Robert K.

Merton

T h e distinction between manifest and latent functions was devised to preclude the
inadvertent confusion, often found in the sociological literature, between conscious
motivations for social behavior and its objective consequences. O u r scrutiny o f
current vocabularies o f functional analysis has shown how easily, and how unfor­
tunately, the sociologist may identify motives with functions. It was further indi­
cated that the motive and the function vary independently and that the failure to
register this fact in an established terminology has contributed to the unwitting ten­
dency a m o n g sociologists to confuse the subjective categories o f motivation with
the objective categories o f function. T h i s , then, is the central purpose o f our suc­
cumbing to the not-always-commendable practice of introducing new terms into
the rapidly growing technical vocabulary o f sociology, a practice regarded by
many laymen as an affront to their intelligence and an offense against c o m m o n
intelligibility.
As will be readily recognized, I have adapted the terms "manifest" and "latent"
from their use in another c o n t e x t by Freud (although Francis B a c o n had long ago
spoken o f "latent process" and "latent configuration" in connection with processes
which are below the threshold o f superficial observation). . . .
Since the occasion for making the distinction arises with great frequency, and
since the purpose o f a conceptual scheme is to direct observations toward salient
elements o f a situation and to prevent the inadvertent oversight o f these elements,
it would seem justifiable to designate this distinction by an appropriate set o f terms.
This is the rationale for the distinction between manifest functions and latent func­
tions; the first referring to those objective consequences for a specified unit (person,
subgroup, social or cultural system} which contribute to its adjustment or adapta­
tion and were so intended; the second referring to unintended and unrecognized
consequences o f the same order.
There are some indications that the christening of this distinction m a y serve a
heuristic purpose by becoming incorporated into an explicit conceptual apparatus,
thus aiding both systematic observation and later analysis. In recent years, for

Robert K. Merton, "Manifest and Latent Functions," pp. 1 1 4 - 1 5 , 1 1 7 - 2 2 , 1 2 4 - 6 from

Robert K. Merton, Social Theory and Social Structure (New York: Simon & Schuster, The
Free Press, 1949).
442 Robert K. Merton

example, the distinction between manifest and latent functions has been utilized in
1 2 3
analyses o f racial intermarriage, social stratification, affective frustration, Veblen's
4 5
sociological theories, prevailing American orientations toward R u s s i a , propaganda
6 7
as a means o f social c o n t r o l , M a l i n o w s k i ' s anthropological theory, N a v a j o witch­
8 9 10
craft, problems in the sociology o f k n o w l e d g e , f a s h i o n , the dynamics o f person­
11 12 13
ality, national security m e a n s u r e s , the internal social dynamics o f bureaucracy,
and a great variety o f other sociological problems.
T h e very diversity o f these subject-matters suggests that the theoretic distinction
between manifest and latent functions is not bound up with a limited and particu­
lar range o f human behavior. But there still remains the large task o f ferreting out
the specific uses to which this distinction can be put, and it is to this large task that
we devote the remaining pages o f this chapter.

Heuristic Purposes of the Distinction

Clarifies the analysis of seemingly irrational social patterns. In the first place, the
distinction aids the sociological interpretation o f many social practices which persist
even though their manifest purpose is clearly not achieved. T h e time-worn proce­
dure in such instances has been for diverse, particularly lay, observers to refer to
these practices as "superstitions," "irrationalities," " m e r e inertia o f tradition," etc.
In other words, when group behavior does not ~ and, indeed, often c a n n o t - attain
its ostensible purpose there is an inclination to attribute its occurrence to lack o f
intelligence, sheer ignorance, survivals, or so-called inertia. T h u s , the H o p i cere­
monials designed to produce abundant rainfall may be labeled a superstitious prac­
tice o f primitive folk and that is assumed to conclude the matter. It should be noted
that this in no sense accounts for the group behavior. It is simply a case o f name-
calling; it substitutes the epithet "superstition" for an analysis o f the actual role o f
this behavior in the life o f the group. Given the c o n c e p t o f latent function, however,
we are reminded that this behavior may perform a function for the group, although
this function m a y be quite remote from the avowed purpose o f the behavior.
T h e concept o f latent function extends the observer's attention beyond the
question o f whether or not the behavior attains its avowed purpose. Temporarily
ignoring these explicit purposes, it directs attention toward another range o f
consequences: those bearing, for e x a m p l e , upon the individual personalities o f H o p i
involved in the ceremony and upon the persistence and continuity o f the larger
group. Were o n e to confine himself to the problem o f whether a manifest (purposed)
function occurs, it becomes a problem, not for the sociologist, but for the m e t e o ­
rologist. And to be sure, our meteorologists agree that the rain ceremonial does not
produce rain; but this is hardly to the point. It is merely to say that the ceremony
does not have this technological use; that this purpose o f the c e r e m o n y and its actual
consequences do not coincide. But with the concept o f latent function, we continue
our inquiry, examining the consequences o f the ceremony not for the rain gods or
for meteorological p h e n o m e n a , but for the groups which conduct the ceremony.
And here it may be found, as many observers indicate, that the ceremonial does
indeed have functions - but functions which are non-purposed or latent.
 Manifest and Latent Functions 443

