensability. This claim states that the
standardized parts of society have positive functions, and also
represent indispensable parts of the working whole, which
leads to that structures and functions are functionally
necessary for society. Here, Merton argues people must be
willing to admit that there exist various structural and
functional alternatives within society
Clarifying functional analysis
• His belief in empirical testing led to the development of
his "paradigm" of functional analysis. According to
Merton, "paradigm," refers to "exemplars of codified
basic and often tacit assumptions, problem sets, key
concepts, logic of procedure, and selectively accumulated
knowledge that guide [theoretical and empirical] inquiry
in all scientific fields." In terms of structural
functionalism, Merton felt that the focus should be on
social functions rather than on individual motives
Dysfunctions
• Merton emphasizes the existence of dysfunctions. He
thinks that some things may have consequences that are
generally dysfunctional or which are dysfunctional for
some and functional for others. On this point he
approaches conflict theory, although he does believe that
institutions and values can be functional for society as a
whole. Merton states that only by recognizing the
dysfunctional aspects of institutions, can we explain the
development and persistence of alternatives. Merton’s
concept of dysfunctions is also central to his argument
that functionalism is not essentially conservative.
Dysfunctions
• In Merton's writing on dysfunctions, he highlighted problems
that tend to keep social systems from meeting all of their
functional requirements. In doing this, he was able to point
out the details as well as the contradictions of the overall
concept. One group's function could serve as another group's
dysfunction, and a general incident could turn out to be both
functional and dysfunctional for the same group. Merton
clarified the concept by stating that a certain degree of social
cohesion eases the productivity of a group and is therefore
functional, but it can become dysfunctional when it surpasses
a certain threshold, because then the members of the group
may become equally indulgent and fail to hold each other to
high performance standards.
Dysfunctions
• In order to help people determine whether positive
functions outweigh dysfunctions, and vice versa, Merton
developed the concept of net balance. Because the issues
are complex and based on a lot of subjective judgement,
they cannot be calculated and weighed easily. Therefore,
positive functions and dysfunctions cannot be simply
added up and objectively determine which outweighs the
other. In order to deal with these issues, Merton believed
that there must be levels of functional analysis. Rather
than solely focusing on the analysis of society as a whole,
Merton argued that analysis could and should also be
done on an organization, institution or group
The unanticipated consequences
of social action
• Some of the crucial innovations that Merton made to sociology include the
description of the unanticipated consequences of social action, of latent
functions vs. manifest functions, and, as previously mentioned, of dysfunctions.
According to Merton, unanticipated consequences are actions that have both
intended and unintended consequences. Everyone is aware of the intended
consequences, but the unintended are more difficult to recognize, and therefore,
sociological analysis is required to uncover what they may be. In his 1936 essay,
"The Unanticipated Consequences of Social Action," Merton uncovered the wide
field of human activity where things do not go as planned, and paradoxes and
strange outcomes are seen. One of these outcomes is the "self-defeating
prophecy," which through the very fact of its being publicized, is actually wrong.
Merton was able to illustrate this by referencing Karl Marx's prediction that as
societies become more modern, the wealth will be concentrated amongst fewer
people, and the majority of society would suffer from poverty and misery. This
prediction helped to stimulate the socialist movement, which in some countries
slowed the development that Marx had predicted. The opposite of the "selfdefeating prophecy" then, is the "self-fulfilling prophecy," when an originally
unfounded prophecy turns out to be correct because it is believed and acted
upon.
Manifest functions vs. Latent functions
• Manifest functions are the consequences that people observe or
expect, or what is intended; latent functions are those that are
neither recognized nor intended. In distinguishing between
manifest and latent functions, Merton argued that must dig to
discover latent functions. His example from his 1949 piece,
"Manifest and Latent Functions," was an analysis of political
machines. Merton began by describing the negative consequences of
political machines, and then changed the angle and demonstrated
how the people in charge of the machines, acting in their own
interest, were meeting the social needs not met by government
institutions.
Unanticipated consequences
and latent functions
• Merton made it very clear however, that unanticipated
consequences and latent functions are not the same.
Latent functions are one type of unanticipated
consequences; functional for the designated system.
According to Merton, there are also two other types of
unanticipated consequences: "those that are
dysfunctional for a designated system, and these
comprise the latent dysfunctions, and those which are
irrelevant to the system which they affect neither
functionally or dysfunctionally..non-functional
consequences"
Manifest functions and latent functions
• Merton sees attention to latent functions as increasing the
understanding of society: the distinction between manifest and
latent forces the sociologist to go beyond the reasons individuals
give for their actions or for the existence of customs and institutions;
it makes them look for other social consequences that allow these
practices’ survival and illuminate the way society works.
• Dysfunctions can also be manifest or latent. Manifest dysfunctions
of something like a festival include traffic jams, closed streets, piles
of garbage, and a shortage of clean public toilets. Latent
dysfunctions of the festival might include people missing work after
the event to recover.
Functional alternatives
• Functionalists believe societies must have certain
characteristics in order to survive. Merton shares this
view but stresses that at the same time particular
institutions are not the only ones able to fulfill these
functions; a wide range of functional alternatives may be
able to perform the same task. This notion of functional
alternative is important because it alerts sociologists to
the similar functions different institutions may perform
and it further reduces the tendency of functionalism to
imply approval of the status quo.
Topics for Class Presentation
• Parsons: the unit act of action system; pattern
variables
• Merton: a structural functional model; manifest
and latent functions
• Dahrendorf: conflict theory
• Criticisms on Parsons
References
• Yu Hai: Western Social Theory
- Parsons: No. 22: The Unit Act of Action System;
No. 23: Pattern Variables
No. 24: Action Systems and Social Systems
- Merton: No. 25: Manifest and Latent Functions
- Coser: No. 26: The Functions of Social Conflict