SUMMARY OF:
Quarter 1: MODULE 3 - Week 3
Structural-Functionalism
The Social Sciences are guided by theoretical foundations and
ideological thrusts. Beyond the individual disciplines, there are
dominant approaches and ideas that shape and inspire them.
These serve as the roots and guiding principles of each field
within the Social Sciences.
The Social Sciences consist of disciplines that study
different aspects of society. They show that Social Science is
practical and useful in everyday life, helping us better
understand reality and the world around us.
Structural-Functionalism is a theory in Sociology and the Social
Sciences that sees society as a system made up of institutions,
roles, norms, and relationships that all serve important
functions. Each part is necessary for the stability and survival of
the whole society. When one part changes, it creates tension,
and the other parts adapt to restore balance.
Background and History
The early functionalists were Anthropologists Claude Levi-
Strauss, Alfred Radcliffe-Brown and Bronislaw Malinowski: They
were seminal thinkers of the middle 1800s who made direct
observations of primitive cultures, theorizing about the
organization of these folk in relation t Western society. Their
theories were often quite simple and required only a few
assumptions. The point they were making was: Individual and
group behavior, more often than not, serves a FUNCTION for
the larger society.
Claude Lévi-Strauss is known as the Father of Structural
Anthropology. In the 1940s, he suggested that anthropology
should focus on the underlying patterns of human thought that
shape cultural categories and worldviews. He believed these
mental processes work within culture but do not strictly
determine it.
Bronislaw Malinowski and A.R. Radcliffe-Brown were key
figures in the development of Functionalism in British
anthropology. Functionalism arose as a response to outdated
evolutionary and diffusionist theories.
• Malinowski emphasized that social institutions
exist to meet human needs—both basic (like food and shelter)
and culturally developed (like education and governance). He
introduced the idea of “instrumental needs” that are fulfilled
through institutions.
• Radcliffe-Brown, in contrast, focused on social
structure rather than individual needs. He saw society as a
system of interrelated roles and institutions, held together by
feedback and interdependence. Each institution has a function
that supports the stability of the whole system.
• Émile Durkheim, a foundational thinker,
introduced the concept of social structure as an external force
that shapes individual behavior. He explained how social
solidarity holds societies together:
• Mechanical solidarity in traditional societies
(based on similarity)
• Organic solidarity in modern societies (based on
specialization and interdependence)
Importance:
• These thinkers shifted the focus of anthropology and
sociology from historical or evolutionary explanations to how
societies function in the present.
• Malinowski showed the practical role of institutions in
meeting individual and societal needs.
• Radcliffe-Brown advanced the idea of interdependent
institutions, emphasizing social stability and order.
• Durkheim laid the groundwork for modern sociology by
showing how social structures influence behavior and create
unity.
Together, they provided a foundation for understanding how
institutions maintain society, and how changes in one part of
the system can affect the whole.
The Functionalists Perspectives
➢ A perspective is simply a way of looking at the world.
➢ A theory is a set of interrelated propositions or principles
designed to answer a question or explain a particular
phenomenon; it provides us with a perspective.
➢ Emphasizes the interconnectedness of society by focusing on
how each part influences and is influenced by other parts
➢ Functionalists use the terms Functional and Dysfunctional to
describe the effects of social elements on society. Elements of
society are functional if they contribute to social stability. They
are dysfunctional if they disrupt social stability.
➢ Sociologists have identified two types of functions: Manifest
and Latent
➢ Manifest functions are consequences that are intended and
commonly recognized.
➢ Latent functions are consequences that are unintended and
often hidden