Overview
This lecture covers the classical sociological perspective of structural functionalism, detailing its origins, main assumptions, analytical tools, and how it views society as a stable, harmonious, and evolving system. It also explains how functionalists analyze social structures and institutions, and the ways these elements contribute to societal stability.
Classical Sociological Perspectives
- The conflict and structural functional perspectives are classical sociological theories that originated in Europe in the 1800s.
- These perspectives dominated sociological thought for about 150 years, until around 1950.
- Both are macro-level approaches, focusing on large-scale social structures and society as a whole, rather than on individuals.
- After 1950, American sociology shifted toward micro-level perspectives, emphasizing individual choice, agency, and smaller social interactions.
- The European tradition emphasized determinism and the big picture, while the American tradition focused more on the individual.
Structural Functionalism: Key Assumptions
- Structural functionalism argues that society has a real "essence" made up of three main elements: stability, harmony, and evolution.
- Stability: Social patterns and institutions help maintain the ongoing existence and order of society.
- Harmony: All parts of society work together in a coordinated way for the benefit of the whole, even if not every individual benefits equally.
- Evolution: Social structures and cultures adapt to new needs and demands. Dysfunctional elements are eventually eliminated, and society progresses by keeping what works and discarding what does not.
- This perspective takes an optimistic view, seeing society as naturally tending toward balance, harmony, and improvement.
Society as an Organism
- Society is often compared to a living organism, where all parts (institutions, groups, roles) work together to maintain overall health and equilibrium.
- If one part is weakened or fails, other parts compensate to restore balance, similar to how the human body adapts to injury or loss.
- The idea is that just as organs in a body support each other for the good of the whole, social institutions and structures do the same for society.
Origins and Main Figures
- Émile Durkheim, a French sociologist, is one of the main founders of structural functionalism.
- Talcott Parsons is another key figure who contributed significantly to the development of this perspective.
Questions and Analytical Tools of Functionalism
- Functionalists analyze society by asking specific questions:
- What social structures and patterns exist?
- What are the cultural meanings attached to these structures?
- What are the consequences of these structures and meanings?
- Do these structures and meanings contribute to social stability and harmony?
- They gather information about social issues (e.g., domestic violence, drug abuse) by identifying relevant social structures, cultural meanings, and their consequences.
- Manifest functions: The recognized and intended outcomes of social structures (e.g., the main purpose of schools is to educate).
- Latent functions: The unrecognized and unintended outcomes of social structures (e.g., schools also provide childcare, allowing parents to work).
- Functionalists also consider whether a social structure is functional (contributes to stability) or dysfunctional (disrupts stability).
Functions, Dysfunctions, and Institutions
- Function: Any aspect of society that contributes to its stability and ongoing operation.
- Dysfunction: Any aspect that disrupts or threatens social stability.
- Institutions: Major structures like family, government, religion, and schools that meet basic human needs and solve recurring problems.
- Institutions provide routine patterns for dealing with predictable issues, often by replicating existing solutions.
- While this leads to stability, it can also limit innovation and creativity.
- When creating new institutions, people often model them after existing ones, which can make the process easier but may also stifle new ideas.
Institutional Interdependence
- Institutions in society tend to share compatible norms and values, which helps create and maintain societal stability.
- For example, punctuality is valued in schools, families, workplaces, and the legal system.
- When all institutions reinforce similar values, society functions smoothly and harmoniously.
- If one institution changes its values (e.g., prioritizing competitiveness over cooperation), it can have a ripple effect, potentially disrupting harmony across other institutions.
- Functionalists believe that shared values like hard work, honesty, and punctuality are essential for maintaining stability.
Key Terms & Definitions
- Macro-level: Focus on large-scale social structures and processes, rather than individuals.
- Structural functionalism: A sociological perspective that views society as a stable, harmonious, and evolving system where all parts work together for the good of the whole.
- Manifest function: The intended and recognized consequence of a social institution or structure.
- Latent function: The unintended and unrecognized consequence of a social institution or structure.
- Institution: A stable structure that meets basic societal needs, such as family, school, religion, or government.
- Institutional interdependence: The alignment and compatibility of norms and values across different institutions, contributing to societal stability.
Action Items / Next Steps
- Review the concepts of manifest and latent functions, and practice identifying examples from different social institutions.
- Reflect on how various institutions in society interact and influence one another, and consider the effects of changes in one institution on the rest of society.
- Think about how the assumptions of structural functionalism shape the kinds of questions sociologists ask and the methods they use to analyze society.