Ceremonials may fulfill the latent function of reinforcing the group identity by
providing a periodic occasion on which the scattered members o f a group assemble
to engage in a c o m m o n activity. As Durkheim among others long since indicated,
such ceremonials are a means by which collective expression is afforded the senti­
ments which, in a further analysis, are found to be a basic source o f group unity.
T h r o u g h the systematic application o f the concept of latent function, therefore,
apparently irrational behavior may at times be found to be positively functional for
the group. Operating with the concept o f latent function we are not t o o quick to
conclude that if an activity o f a group does not achieve its nominal purpose, then
its persistence can be described only as an instance o f "inertia," "survival," or
"manipulation by powerful subgroups in the society."
In point o f fact, some conception like that of latent function has very often,
almost invariably, been employed by social scientists observing a standardized prac­
tice designed to achieve an objective which one knows from accredited physical
science cannot be thus achieved. T h i s would plainly be the case, for example, with
Pueblo rituals dealing with rain or fertility. But with behavior ivhich is not directed
toward a clearly unattainable objective, sociological observers are less likely to
examine the collateral or latent functions of the behavior.
Directs attention to theoretically fruitful fields of inquiry. T h e distinction between
manifest and latent functions serves further to direct the attention o f the sociolo­
gist to precisely those realms o f behavior, attitude and belief where he can most
fruitfully apply his special skills. F o r what is his task if he confines himself to the
study o f manifest functions? H e is then concerned very largely with determining
whether a practice instituted for a particular purpose does, in fact, achieve this
purpose. He will then inquire, for example, whether a new system o f wage-payment
achieves its avowed purpose o f reducing labor turnover or o f increasing output. He
will ask whether a propaganda campaign has indeed gained its objective o f increas­
ing "willingness to fight" or "willingness to buy war bonds," or "tolerance toward
other ethnic groups." Now, these are important, and complex, types o f inquiry. But,
so long as sociologists confine themselves to the study o f manifest functions, their
inquiry is set for them by practical men o f affairs (whether a captain o f industry, a
trade union leader, or, conceivably, a N a v a h o chieftain, is for the m o m e n t immate­
rial), rather than by the theoretic problems which are at the core o f the discipline.
By dealing primarily with the realm o f manifest functions, with the key problem o f
whether deliberately instituted practices or organizations succeed in achieving their
objectives, the sociologist becomes converted into an industrious and skilled
recorder o f the altogether familiar pattern o f behavior. The terms of appraisal are
fixed and limited by the question put to him by the non-theoretic men of affairs,
e.g., has the new wage-payment program achieved such-and-such purposes?

