structural functionalism sociology theory

In the past, empires such as those that existed in China, Europe, Africa, and Central and South America linked people from many different countries, but those people rarely became part of a common culture. Sociologists around the world look closely for signs of what would be an unprecedented event: the emergence of a global culture. Are you a part of any global communities? (Photo courtesy of quasi reversible/flickr) Some sociologists see the online world contributing to the creation of an emerging global culture. In education, examples of dysfunction include getting bad grades, truancy, dropping out, not graduating, and not finding suitable employment.įigure 2. Social processes that have undesirable consequences for the operation of society are called dysfunctions. Latent functions can be beneficial, neutral, or harmful. Another latent function of education is creating a hierarchy of employment based on the level of education attained. Latent functions of your college years include meeting new people, participating in extracurricular activities, or even finding a spouse or partner. A manifest function of college education, for example, includes gaining knowledge, preparing for a career, and finding a good job that utilizes that education. Manifest functions are the consequences of a social process that are sought or anticipated, while latent functions are the unsought consequences of a social process. Protestants were more likely to commit suicide than Catholics in Durkheim’s society, and his work on this topic demonstrated the utility of theory for sociological research.Īnother noted structural functionalist, Robert Merton (1910–2003), pointed out that social processes often have many functions. Durkheim gathered a large amount of data about Europeans who had ended their lives, and he did indeed find differences based on religion. He studied social ties within a group, or social solidarity, and hypothesized that differences in suicide rates might be explained by religion-based differences.

For example, one function of a society’s laws may be to protect society from violence, while another is to punish criminal behavior, while another is to preserve public safety.Īlthough suicide is generally considered an individual phenomenon, Émile Durkheim was interested in studying the social factors that affect it. Each of these social facts serves one or more functions within a society. Social facts are the laws, morals, values, religious beliefs, customs, fashions, rituals, and all of the cultural rules that govern social life (Durkheim 1895). Durkheim believed that individuals may make up society, but in order to study society, sociologists have to look beyond individuals to social facts. Durkheim believed that society is a complex system of interrelated and interdependent parts that work together to maintain stability (Durkheim 1893), and that society is held together by shared values, languages, and symbols. Émile Durkheim, another early sociologist, applied Spencer’s theory to explain how societies change and survive over time. The parts of society that Spencer referred to were the social institutions, or patterns of beliefs and behaviors focused on meeting social needs, such as government, education, family, healthcare, religion, and the economy. He argued that just as the various organs of the body work together to keep the body functioning, the various parts of society work together to keep society functioning (Spencer 1898). Functionalism grew out of the writings of English philosopher and biologist, Herbert Spencer (1820–1903), who saw similarities between society and the human body. Structural-functional theory, also called functionalism, sees society as a structure with interrelated parts designed to meet the biological and social needs of the individuals in that society.

Functionalism emphasizes how various social institutions work together to meet the needs of a society.

Structural functionalism sociology theory