Talcott Parsons – Theory of Social Action

Talcott Parsons, an American sociologist, is known for his functionalist perspective on

society and his development of the social systems theory. According to Parsons, society is a
complex system of interrelated parts that work together to maintain stability and order. He
argued that each part of society has a specific function and that these functions are necessary
for the overall stability and survival of the system. Parsons’ functionalist perspective on society
is rooted in the idea that society is a system of interconnected parts, each with a specific
function. These parts include institutions, such as family, education, and religion, which work
together to maintain social order and stability. According to Parsons, each institution has a
specific function that contributes to the overall stability of the system. For example, the family
is responsible for socializing individuals and providing emotional support, while the education
system is responsible for transmitting knowledge and skills.

What is a social System?

Social System consists of Plurality of actors interacting directly or indirectly with each
other in a bounded situation. A social system, according to Parsons, has the following
characteristics. It involves an interaction between two or more actors, and the interaction
process is its focus. It has reciprocity. Interaction takes place in a situation, which implies
other actors or alters. These alters are objects of emotion and value judgement and
through them goals and means of action are achieved. There exists in a social system
collective goal orientation or common values and a consensus on expectations in
normative and cognitive (intellectual) senses.

In his book, The structure of Social Action (1937), he has reviewed the contributions of many
social scientists. He divided the earlier contributions into three broad schools of thoughts such
as the Utilitarian, the Positivist, and the Idealist. The utilitarian see action at a highly
individualistic and rational manner and they do not see the role of collectivity. Likewise,
Positivist believe that social actors have complete understanding of the social situation, which
leaves no room for error in their doing. The idealist on the other hand believes that social action
is the realization of the social spirit and ideas. They believe that mind is active and capable of
producing and sustaining modes of being.
Even though each school of thought say something important, it is their exclusivism Parsons
objected to. Thus, Parsons offer another approach to the study of social systems termed as
‘Action Approach.’
Action according to parsons, does not take place in isolation rather occurs in constellations.
These constellations of action constitute systems.
These systems of action have three modes of organisation, which Parsons describes as:
1. the personality system,
2. the cultural system and
3. the social system.
The personality system refers to those aspects of the human personality, which affect the
individual’s social functioning. The cultural system encompasses instead, the actual beliefs,
concrete systems of values and symbolic means of communication. The social system, in this
context, refers to the forms and modes of interaction between individuals and its organisation.
Any behaviour becomes action when the following four conditions are met:
1. When it is oriented to attain a particular Goal
2. When it occurs in a situation
3. When it is regulated by norms and values of society
4. When it involves Motivation (energy)

Orientation of action can therefore be divided into two components, the motivational
orientation, and the value orientation. Motivational orientation refers to a situation in which
action takes place considering needs, external appearances, and plans. The second form of
orientation is value orientation, which is based on considerations of standards of values,
aesthetics, morality and of thinking. Parsons believes that actions do not occur in isolation but
in constellations.
The Motivational Orientation: The range of motivational orientations are three.
1. cognitive,
2. the cathectic and
3. the evaluative orientations.
The cognitive orientation makes actors see their environment or object in relation to their need
dispositions as a mental object. They, i.e. the actors, attempt to understand the objectivity of
the subject matter of observation.
The cathectic orientation involves emotional attitude of actors towards their object.
The evaluative orientation leads the actors to organise their effort in realisation of their object
with optimum efficiency.
Take for example the behaviour of a housewife going to the market to purchase vegetables.
The cognitive orientation enables her to judge the quality of vegetables in relation to her need
and need in relation to its prices, the cathectic orientation would determine as to which
vegetable she likes more than the others, and the evaluative orientation would make it possible
for her to make a choice of a vegetable which gives her maximum satisfaction.

The Value Orientation The range of value orientations also comprises three parts.
1. the cognitive,
2. the appreciative and
3. the moral.
The cognitive orientation is one, which relates to the issue of validity of judgement.
The appreciative orientation is that which makes it possible for actors to judge their emotional
response to object, its appropriateness or consistency.
The moral orientation is one, which refers to value commitment of an actor towards his or her
objects.
Thus, the motivational orientation involves only the motives or psychological aspects of the
individual while the value orientation involves the cultural system. Both, the psychological and
the cultural aspects of individual behaviour are, however, interlinked, and interdependent.
ROLE AND INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF ROLE:

The social system has a mode of organisation of action, which is called role. It is the basic
conceptual unit of the social system and it incorporates the individual actor’s total system of
action. It is also a point of intersection between the system of action of an individual actor and
the social system. The primary element of role, according to Parsons is role-expectation. It
implies reciprocity between the actor and his/her alter (the other persons), and is governed by
a range of motivational and value orientations. Role being the most vital element of the social
system, its performance generates forces of strain or tension. The extent of strain depends on
the way role-expectations are institutionalised in society and on the degree to which the values
of role-expectations are internalised by social actors. In social system roles are institutionalised.
Institutionalisation means that expectations from a specific role, its values and
motivational orientations are integrated within the culture of a society. Society sets
common standards for role expectations from its members, and when an actor imbibes these
standards common to society in the orientations and performance of his/ her roles, the roles are
said to have been institutionalised.

CONCEPT OF SOCIALIZATION, SOCIAL CONTROL AND SOCIAL CHANGE:

Parsons believed that the various parts of society are interdependent, meaning that they rely
on one another for their proper functioning. This interdependence creates a balance within the
system, which Parsons referred to as social equilibrium. When all parts of society are
functioning properly, the system is in a state of equilibrium, and social order is maintained.
Parsons’ concept of social equilibrium is central to his view of society as a social system. He
argued that social systems are self-regulating and that they tend to return to a state of
equilibrium when faced with disturbances. This process of returning to equilibrium is known
as the process of social adaptation. According to Parsons, social adaptation occurs through
the mechanisms of socialization, social control, and social change.

Parsons believes that only commitment to common value provides a basis for order in society.
According to Parsons, there are two main ways in which social equilibrium (the various parts
of the system being in a state of balance) is maintained:

1. The first involves socialisation by means of which values are transmitted from one
generation to the next and internalised to form an integral of individual
 personalities. The family and education system are the major institutions concerned
with this function. Socialization is the process by which individuals learn the norms,
values, and expectations of their society. This process helps to maintain social order by
ensuring that individuals understand and adhere to the rules and expectations of their
society. and maintain social order.

Socialisation is done at three levels:

a) Cultural Socialisation: Culture, norms, symbols, behaviour, language etc

b) Social Socialisation: play right role in right situation, understanding position &
role

c) Psychic socialisation: controls anxiety, apprehensions, tensions

2. Second, it is maintained by the various mechanism of social control which discourage

deviance and so maintain order in the system. Social control can be also done at three
levels:

a) Formal mechanism of control: Rules, laws etc

b) Informal mechanism of control: Friends, family, relatives etc.

c) Coercive mechanism of control: Army, police etc. Mechanisms, such as laws

and sanctions, that are used to regulate individual behaviour.

Thus, the processes of socialisation and social control are fundamental to the equilibrium of
the system and therefore to the order in society. Finally, social change is the process by which
societies adapt to new circumstances and challenges, such as technological advancements or
changes in population.

FUNCTIONAL PREREQUISITES: AGIL

According to Parsons, Adaptation, Goal attainment, Integration and Latency/pattern
maintenance are the functional pre-requisites. These are essential preconditions for the survival
of society. It may be summed up that social problems are indicated by the lack of order and
value-consensus which are the result of the lack of socialisation, social control, adaptation, goal
attainment, and pattern maintenance. The weakening or absence of these conditions ultimately
disturb the ‘social equilibrium’ leading to disorganisation, crime, delinquency, and other social
problem.

CRITICISM OF PARSONS:
Despite its contributions to the field of sociology, Parsons’ social systems theory has faced
several criticisms. One major criticism is that his functionalist perspective tends to assume that
all parts of society are necessary and beneficial. This assumption can lead to a conservative
view of society, in which existing social structures and institutions are seen as inherently good
and necessary. Critics argue that this perspective can overlook the ways in which certain social
structures may be oppressive or harmful to certain groups within society.

Another criticism is that Parsons’ theory focuses too heavily on the stability and order of
society, often neglecting the role of conflict and power dynamics. Critics argue that social
systems are not always in a state of equilibrium and that conflict and power struggles are an
inherent part of social life. By focusing on social equilibrium, Parsons’ theory may overlook
the ways in which social change and transformation can occur through conflict and struggle.

According to Ralf Dahrendorf, Parsons puts disproportionate emphasis on consensus model.

He says that conflict is endemic to every society and society is largely involved in conflict
resolution. Therefore, consensus never gives rise to continuity of system but conflict
management does.