But armed with the concept o f latent function, the sociologist extends his inquiry
in those very directions which promise most for the theoretic development o f the
discipline. He examines the familiar (or planned) social practice to ascertain the
latent, and hence generally unrecognized, functions (as well, o f course, as the man­
ifest functions). H e considers, for example, the consequences o f the new wage plan
for, say, the trade union in which the workers are organized or the consequences o f
a propaganda program, not only for increasing its avowed purpose o f stirring up
444 Robert K. Merton

patriotic fervor, but also for making larger numbers o f people reluctant to speak
their minds when they differ with official policies, etc. In short, it is suggested that
the distinctive intellectual contributions o f the sociologist are found primarily in the
study o f unintended consequences (among which are latent functions) o f social prac­
tices, as well as in the study o f anticipated consequences (among which are mani­
fest functions).
T h e r e is some evidence that it is precisely at the point where the research atten­
tion o f sociologists has shifted from the plane o f manifest to the plane o f latent
functions that they have made their distinctive and m a j o r contributions. T h i s c a n
be extensively documented but a few passing illustrations must suffice.
THE HAWTHORNE WESTERN ELECTRIC STUDIES: As is well k n o w n , the early stages
1 4

of this inquiry were concerned with the problem o f the relations o f "illumination
o f efficiency" o f industrial workers. F o r s o m e two and a half years, attention was
focused on problems such as this: do variations in the intensity o f lighting affect
production? T h e initial results showed that within wide limits there was no uniform
relation between illumination and output. Production output increased both in the
experimental group where illumination was increased (or decreased) and in the
control group where no changes in illumination were introduced. In short, the inves­
tigators confined themselves wholly to a search for the manifest functions. L a c k i n g
a concept o f latent social function, no attention whatever was initially paid to the
social consequences of the experiment for relations a m o n g members o f the test and
control groups or for relations between workers and the test r o o m authorities. In
other words, the investigators lacked a sociological frame o f reference and operated
merely as "engineers" (just as a group o f meteorologists might have explored the
"effects" upon rainfall o f the Hopi ceremonial).
Only after continued investigation did it o c c u r to the research group to explore
the consequences o f the new "experimental situation" for the self-images and self-
conceptions o f the workers taking part in the experiment, for the interpersonal rela­
tions a m o n g members o f the group, for the coherence and unity o f the group. As
Elton M a y o reports it, "the illumination fiasco had made them alert to the need
that very careful records should be kept of everything that happened in the r o o m
in addition to the obvious engineering and industrial devices. T h e i r observations
therefore included not only records o f industrial and engineering changes but also
records o f physiological or medical changes, and, in a sense, o f social and anthro­
pological. T h i s last t o o k the form o f a 'log' that gave as full an a c c o u n t as possible
o f the actual events o f every day. . . In short, it was only after a long series o f
experiments which wholly neglected the latent social functions o f the experiment
(as a contrived social situation) that this distinctly sociological framework was
introduced. " W i t h this realization," the authors write, " t h e inquiry changed its char­
acter. N o longer were the investigators interested in testing for the effects o f single
variables. In the place o f a controlled experiment they substituted the n o t i o n o f a
social situation which needed to be described and understood as a system o f inter­
dependent elements." Thereafter, as is now widely k n o w n , inquiry was directed very
largely toward ferreting out the latent functions o f standardized practices a m o n g
the workers, o f informal organization developing a m o n g w o r k e r s , o f w o r k e r s '
games instituted by "wise administrators," o f large programs o f w o r k e r counseling
 Manifest and Latent Functions 445

and interviewing, etc. T h e new conceptual scheme entirely altered the range and
types of date gathered in the ensuing research.
O n e has only to turn to T h o m a s and Znaniecki, in their classical work o f some
16
thirty years a g o , to recognize the correctness of Shils' remark:

. . . indeed the history of the study of primary groups in American sociology is a

supreme instance of the discontinuities of the development of this discipline: a problem
is stressed by one who is an acknowledged founder of the discipline, the problem is
left unstudied, then, some years later, it is taken up with enthusiasm as if no one had
17
ever thought of it before.

