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SEMESTER V – MODERN SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES

Module I - Functionalism

Theoretical perspective – It is ‘a verbal image of society’. It focuses the questions

that sociologists ask and the way they seek answers. It shapes the ways in which
sociologists seek to explain society and the behavior within it. The three most
common perspective used by sociologists today are the functionalistic perspective,
the conflict perspective and the interactionistic perspective.

Three theoretical perspectives –a summary

Perspective Central Scope of Typical Some

concern theorizing concepts proponents
How parts Manifest
contribute to functions Durkheim
Functionalist workings of Macrolevel Latent Parsons
total society or functions Merton
institutions Dysfunctions
Social conflict Class struggle,
and self interests, Marx
Conflict inequalities; Macrolevel domination of Dahrendorf
why they arise some social Collins
and how they groups
are maintained
Everyday
encounters Definition of
Symbolic between Microlevel the situation, Mead
interactionism people and the Looking – Cooley
symbols by glass self Goffman
which they are
interpreted

FUNCTIONALISM

This perspective emphasize the way in which each part of a society contributes to
the whole so as to maintain social stability. According to this perspective society is
like the human body or any other living organism. Like the parts of the body(such
as limbs ,heart, and brain )the parts of society( such as families, businesses and
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governments) function together in a systematic way that is usually good for the
whole. Functionalism (sometimes called structural functionalism) has its roots in
the work of early sociologists like Auguste Comte , Herbert Spencer , Durkheim
etc. Organismic Analogy is the basic premise of functionalism, which
conceptualised the society as a whole.

Intellectual background

The history of functional analysis may be traced to Comte’s ‘Consensus

Universalis’, Spencer’s Organic Analogy, Pareto’s conception of society as a
system in equilibrium and Durkheim’s causal- functional analysis.

Comte viewed society as a functionally organized system, its components in

harmony. To him ‘consensus universalis’ ,the necessary correlation between the
elements of society, was the very foundation of social structure.

Spencer presented an organic biological model. He compares society to a

biological organism. The organization of parts is so high that its separation is fatal.

Durkheim insisted on the primary of the system over the parts and maintained that
social facts are independent of the individual will and imposed upon him from
without. Durkheim insisted that when the explanation of a social phenomenon is
undertaken , we must seek separately the efficient cause which produces it and the
function it fulfills.

Pareto’s most important contribution to sociological theory is his conception of

society as a system in equilibrium. If society is a system ,it is a whole consisting of
interdependent parts , change in some part affects other parts and the whole.

Definition of functionalism

Functionalism or structural functionalism is the perspective in sociology according

to which society consists of different but related parts, each of which serves a
particular purpose. According to functionalism, sociologists can explain social
structures and social behavior in terms of the components of a society and their
functions.

Marion Levy- Structural functionalism is simply a synonym for explicit scientific

analysis in general.
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Bredemeir – The functional approach to sociology consists basically of an attempt

to understand social phenomena in terms of their relationship to some system.

Martindale – defines function as ‘system- determining and system- sustaining

activity. This refers to the positive and negative consequences of social institutions
and processes.

Marion Levy – defines Function as a condition or state of affairs, resultant from the
operation of a structure through time. He uses the term ‘eufunction’ to refer to
positive or favorable consequences which contribute to the maintenance and
survival of social system and term ‘dysfunction’ to mean negative or unfavorable
consequences that contribute to the disintegration of the system.

Merton – defines Function as those observed consequences which make for the
adaptation or adjustment of a given system.

Radcliffe Brown – Function is the contribution which a partial activity makes to

the total activity of which it is a part.

Branches of Functionalism

Functionalism is not a single strain of thought. It represents a variety of

approaches, systems of definitions and philosophical orientations.

Individualistic functionalism- Malinowski’s functionalism is often termed as

individualistic functionalism because of its treatment of social and cultural systems
as collective responses to fundamental biological needs of individuals modified by
cultural values. Social structures and processes, institutions and values are all
regarded as functional responses to individual’s physiological needs such as
hunger and sex which prompt cultural usages and social institutions , which in turn
shape the way these basic drives express themselves.

Structural functionalism – Radcliffe Brown emphasized structured social

relationships. He focused primarily on the function of each element in the
maintenance and development of a social structure and largely overlooked
functional consequences of specific elements.

