STRUCTURAL FUNCTIONALISM
BROADER VIEW
CONCENSUS THEORIES (ONE OF WHICH IS STRUCTURAL
FUNCTIONALISM)- Plato
-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.
CONFLICT THEORIES (ONE OF WHICH IS SOCIOLOGICAL
CONFLICT THEORY)- Aristotle
-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.
STRUCTURAL FUNCTIONALISM
Societal Functionalism
-Is the dominant approach among sociological structural functionalist.
-is the large scale social structures and institutions of society, their
relationship, and their constraining effect on actors.
The functional Theory of Stratification
-articulated by kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore. They regarded social
stratification as bot universal and necessary.
Stratification is a functional necessity.
Stratification system as a structure pointing out that stratification refers not to the
individual in the stratification system but rather to a system of positions.
Criticism: perpetuates the privileged position of those people who already have power
, prestige, and money.
STRUCTURAL FUNCTIONALISM
Work of Talcott Parsons, Robert Merton, their students and their followers, was
for many years the dominant sociological theory However, in the last three
decades, it has declined dramatically in importance and, in at least some
senses, has receded into the recent history of sociological theory.
Parsons’ structural functionalism has 4 functional imperatives for all “action”
systems, embodied in his famous AGIL scheme.
Parsons designed the AGIL scheme to be used at all levels in this theoretical
system.
The behavioral organism is the action system that handles the adaptation
function by adjusting to and transforming the external world.
Personality system
Performs the goal-attainment function by defining system goals and
mobilizing resources to attain them.
Social system
Copes with the integration function by controlling its component parts.
Cultural system
Performs the latency function by providing actors with the norms and values
that motivate them for action.
Functionalist perspective
It is primarily concerned with why a society assumes a particular form. This
perspective assumes that any society takes its particular form because that
form works well for the society given its particular situation.
Societies exist under a wide range of environmental situations.
Such societies have highly advanced technologies and they also differ in
terms of their interactions with other societies. Thus what works for one
society cannot be expected to work for another.
In his analysis of the social system, Parsons was primarily
interested in his structural components. In addition to a
concern with the status-role, he was interested in such
largescale components of social systems such as
collectives, norms and values
He was not simply a structuralist but also a functionalist.
FUNCTIONALIST PERSPECTIVE (POINT OF VIEW)
Functional requisites of a social system (Talcott Parsons)
1. Social system must have structured so that they operate compatibly with other
systems
2. To survive, the social system must have the requisite from other systems.
3. The system must meet a significant proportion of the needs of its actors.
4. The system must elicit adequate participation from its members.
5. It must have at least a minimum of control over potentially disruptive behavior.
6. If conflict becomes sufficiently disruptive, it must be controlled.
7. Finally, a social system requires a language in order to survive.
In any society, the functionalist
perspective makes one basic argument.
Whatever are the characteristics of a
society, those characteristics developed
because they met the needs of that
society in particular situation.
Key principles of the functionalist perspective
[Link].
One of the most important principles of functionalist theory is that society is made up of
interdependent parts.
It means that every part of the society is dependent to some extent on other parts of society, so
that what happens at one place in society has important effects elsewhere.
Ex. a class requires a faculty member to teach a subject and the students to learn it.
2. Function of Social structure and culture
Closely related to interdependency is the idea that each part of the social exists because it serves
some function.
This principle is applied by functionalists to both social structure and culture.
Social structure-refers to the organization of society , including its institutions, its social positions,
and its distribution of resources.
Culture-refers to a set of beliefs , language, rules, values, and knowledge, held in common by
members of a society.
3. CONSENSUS AND COOPERATION
We all believe in the principles of democracy & freedom.
Societies tend toward consensus in order to achieve cooperation.
Functionalists believe that inability to cooperate will paralyze the society, and people will devote
more and more effort to fighting one another rather than getting anything done.
4. EQUILIBRIUM
This view holds that once a society has achieved the form that is best adapted to its situation , it has
reached a state of balance or equilibrium, and it will remain in that condition until it was forced to
change by some new condition.
Ex. new technology, change in climate, a contact with an outside society are all conditions to which
society might have to adapt.
When such conditions occur, social change will take place. Society will change just to adapt a new
situation.
However, once that adaptation has been made, the society has attained a new state of balance or
equilibrium with its environment, and it will not change gain until new situation requires further
adaptation.
RECALL:
SOCIETY- A RELATIVE SELF SUFFICIENT COLLECTIVITY
THE MEMBERS OF WHICH ARE ABLE TO SATISFY ALL
THEIR INDIVIDUAL AND COLLECTIVE NEEDS AND TO
LIVE ENTIRELY WITH ITS FRAMEWORK.
PARSONS MAIN INTEREST WAS THE SYSTEM AS A WHOLE RATHER
THAN THE ACTOR OF THE SYSTEM--- HOW THE SYSTEM
CONTROLS THE ACTOR.
He distinguished among four characteristics, or subsystems, in society
in terms of the function they perform.
SUBSYSTEMs:
ECONOMY- PERFORMS THE FUNCTION OF THE SOCIETY BY ADAPTINGTO THE
ENVIRONMENT THROUGH LABOR, PRODUCTION AND
ALLOCATION.
(Through such work the economy adapts the environment to society’s needs and it helps
society adapt to external realities.
POLITY (political system)- PERFORMS THE FUNCTION OF GOAL ATTAINMENT BY
PURSUING SOCIETAL OBJECTIVE AND MOBILIZING
ACTORS AND RESOURCES TO THAT END.
FIDUCIARY SYSTEM- (FOR EXAMPLE, in schools, the family) HANDLES THE LATENCY
FUNCTION BY TRANSMITTING CULTURE (NORMS AND VALUES).
TO ACTORS ALLOWING IT TO BE INTERNALIZED WITH THEM.
SOCIETAL COMMUNITY-PERFORMS THE INTEGRATION FUNCTION( FOR EXAMPLE
THE LAW), WHICH COORDINATES THE VARIOUS
COMPONENTS OF SOCIETY.