For T h o m a s and Z n a n i e c k i had repeatedly emphasized the sociological view that,

whatever its m a j o r purpose, "the association as a concrete group o f human per­
sonalities unofficially involves many other interests; the social contacts between its
members are not limited to their c o m m o n p u r s u i t . . . . " In effect, then, it had taken
years o f experimentation to turn the attention of the Western Electric research team
to the latent social functions o f primary groups emerging in industrial organiza­
tions. It should be m a d e clear that this case is not cited here as an instance o f defec­
tive experimental design; that is not our immediate concern. It is considered only
as an illustration o f the pertinence for sociological inquiry o f the concept o f latent
function, and the associated concepts o f functional analysis. It illustrates h o w the
inclusion o f this c o n c e p t (whether the term is used or not is inconsequential) can
sensitize sociological investigators to a range o f significant social variables which
are otherwise easily overlooked. T h e explicit ticketing o f the concept may perhaps
lessen the frequency o f such occasions of discontinuity in future sociological
research.
The discovery of latent functions represents significant increments in sociologi­
cal knowledge. T h e r e is a n o t h e r respect in which inquiry into latent functions rep­
resents a distinctive contribution o f the social scientist. It is precisely the latent
functions o f a practice or belief which are not c o m m o n knowledge, for these are
unintended and generally unrecognized social and psychological consequences. As
a result, findings concerning latent functions represent a greater increment in knowl­
edge than findings concerning manifest functions. They represent, also, greater
departures from " c o m m o n - s e n s e " knowledge about social life. Inasmuch as the
latent functions depart, more or less, from the avowed manifest functions, the
research which uncovers latent functions very often produces " p a r a d o x i c a l " results.
The seeming p a r a d o x arises from the sharp modification o f a familiar popular pre­
conception which regards a standardized practice or belief only in terms o f its man­
ifest functions by indicating s o m e o f its subsidiary or collateral latent functions. T h e
introduction o f the c o n c e p t o f latent function in social research leads to conclusions
which show that "social life is not as simple as it first seems." F o r as long as people
confine themselves to certain consequences (e.g. manifest consequences), it is com­
paratively simple for them to pass moral judgments upon the practice or belief in
question. M o r a l evaluations, generally based on these manifest consequences, tend
to be polarized in terms o f black or white. But the perception o f further (latent)
consequences often complicates the picture. Problems of moral evaluation (which
are not our immediate concern) and problems o f social engineering (which are our
446 Robert K. Merton

concern) both take on the additional complexities usually involved in responsible

social decisions. . . .
Precludes the substitution of naive moral judgments for sociological analysis.
Since moral evaluations in a society tend to be largely in terms o f the manifest con­
sequences o f a practice or code, we should be prepared to find that analysis in terms
of latent functions at times runs counter to prevailing moral evaluations. F o r it does
not follow that the latent functions will operate in the same fashion as the mani­
fest consequences which are ordinarily the basis o f these judgments. T h u s , in large
sectors o f the American population, the political m a c h i n e or the "political r a c k e t "
are judged as unequivocally " b a d " and "undesirable." T h e grounds for such moral
judgment vary somewhat, but they consist substantially in pointing out that polit­
ical machines violate moral codes: political patronage violates the code o f selecting
personnel on the basis o f impersonal qualifications rather than on grounds o f party
loyalty or contributions to the party war-chest; bossism violates the code that votes
should be based on individual appraisal o f the qualifications o f candidates and o f
political issues, and not on abiding loyalty to a feudal leader; bribery, and " h o n e s t
graft" obviously offend the proprieties o f property; " p r o t e c t i o n " for crime clearly
violates the law and the mores; and so on.
In view o f the manifold respects in which political m a c h i n e s , in varying degrees,
run counter to the mores and at times to the law, it becomes pertinent to inquire
h o w they manage to continue in operation. T h e familiar " e x p l a n a t i o n s " for the c o n ­
tinuance o f the political machine are not here in point. T o be sure, it may well be
that if "respectable citizenry" would live up to their political obligations, if the elec­
torate were to be alert and enlightened; if the number o f elective officers were sub­
stantially reduced from the dozens, even hundreds, which the average voter is n o w
expected to appraise in the course o f town, county, state and national elections; if
the electorate were activated by the "wealthy and educated classes without whose
participation," as the not-always democratically oriented Bryce put it, "the best-
framed government must speedily degenerate"; - if these and a plethora o f similar
changes in political structure were introduced, perhaps the " e v i l s " o f the political
machine would indeed be exorcized. But it should be noted that these changes are
often not introduced, that political machines have had the phoenix-like quality o f
arising strong and unspoiled from their ashes, that, in short, this structure has e x h i b ­
ited a notable vitality in many areas o f American political life.
Proceeding from the functional view, therefore, that we should ordinarily (not
invariably) expect persistent social patterns and social structures to perform posi­
tive functions which are at the time not adequately fulfilled by other existing pat­
terns and structures, the thought occurs that perhaps this publicly maligned
organization is, under present conditions, satisfying basic latent functions. . . .