The basic perspective of structural functional point of view emerges in its prime
emphasis on society and on the interrelations of its institutions , rather than on the
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individual or groups such as family. Social life persists because societies find
means (structures) whereby they fulfill the needs (functions) which are either
preconditions or consequences of organized social life.

Societal functionalism – The primary concern of societal functionalism is the large

social structure and institutions of society, their interrelationships and their
constraining effects on actors. The major assumptions of Durkheim in explaining
society are as follows

1. Society viewed as an entity in itself, and as distinguished from and

irreducible to its parts.
2. Parts of society as fulfilling basic needs or requisites of the whole.
3. Basic needs of a society have to be fulfilled if ‘abnormal’ states are to be
avoided, and
4. Societies have equilibrium states around which normal function occurs.

Durkheim established certain guiding principles for the explanation of social facts.

1. in explaining a given social phenomenon, we must seek separately the

efficient cause which produces it and the function it fulfills.
2. The function of a social fact cannot but be social and therefore it ought to be
sought in its relation to some social end.

Universal functionalism ( Malinowski ) – This type of functional analysis may be

called traditional functional because it is most widely used. It is based on the
assumption that the elements of the social structure assist in the integration and
adaptation of the larger social system.

Formal functionalism (Merton) –This approach is concerned with homeostatic or

equilibrating systems. It abandons the basic assumption that the consequences or
effects of a pattern must always be beneficial or necessary. According to this type,
the consequences or effects of a pattern may not be beneficial or necessary to
society. This approach is called ‘formal’ , because it is not based on a substantial
hypothesis about empirical events. Formal functionalism consists in the attempt to
construct models that describe how the units of a system are interrelated so as to
maintain each other or some other state of the system.
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STRUCTURAL FUNCTIONALISM

According to structural functionalism or functionalism, society is:

 An organism, a system of parts, all of which serve a function together for the
overall effectiveness and efficiency of society.

Structural functionalism is a consensus theory ; a theory that sees society as built

upon order, interrelation, and balance among parts as a means of maintaining the
smooth functioning of the whole. Structural functionalism views shared norms and
values as the basis of society, focuses on social order based on tacit agreements
between groups and organizations and views social change as occurring in a slow
and orderly fashion. Functionalists acknowledge that change is sometimes
necessary to correct social dysfunctions but that it must occur slowly so that people
and institutions can adapt without rapid disorder.

Structural functionalism makes 7 assumptions. These assumptions focus on several

levels of analysis {society, community, individual, social unit (eg. family,
organizations) }:

 Systems have a property of order and an interdependence of parts.

 Systems tend toward self-maintaining order, or equilibrium.
 The system may be static or involved in an ordered process of change.
 The nature of one part of the system has an impact on the form that the other
parts can take.
 Systems maintain boundaries within their environments. ( If one or more
parts within society or social units significantly conflicts with others, others
must adapt).
 Allocation and integration are two fundamental processes necessary for a
given state of equilibrium within a system.
 Systems tend towards self maintenance involving control of boundaries and
relationships of parts to the whole, control of the environment, and control
of tendencies to change the system from within.

Macro sociological theory and Micro sociological theory

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Functionalism focuses on the MACRO level (looks at large-scale social institutions

like “society” as a while, international networks (NATO),government , the labor
force, etc ). Focuses on grand–scale phenomena; pays little attention to individual
agency and personality development. In contrast , MICRO theories (like symbolic
interactionism) focus more on individuals and their everyday interactions with
others and small-scale social groups/ organizations.

Functionalists argue that in order for society to function, it has to place and
motivate individuals to occupy the necessary positions in the social structure.
There are two main ways society does this:

 Society must instill in the proper individuals the desire (motivation) to fill
certain positions.
 Once the proper individuals are in these positions, society must offer them
appropriate rewards so that they maintain desire to fulfill their (difficult)
positions.

Criticism

There are a number of criticisms of structural functionalism:

 It is ahistorical.
 It is unable to deal effectively with the process of change or conflict.
 It is conservative.
 It is viewed as ambiguous and lacking in adequate methods.
 Structural functionalism inhibits certain forms of analyses such as
comparative analysis .
 Functionalists argue that the positions that are most highly rewarded are the
most important for society. But critics argue that the most highly rewarded
positions are not necessarily the most important.
 Percy Cohen and Jonathan Turner see Teleology and Tautology as the two
most important logical problems confronting structural functionalism.

