Bethany Jung

Functionalist perspective breaks down the different parts of society to analyze how to
keep society stable. It states that if all the functions of society are running as they should be then
that will lead to society being stable and balanced. This perspective does acknowledge that there
are factors that can throw society off balance and they call these dysfunctions. This is where the
conflict perspective and functionalist perspective overlap and agree with each other.
Functionalist looks at dysfunctions in a more positive light than the conflict theory does while
also taking into account the functions. They look at two different functions, the manifest
function, and the latent function. From the manifest function, it states that these functions are the
ones that were intended from the start and are clearly visible. On the other hand, latent functions
are those that were not intended and less obvious and less recognizable. An example of the
functionalist perspective is when the local recreation center provides free classes to help the
elderly population. For example, a elderly couple could get free finical consulting and their taxes
filed for free by the city. This breaks down the city’s demographic and aims to help one specific
group, the elderly. It benefits society as a whole because by being finically aware, the older
generation is able to live a better quality of life and make valuable contributions to the city. A
dysfunction in this area could potentially be if a high percentage of elderly people are homeless
in this certain city.
This perspective was founded by Karl Marx as he was observing society and how the
poor were being treated by the wealthy class. He looked at all the different kinds of societies and
saw the difference in the numbers of people in each class. A pattern he found throughout the
different societies were how there were few rich people compared to a large number of people in
the working, lower, and poor class. This perspective is very useful and can be applied to a variety
of situations typically on a larger scale. For example, looking at the conflict in a nation or
between two different regions in the world. The conflict perspective states that society is in a
constant state of conflict because of the competition for limited resources. An example of the
conflict perspective is when California was in conflict with Arizona over the water from the
Colorado River. Since it was during the dry season in California, there was a debate over water,
which was a limited resource. It was difficult to make sure that everyone had enough water
during the water shortage, so there were restrictions on water use, such as certain days to water
your lawn, for the wealthier people so that the lower class could have access to water.
The interactionist perspective focuses on how people understand each other and their
relationships. It can be applied to situations that are more abstract, such as love and friendship
where meaning is found through the relationship. The perspective says that societies’ interactions
are between people who share symbols and their meanings. The interactionist perspective makes
it possible to understand other’s expectations and the connotations of the words they are using to
portray their expectations. Also included in this perspective is the Thomas Theorem which states
that if a person thinks and perceives that the situation is real then the situation becomes real in
the consequence of it. Through this perspective, people start to understand the world around
them and how to interact with it. An example of this perspective is dating, from the social
interaction theory, people are able to communicate their likes and dislikes to see if they are
compatible with each other and could spend a future together. They can find meaning and
symbols in their relationship that could repel or attract them together.