Learning Objectives:

At the end of the discussion, the class is expected to:

1. Gain knowledge on the theory of structural functionalism.
2. Identify theorists and their contribution to the development of structural functionalism
theory.
3. Appreciate the use of structural functionalism theory in the social work practice.

Outline:
Introduction
Assumption/ Propositions of the Theory
History of Structural Functionalism
Key Theorists
Criticism
Structural Functionalism in Social Work Practice

INTRODUCTION

Activity

If we have the ability to build our ideal community, what would it look like? What institutions
and parts are present? Why?

How did you structure your community?

What did you prioritize in your choice of institutions and parts?

Definition

 Paraphrased as Functionalism
 Structural functionalism is considered to be a prominent classical sociological
perspective.
 Theory used in the disciplines of anthropology (human societies and cultures and their
development), sociology (human social relationships and institutions), philosophy
(fundamental nature of knowledge, reality and existence), psychology (human mind and
its functions, affecting behavior in a given context)
 Sociological theory that attempts to explain why society functions the way it does by
focusing on relationships between various social institutions that make up society
(government, religion, culture)

ASSUMPTIONS

Key Ideas
 Lays it emphasis on the large-scale structures, social institutions, their interrelationships
and implications on society.
 Sees society as a structure with interrelated parts designed to meet biological and social
 Social systems are collective means to fulfill social needs in order for social life to survive
and develop in societies.
 Society is made up of groups or institutions which are cohesive, share common norms
and have a definite culture.
 Society is a system of interconnected parts that work together in harmony to maintain a
state of balance and social equilibrium for the whole.
 Functionalists use the terms functional and dysfunctional to describe the effects of
social elements on society.
 Explains expectations of a society and the inability of the members of that society to
stray way from those expectations. When all the parts of the society work together,
everyone’s interests are protected.
 The world is a series of interrelated parts and each part makes a necessary contribution
to the vitality of the system.
 Social institutions are functionally integrated to form a stable system; each institution
has its own function.
 Structural functionalism, or in many contexts simply functionalism, is a broad
perspective in sociology and anthropology which sets out to interpret society as a
structure with interrelated parts. Functionalism addresses society as a whole in terms of
the function of its constituent elements; namely norms, customs, traditions and
institutions.
 Functionalism looks for the function or part that is played by several aspects of culture
and society in order to maintain a social system. It is a framework that considers society
as a system whose parts work together to promote solidarity and stability.
 This approach of theoretical orientation looks at both social structure and social
function. It describes the inter-relationship between several parts of any society. These
parts or the constituent elements of a society could be named as norms, traditions,
customs, institutions like economy, kinship, religion etc. These parts are interrelated and
interdependent.

1. Systems have a property of order and interdependent parts.

2. Systems tend toward self-maintaining order or equilibrium.
3. The system may be static or involved in an ordered process of change.
4. The. Nature of one part of the system has an impact on the form that other parts take.
5. Systems maintain boundaries within their environments.
6. Allocation and integration are two fundamental processes necessary for a given state of
equilibrium within a system.
7. System tends 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.
Principles

Comprehended in three simple terms, which is the maintenance of:

 Social stability
 Collective functioning
 Social evolution

1. Interdependency – society is made up of interdependent parts; every part of society is

dependent to some extent on other parts of society
2. Functions of social structures and cultures – each part of the social system exist because
it serves some functions

Social structure – organization of society, including institutions, social positions and distribution
of resources

Culture – sets of beliefs, language, rules, values and knowledge held in common by members of
society

3. Consensus and cooperation – society have a tendency towards consensus, that is to

have values that nearly everyone in the society agrees upon.

Cooperation – inability to cooperate will paralyze the society and people will devote more and
more effort to fighting one another rather than getting anything done.

4. Equilibrium – The characteristic of the society when it has achieved the form that is best
adapted to its situation. Once the society has achieved the form that is best adopted to
its situation, it has reached a state of balance or equilibrium, and it will remain in that
condition until it is forced to change by some new condition.