Teleology is defined as the view that society and other social institutions have
purposes or goals. In order to achieve these goals, society creates a large number of
social structures and institutions . But the idea of teleology is that it is not
necessary for the society to create particular structure to fulfill particular needs.
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Tautology is an argument in which the conclusion merely makes explicit what is

implicit in the premise, or is simply a restatement of the premise. In structural
functionalism ,this circular reasoning often takes the form of defining the whole in
terms of its parts and then defining the parts of the whole. Thus a social system is
defined by the relationship among the component parts and that the component
parts of the system are defined by their place in the larger social system. Because
each is defined in terms of the other, neither the social system nor its parts are in
fact defined at all. We really learn nothing about either the system or its parts.

MERTON on Structural Functionalism

Merton’s theory of Structural functionalism has been called ‘Middle Range’

because he moved away from trying to analyze society as a whole toward studying
different levels of the social world such as organizations and groups. Robert K
Merton’s signal contribution to functionalism lies in his clarification and
codification of functional analysis. Specifically, Merton :

1. Strips functionalism bare of the unexamined and insupportable assumptions

of many of its practitioners.
2. Broadens the analysis to incorporate change as well as stability.
3. Makes critical distinctions between functions and personal motives.
4. Develops a descriptive protocol for functional analysis to guide the analyst
in social observations, and
5. Engages in the functional analysis of a variety of socio-cultural phenomena
to demonstrate the utility of the perspective.

Merton introduced the concept of ‘dysfunction’ to offset the focus on stability of

traditional functionalism. Whereas functions contribute to the adjustment of the
system, dysfunctions are those consequences that lead to instability and ultimately
change. Merton insisted that social structure can only be analyzed in terms of both
statics( stability) and dynamics(change). The concept of dysfunction allows
functional theory to focus on change. The concept of dysfunction is based on
tension, strain, or contradictions within component elements of socio-cultural
systems. Dysfunctional elements create pressures for change within the system.
One of the primary goals of functional analysis is to identify these dysfunctions
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and examine how they are contained or reduced in the socio-cultural system as
well as how they sometimes cause systematic or fundamental change.

{Functions – are those observed consequences which make for the adaptation or
adjustment of a given system; and

Dysfunctions – are those observed consequences which lessen adaptation or

adjustment of the system.}

Merton was also concerned with the intended and unintended functions of social
structures or Manifest and Latent functions, and their unanticipated consequences.

Functionalism of Talcott Parsons

The single greatest contributor , and practitioner, of structural functionalism was

Talcott Parsons. The heart of Parsons theory is built on the four functional
imperatives, also known as AGIL system. Parsons outlines four fundamental
functions which every functioning social system must perform:

1. Adaptation (A) – this refers to the need for the production or acquisition of
generalized facilities or resources that can be employed in the attainment of
various specific goals. This function enables a system to adapt to its
environment.
2. Goal- Attainment (G) – this function involves the necessity of mobilizing
actors and resources in organized ways for the attainment of specific goals.
It explains how a system defines and achieves its goals.
3. Integration (I) – This function refers to the allocation of rights and
obligations, rewards and facilities, to ensure the harmony of relations
between members of the social system.
4. Latency (L) – This includes Pattern Maintenance and Tension management.
Pattern Maintenance refers to the need to maintain and reinforce the basic
values of the social system and to resolve tensions that emerge from
continuing commitment to these values.

Complementing this are four Action systems , each of which serve a functional
imperative:
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1. The Behavioral System – handles the adaptive function by adjusting to and

transforming the external world.
2. The Personality System – performs the goal attainment function by defining
system goals and mobilizing resources to attain them.
3. The Social System – copes with the integrative function by controlling its
component parts.
4. The Cultural System – performs the latency function by providing actors
with the norms and values that motivate them for action.

Systems and subsystems- Interpenetration between the four subsystems

The social system is the integrative sub-system of action in general. The other
three principal system constitute the environment of the social system. These four
systems are analytically separable and mutually irreducible. The four primary sub-
systems of society (AGIL) are functionally specialized around their interrelations
with the three other subsystems of action ( or the environments of a social system).

Structure of the general action system

L I

Cultural system Social system

Behavioral system Personality system

A G
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Sub- Systems of Action

Social system Cultural system Personality System Biological system

Integration Latency Goal Attainment Adaptation

Collectivity Cultural value Polity Economy

Parsons’ conception of Action, Interaction and Institutionalization

Parsons take ‘actions’ as the building blocks of the system. He prefers the term
‘action’ to ‘behavior’ ,because he is interested in patterning.