NOTES

1 Robert K. Merton, "Intermarriage and the Social Structure," Psychiatry 1 9 4 1 , 4:

361-74.
2 Kingsley Davis, "A Conceptual Analysis of Stratification," American Sociological
Review 1 9 4 2 , 7: 3 0 9 - 2 1 .
 Manifest and latent Functions 447

3 Isidor Thorner, "Sociological Aspects of Affectional Frustration," Psychiatry 1 9 4 3 , 6:

1 5 7 - 7 3 , esp. at 165.
4 A. K. Davis, "Thorstein Veblen's Social Theory," Flarvard PhD dissertation, 1941 and
"Veblen on the Decline of the Protestant Ethic," Social Forces 1944, 2 2 : 2 8 2 - 6 ; Louis
Schneider, The Freudian Psychology and Veblen's Social Theory (New York: King's
Crown Press, 1948), esp. Chapter 2.
5 A. K. Davis, "Some Sources of American Hostility to Russia," American Journal of Soci­
ology 1947, 53: 1 7 4 - 8 3 .
6 Talcott Parsons, "Propaganda and Social Control," in his Essays in Sociological Theory.
7 Clyde Kluckhohn, "Bronislaw Malinowski, 1 8 8 4 - 1 9 4 2 , " Journal of American Folklore
1943, 5 6 : 2 0 8 - 1 9 .
8 Clyde Kluckhohn, Navaho Witchcraft, Papers of the Peabody Museum of American
Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, X X I I , No. 2 , 1 9 4 4 , 47a, esp. at 46-7ff.
9 Robert K. Merton, "The Sociology of Knowledge," in R. K. Merton, Social Theory and
Social Structure, 1968, pp. 5 1 0 - 4 2 .
10 Bernard Barber and L. S. Lobel, " 'Fashion' in Women's Clothes and the American Social
System," Social Forces 1952, 3 1 : 1 2 4 - 3 1 .
11 O. H. Mowrer and C. Kluckhohn, "Dynamic Theory of Personality," in J . M . Hunt
(ed.), Personality and the Behavior Disorders {New York: Ronald Press, 1944), 1,
pp. 6 9 - 1 3 5 , esp. at 7 2 .
12 Marie Jahoda and S. W. Cook, "Security Measures and Freedom of Thought: an
Exploratory Study of the Impact of Loyalty and Security Programs," Yale Law Journal
1952, 6 1 : 2 9 6 - 3 3 3 .
13 Philip Selznick, TVA and the Grass Roots (University of California Press, 1949); A. W.
Gouldner, Patterns of Industrial Bureaucracy (Glencoe, IL: The Free Press, 1954); P. M.
Blau, The Dynamics of Bureaucracy (University of Chicago Press, 1955); A. K. Davis,
"Bureaucratic Patterns in Navy Officer Corps," Social Forces 1948, 27: 1 4 2 - 5 3 .
14 This is cited as a case study of how an elaborate research was wholly changed in theo­
retic orientation and in the character of its research findings by the introduction of a
concept approximating the concept of latent function. Selection of the case for this
purpose does not, of course, imply full acceptance of the interpretations which the
authors give their findings. Among the several volumes reporting the Western Electric
research, see particularly F. j . Roethlisberger and W. j . Dickson, Management and the
Worker (Harvard University Press, 1939).
15 Elton Mayo, The Social Problems of an Industrial Civilization (Harvard University
Press, 1945), p. 7 0 .
16 W. I. Thomas and F. Znaniecki, The Polish Peasant in Europe and America (New York:
Knopf, 1927).
17 Edward Shils, The Present State of American Sociology (Glencoe, IL: The Free Press,
1948), p. 4 2 [italics supplied].