The social structure of society consists of various components such as social institutions, social
norms, and values, that are interconnected and dependent on each other. Each component of
the structure has a specified role and altogether these social patterns contribute to the
balanced and stable functioning of society. Furthermore, social structure adapts to the
changing needs of society, if any part of the structure acts dysfunctional then society as a whole
might collapse.

According to the Structural Functionalists, any form of rapid social change is perceived as
something that arises when there is an occurrence of social tensions between different units of
society. For instance, a slight incompatibility between traditional belief systems and social
norms may result in a social change. Drastic changes in society are considered problematic
because these rapid changes disrupt the equilibrium and result in instability.
Features – distinctive attribute or aspect; details

Classical Theory

Consensus Theory

Systems Theory – societies and social units are systems

Macro-level theory – focus of society in contrast to micro theories that focus on individuals in
society

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE THEORY

They were seminal thinkers of the middle 1800s who made direct observations of primitive
cultures, theorizing about the organization of these folk in relation to Western Society. Their
theories were often quite simple and required only a few assumptions. The point they were
making was this: individual and group behavior, more often than not, serves function for the
larger society. Structural functionalism as an explicative theory has been developed and
redefined by various scholars. It peaked in popularity in the 1940s and 1950s but by 1960s,
there was a quick decline.

From Systems Theory

Societies and social units have order and interdependent parts like a biological organism held
together by cooperation and orderliness.
Societies and social units work toward the natural or smooth working of the system; i.e.
towards equilibrium.
Societies and social units, just as natural (external) environments, are separate or distinct but
adapt to each other – if one or more part conflict with others, others must adapt.

August Comte  Herbert Spencer  Emile Durkheim

KEY THEORISTS

Philosophy – August Comte

Sociology – Herbert Spencer, Emile Durkheim, Talcott Parsons
Anthropology – Marcel Mauss, Bronislaw Malinowski, Alfred Radcliffe-Brown

August Comte

Herbert Spencer
Herbert Spencer, a British philosopher famous for applying the theory of natural selection to
society, was in many ways the first true sociological functionalist. Spencer concluded that
society is constantly facing selection pressures (internal and external) that force it to adapt its
internal structure through differentiation.

Every solution, however, causes a new set of selection pressures that threaten society's
viability. It should be noted that Spencer was not a determinist in the sense that he never said
that

1. selection pressures will be felt in time to change them;

2. they will be felt and reacted to;

3. the solutions will always work.

Spencer recognized three functional needs or prerequisites that produce selection pressures:
they are regulatory, operative (production) and distributive. He argued that all societies need to
solve problems of control and coordination, production of goods, services and ideas, and,
finally, to find ways of distributing these resources.

Initially, in tribal societies, these three needs are inseparable, and the kinship system is the
dominant structure that satisfies them. As many scholars have noted, all institutions are
subsumed under kinship organisation, [14] but, with increasing population (both in terms of
sheer numbers and density), problems emerge with regards to feeding individuals, creating new
forms of organisation — consider the emergent division of labour —, coordinating and
controlling various differentiated social units, and developing systems of resource distribution.

The solution, as Spencer sees it, is to differentiate structures to fulfill more specialized
functions; thus, a chief or "big man" emerges, soon followed by a group of lieutenants, and
later kings and administrators. Perhaps Spencer's greatest obstacle to being widely discussed in
modern sociology is the fact that much of his social philosophy is rooted in the social and
historical context of Victorian England. He coined the term "survival of the fittest" in discussing
the simple fact that small tribes or societies tend to be defeated or conquered by larger ones.

Emile Durkheim

Emile Durkheim(1858-1917) was a French sociologist and one of the founding fathers of the
Functionalist school of thought. In his initial phase of scholarly life, Durkheim was deeply
impressed by the significance of functional differentiation and the theory of social evolution.
Moreover, he was influenced by the works of Herbert Spencer(1820-1903) and his study of
organic analogy. “The Division of Labour in Society” (1893) was Durkheim’s first book in which
he explained the forces that keep society intact.  Mechanical solidarity is often present in
primitive communities where there is an absence of economic advancement and status
differentiation. Whereas, societies characterized with organic solidarity are economically
specialized with extensive division of labor and status differentiation. Durkheim argued that
functional differentiation is a prerequisite of society because it strengthens the sense of social
solidarity and binds people together, each depending upon the functional services of all for the
maintenance of social order.