Modes of Types of Interaction among Institutionalization S.System of

orientation Action oriented actors of interaction status, role,

and norm

1.Motivational

cognitive Instrumental

cathectic expressive

evaluative moral

2.Value
cognitive
appreciative
moral
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The motivational orientation which supplies the ‘urge to get something’ is

characteristically 3- fold-

a. Cognitive – corresponding to belief ; meaning what is or what the actors

perceive.
b. Cathectic – corresponds to sentiments and involves the process through
which an actor invests an object with affective significance.
c. Evaluative – judgment and interpretation of alternatives and selection of
appropriate ones.

Value orientation on the other hand, refers to the observance of social norms or
standards. Value orientation supplies norms or standards of action. The modes of
value orientation are 3- fold

a. Cognitive standard – those by which the validity of cognitive judgment is

assessed.
b. Appreciative standards – those by which selection among the possibilities of
cathectic significance can be made.
c. Moral standards or Evaluative – it involve both cognitive and appreciative
aspect and constitute the standards in terms of which more particular
evaluations are evaluated.

Parsons identifies 3 types of actions

1. Instrumental action – this is oriented to the achievement of a goal which is

an anticipated future state of affairs ; gives primacy to cognitive mode of
orientation.
2. Expressive action – this is oriented to the flow of gratifications. Action
itself is a goal and gives primacy to the cathectic mode of orientation.
3. Moral action – here the focus is on the system of order itself , not on the
goals nor on the gratification interests of the actor.

The concept of institutionalization is crucial to Parsons’ conceptualization of the

system. He regards institutionalization as the fundamental integrative mechanism
of social system. Institutionalization builds up and maintains social structure. The
actor’s internalization of the cultural values and beliefs is the primary basis of
institutionalization. This institutionalized patterns can be , in Parsons’ view
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conceptualized as a social system. The normative organization of status, roles and

norms becomes Parsons’ key to this conceptualization.

Pattern variable

In a given situation the actor is confronted by a series of major dilemmas of

orientation. He has to make choice so that situation may have a determinate
meaning for him. In order to have a determinate meaning , the actor must make a
series of choices. These choices are dichotomous , one side of which must be
selected by an hour. Therefore the dichotomous which formulate a choice
alternative to the actor are called pattern variables. In the words of Parsons’, ‘ a
pattern variable is a dichotomy , one side of which must be chosen by an actor
before the meaning of a situation is determinate for him, and thus before he can act
with respect to that situation’. He proposed five dichotomies of pattern variables as
listed below

1. Affectivity vs Affective Neutrality( the Gratification – Discipline Dilemma )

The pattern is affective when an organized action system emphasizes gratification;

that is when an actor tries to avoid pain and maximize pleasure. The pattern is
affectively neutral when it imposes discipline and renouncement or deferment of
some gratifications in favor of other interests. For eg , soldiers are expected to
ignore immediate gratification and be affectively neutral, in their line of duty even
if that involves risking their lives.

2. Self- orientation vs Collective orientation (the Private vs Collective interest

dilemma )

This dichotomy depends on social norms or shared expectations which define as

legitimate the pursuit of the actor’s private interests or obligate him to act in the
interest of the group. Salesmen and shopkeeper are expected to glorify their
products and give ‘sales talk’ in accordance with self- orientation but the doctor is
expected to tell the patient what is best for him, even if he can make money from
an expensive operation.

3. Particularism vs Universalism ( Choice between types of value- oriented

standard)
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The former refers to standards determined by an actor’s particular relations with a

particular object; the latter refers to value standards that are highly generalized. A
teacher is supposed to give grades to all students impartially, ie in accordance
with general universal principles. But if he favors his son or a friend who happens
to be in the same class , he is behaving particularly , for he is treating people
differently on the basis of their particular relationship to him.

4. Quality vs Performance – ( Ascription vs Achievement)

This is the dilemma of according primary treatment to an object on the basis of

what it is in itself , an inborn quality, or what it does , and the quality of its
performance. The former involves defining people on the basis of certain attributes
such as age, sex, color, nationality etc; the latter defines people on the basis of their
abilities.

