Functionalism

functional theory of stratification

Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore (1945); “Some Principles of Stratification”

• stratification is universal and necessary

  • present in every society

• role allocation and performance

  • qualified people in positions

  • higher rewards (income, prestige, power) as motivation

• importance of positions

  • specialized skills with specific training, justifying greater rewards

• meritocracy and motivation

  • stratification ensures that talent is distributed efficiently by providing incentives

  • most capable individuals rise to the top, leading to a meritocratic society

Talcott Parsons

• dominant figure in sociology from the 1930s to the early 1970s

  • ideas became obsolete by end of the 70s

• brought Durkheim and Weber’s ideas to US

  • interpreted Weber solely as functionalist

  • worked with Marianne Weber to translate Weber’s works

• first book: The Structure of Social Action (1937)

• central question: how is social order possible

• critical of American theorists who focused on rational actor (homo economicus)

unit act (Parsons)

rational actor will use a rational means to achieve a goal: maximizing gains and minimizing losses.

actor —[means]—> end/goal

Parsons’ theory of social acts

actors are constrained by social conditions and cultural values

• social conditions affect actors, means, and goals

• culture (norms, values) affect actors, means, and goals

acts are not individual; they are very social

basic assumptions of functionalism (Parsons)

• society is like an organism

• societies must have some important force of social integration

• societies have needs (functional imperatives)

  • Adaptation, Goal attainment, Integration, Latency

adaptation

first functional imperative. a system must adjust to its environment and adjust the environment to its needs (Parsons).

goal attainment

second functional imperative. a system needs to define and achieve its primary goals; motivation to act in certain ways (Parsons).

integration

third and most important functional imperative. a system seeks to regulate the interrelationships of its component parts. also involves the management of the relationships among the other three functional imperatives (Parsons).

social structures that tie us all together.

latency (pattern maintenance)

fourth functional imperative. culture (values, meanings, ethics) on both the individual and societal level (Parsons).

Parson’s functional theory of society as an organic system

1. social systems have internal order

2. social systems are functionally interdependent

3. social systems tend towards homeostasis or equilibrium

4. a change in one part of the social system affects other parts of the system

5. social systems create boundaries with their environment

6. the integration of the system and allocation of resources within the system are essential for equilibrium

Parsons’ four action systems in the functioning of society

1. cultural system (latency)

2. social system (integration)

3. personality system (goal attainment)

4. behavioral organism (adaptation)

social system (Parsons)

• associated with integration

• individual actors interacting through time guided by culture (latency) and organized through status-role complex

• must carry the value-orientations provided by the cultural system and meet the needs of the personality systems

• responsible for socialization and social control (the means by which culture becomes integrated in to personalities)

status-role complex (Parsons)

• status: social position

• role: expected behavior of one who occupies a status

cultural system (Parsons)

• associated with latency

• patterned system of symbols, values, norms, and beliefs that provides basis for social integration

• most important system (theory of cultural determinism)

personality system (Parsons)

• associated with goal attainment

• a motivational orientation carried by actors

• composed of “need-dispositions”

  • (e.g. love, social approval, adherence to cultural standards, meet role expectations)

need-dispositions

drives that are shaped by society (Parsons)

• e.g. love, social approval, adherence to cultural standards, meet role expectations

behavioral organism (Parsons)

• associated with adaptation

• the material source of energy for the rest of the systems (the physical body)

Parsons’ cybernetic hierarchy of control

latency = cultural system (information)

integration = social system (carries info down and energy up)

goal attainment = personality system (carries info down and energy up)

adaptation = behavioral organism (energy)

Parsons subsystems (social institutions) to satisfy function requisites

latency = cultural system = fiduciary system

integration = social system = societal community

goal attainment = personality system = polity

adaptation = behavioral organism = economy

economy

the subsystem of society that performs the function of adapting to the environment and organizing resources (Parsons).

polity

the subsystem of society that performs the function of goal attainment by pursuing societal objectives and mobilizing actors and resources to that end (Parsons).

societal community

the subsystem of society that performs the integration function coordinating the components of society; the legal system (Parsons).

fiduciary system

the subsystem of society that handles pattern maintenance and latency function by transmitting culture to actors and seeing to it that they internalize that culture (Parsons).

• e.g. education, family

Parsons’ structural functionalism combined into the unit act

actor = adaptation = behavioral organism

end/goal = goal attainment = personality system

social conditions = integration = social system

culture = latency = cultural system

social conditions and culture impact the actor, means, and end/goal

Robert Merton

• Parsons’ student

• criticized grand theories for being too abstract

• advocated for middle-range theories, which focus on specific social phenomena (e.g., deviance, bureaucracy, social mobility)

  • bridge gap between empirical research and broad sociological theory

• manifest and latent functions

  • explains why institutions persist despite dysfunctions

• strain theory (anomie and deviance)

manifest functions

intended and recognized consequences of social action (Merton).

• e.g., schools provide education

latent functions

unintended and often hidden consequences of social actions (Merton).

• e.g., schools reinforce social class divisions

strain theory

a sociological theory that explains the relationship between social structure and deviance (Merton).

types:

• conformity

• innovation

• ritualism

• retreatism

• rebellion

conformity

actor accepts means and goals of society (Merton).

innovation

actor rejects means but accepts goals of society (Merton).

ritualism

actor accepts means but rejects goals of society (Merton).

retreatism

actor rejects means and rejects goals of society (Merton).

rebellion

actor challenges societal goals and means (Merton).

dysfunctions

observable consequences that have adverse effects on the ability of a particular system to adapt or adjust (Merton).

nonfunctions

consequences that are irrelevant to the system under consideration (Merton).

• e.g., social forms from earlier historical times that have no effects on contemporary society.

unanticipated consequences

unexpected positive, negative, and irrelevant consequences (Merton).

• e.g., latent functions

anomie (Merton)

a situation in which there is a serious disconnection between social structure and culture (between the structurally created abilities of people to act in accord with cultural norms and goals & the norms and goals themselves).

basic postulates of functional analysis

1. the functional unity of society

2. universal functionalism

3. indispensability

all refuted by Merton