Structural Functionalism

- elective 1

structural functionalism

or simply functionalism, is essentially a sociological theory that revolves around the notion that a society is composed of a system of interconnected parts that have their own particular functions.

Macrostructures

social structures formed among groups of institutions are ferred to as ___________ which include religion, education, tradition, and culture

microstructures

social structures established among individuals or within groups that result in individual interactions are called ___________

social functions

the effects of the social structures or their purpose are called __.

manifest function

is the predicted, intended, expected, and knowable effect of a social structure.

manifest function

an example of which is when people go to church in order to pray and to hear mass.

latent function

si the unintended outcome of social structure.

latent function

if the ____________ of going to church to pray and hear mass, its _________ is to gather people together in one place to reinforce the sense of community

manifest dysfunction

is the predicted, expected, and knowable disruptions of a social structure

manifest dysfunction

for example, a large gathering of people such as concerts and other events disrupts traffice flow within the vicinity of the event, even though it was not intended to do so.

latent dysfunction

is the unpredicted and unexpected disruptions of social structures.

Auguste Comte

provided an analysis of social evolution through his Law of Three Stages

Auguste Comte

provided a theory of society and man's cognitive progression fro religious and abstract concepts to a scientific perspective.

Auguste Comte

his ideas are considered as the precursor to structural functionalism as he identified tradition and other social structures as elements in shaping the society

Law of Three Stages

the __ itself is a critique of the social structures and of how humans were shaped by progressive thinking

Herbert Spencer

is known as the first sociological functionalist

Herbert Spencer

his comparison of society to the human body is the overarching idea of structural functionalism

Herbert Spencer

each social structure is like a body part--- it has a purpose and a function in the overall well-being of the society.

Herbert Spencer

he also compared the way organism evolved to how it handles constant problems

Talcott Parsons

expanded structural functionalism by introducing a framework based on four interrelated systemscultural, social, personality, and biological.

cultural system

represents shared norms and values

social system

reersr to roles within the society

personality system

captures individual traits that influence society

biological system

includes the physical human body and environment.

Talcott Parsons

he argues that these systems interact to maintain social order and cohesion

Davis and Moore

proposed the ___________ hypothesis which claims that social inequality is functional and necessary

Davis and Moore

they explained that in structured organizations like governments or corporations, positions at the top require more skills and qualifications and are rewarded with higher status and pay.

Davis and Moore

This hierarchy motivates people to acquire education and experience, ensuring that important roles are filled by the most capable individuals.

Davis and Moore

in this way, inequality contributes to the smooth functioning of society

robert merton

a student of Parsons, developed amore practical approach called middle-range theory, which focused on testable and specific aspects of society rather than the abstract systems.

robert merton

he introduced key concepts such as manifest and latent functions (intended and intended outcomes) and empasized the importance of studying dysfuncitons _- negative effects that reveal imperfections within the society.

robert merton

he believed that not everything in society functions optimally, and disfunctions must be examined to understand social reality.

almond and powell

extended structural functionalism into political science.

almond and powell

they argued that political systems shoudl not be studied unifromly but rather in the context of their institutions and historical background

almond and powell

they identified key political functions such as political socialization (intilling civic values), recruitment (engaging citizens in political processes), and communication (uniforming society and political affairs).

almond and powell

for them, understanding both the roles and functions of political institutions is essential to analyzing how societies govern and maintain order

structural functionalism

the main idea in _ is that the society is made up of different components such as institutions, services, and people that work together

structural functionalism

as body parts have specific functions, __ implies that all structure in society have their own purpose and specific functions.

structural functionalism

is "a framework for building thoery that sees society as complex system who parts work together to promote solidarity and stability"

structural functionalism

is a perspective in sociology that sees society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote solidarity and stability.