5. Diffuseness vs Specificity

This is the dilemma of defining the relation borne by object to actor as indefinitely
wide in scope m infinitely broad in involvement, morally obligating, and
significant in pluralistic situations; or specifically limited in scope and
involvement. The relationship between the employer and the employees in a
modern factory is specific, since no obligation is assumed to exist beyond what is
specified in the ‘contract’. However ,certain systems of land tenure such as the
semi-feudal and zamindari types are supposed to involve the tenants in an infinite
variety of obligations to their ‘masters’. Similarly , patterns of friendship and
husband –wife relationships are supposed to involve a ‘limitless’ number of
obligations.

NEO-FUNCTIONALISM

This is a recent addition to contemporary sociological theory. It is a discovery and

reconstruction of Parsons’ and Merton’s functionalism. Luhmann improved upon
Parsons’ functionalism and argued that modern society is not a single social system
with related parts, but several systems including some commonly recognized
institutions such as law, religion, communication, media, education, politics and
economics – and other systems consisting of organizations, personality and
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interactions. To Luhmann , each of these is a system, with the other systems as its
environment. Society is like the telephone system , and the interstate highway
system, each is part of the other system’s environment.

Definition

Luhmann has defined Neo-functionalism as follows:

The concept of system and function no longer refer to the system, but to the
relationship between system and environment. Everything that happens belongs to
a system ( or to many systems) and always at the same time to the environment of
other systems.

George Ritzer argues that functionalism witnessed its decline in the middle of
1960s. however by the middle of 1980s , a major effort was underway to revive the
theory under the heading ‘Neo-functionalism’.

The development of ‘Neo-functionalism’is from Germany. In the beginning its

scope and development remained restricted to Europe only. In the US , neo-
functionalism emerged as a rediscovery. Jaffrey Alexander, Richard Munch,
Niklas Luhmann, Paul Colomy, Dean Gerstein, Mark Gould and Neil Smelser
made valuable contributions towards the advancement of this branch of sociology
called ‘Neo-functionalism’.

Characteristics of Neo-functionalism

Some of the major characteristics of neo-functionalism as developed by Alexander,

Colomy and others are as follows:

1. It views the society as a pattern determined by pluralist forces-

Functionalist theory looks at a society as patterned by mono causal factors of

functions. But neo-functionalists talk about a descriptive model of society that
considers society as composed of elements, which in interaction with one another,
form a pattern. This pattern allows the system to be differentiated from its
environment. Parts of the system are symbolically connected, and their interaction
is not determined by any mono cause but by some open-ended and pluralistic
forces.
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2. It integrates micro and macro actions-

Functionalism is having macro level character. It pays negligible attention to the

individual, that is, micro level action. Neo-functionalism has taken a balanced
view of micro and macro actions . it supports not only rational but also expressive
action.

3. It pleads for partial equilibrium of social system-

According to functionalists, social system has latency. It has a tendency to

integrate its parts even if there are deviants and criminals . But neo-functionalists
claim that the equilibrium could be partial or sometimes absent.

4. Tension in personality ,culture and social systems is continuous-

Parsonian functionalism puts an emphasis on personality, culture, and social

system. These three systems are interrelated and tension in one system affects other
systems also. But this tension is particular as it does not bring any change in the
system. But neo-functionalism is expected not only to bring changes in the system
but also change the system itself. Thus change is not productive of conformity and
harmony, but rather individuation and institutional strains.

5. Uneven differentiation-

Traditional functionalists claim that social change creates differentiation in the

parts of the system, and the system as a whole remains unchanged. But neo-
functionalists argue that there is the possibility of unequal development across
various institutions , as well as uneven differentiation within a single institution.

6. It is a kind of multi-dimensional sociology-

Functionalists believe that the actions of the actor are determined by pattern
variables. But neo-functionalism claims that it is not the system only, which is
determinant of social action. The actor is open to a wide range of alternatives.

7. It is a reconstruction of functionalism-

According to Fauske , neo-functionalism is a reconstruction of sociology based on

a new interpretation of the functionalistic tradition.
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8. Neo-functionalism is a tendency rather than a theory-

According to Alexander and Colomy, neo-functionalism is a tendency rather than

a developed theory. It is a kind of attitude to look at the reality . In Germany it took
the shape of a movement.

9. It is based on post-positivism-

Post-positivism is in which equal emphasis is put on theoretical and empirical

elements or explanations.