Emile Durkheim (1858 – 1917) was one of the founding thinkers of sociology. Durkheim’s work
focused on how society can function and form. In his view, for society to function and form
effectively, there has to be order and stability such that an equilibrium is maintained.

Durkheim was interested in how to promote a good and stable society. As a result, Durkheim is
known especially for his functionalist perspective within sociology. He was interested in what
maintained societal balance, sustained harmony and what holds society together hence, his
work focused on shared experiences, perspectives, values, beliefs and behaviours.

Durkheim shared his views around elements which enable people to feel that they are part of a
wider group and that working closely to ensure that the group is maintained is in their common
interest.

Durkheim reports that the role individuals play in the society facilitates social cohesion
(Shortell, 2016). Durkheim believed that progression in society depends on the ability to create
individual fulfilment and a feeling of inclusiveness within the society (Jones, et al., 2011).

Aspects of society in the functionalist perspectives (Durkheim)

Functional – elements that contribute to social stability

Dysfunctional – elements that disrupt social stability

Crime is dysfunctional in that it is associated with physical violence, loss of property and fear.

Crime is also functional for society because it leads to heightened awareness of shared moral
bonds and increased social cohesion.

Division in labor and positions help maintain balance, such as hierarchy. In order for society to
function, it has to place and motivate people to occupy the necessary positions in the social
structure.

Claude Levi-Strauss

 Father of structural anthropology; sociology professor in University of Sao Paolo, Brazil

(1934)
 He began to think about human though cross-culturally and alterity, when he was
exposed to various cultures of Brazil.
  Proposed that the proper focus of anthropological investigations was on the underlying
patterns of human thought that produce the cultural categories that organize
worldviews.
 Believed these processes were not deterministic of culture, but instead, operated within
culture
 Work is influenced by Durkheim and Mauss and derived the concept of binary contrasts,
later referred to in his work as binary oppositions.

Talcott Parsons

Heavily influenced by Herbert Spencer, Emile Durkheim and Max Weber, synthesising much of
their work into his action theory, which he based on the system-theoretical concept and the
methodological principle of voluntary action. He held that "the social system is made up of the
actions of individuals.

Parsons determined that each individual has expectations of the other's action and reaction to
his own behaviour, and that these expectations would (if successful) be "derived" from the
accepted norms and values of the society they inhabit.

As behaviours are repeated in more interactions, and these expectations are entrenched or
institutionalised, a role is created. Parsons defines a "role" as the normatively-regulated
participation "of a person in a concrete process of social interaction with specific, concrete role-
partners. Parsons later developed the idea of roles into collectivities of roles that complement
each other in fulfilling functions for society. Some roles are bound up in institutions and social
structures (economic, educational, legal and even gender-based). These are functional in the
sense that they assist society in operating and fulfil its functional needs so that society runs
smoothly. Socialisation is important because it is the mechanism for transferring the accepted
norms and values of society to the individuals within the system. Perfect socialisation occurs
when these norms and values are completely internalised, when they become part of the
individual's personality.

A society where there is no conflict, where everyone knows what is expected of him, and where
these expectations are consistently met, is in a perfect state of equilibrium. The key processes
for Parsons in attaining this equilibrium are socialisation and social control.

Socialisation is supported by the positive and negative sanctioning of role behaviours that do or
do not meet these expectations. A punishment could be informal, like a snigger or gossip, or
more formalised, through institutions such as prisons and mental homes. If these two processes
were perfect, society would become static and unchanging, and in reality this is unlikely to
occur for long.
He was the best-known sociologist in the United States, and indeed one of the best-known in
the world. He produced a general theoretical system for the analysis of society that came to be
called structural functionalism. Individuals in interaction with changing situations adapt through
a process of "role bargaining." Once the roles are established, they create norms that guide
further action and are thus institutionalised, creating stability across social interactions. Where
the adaptation process cannot adjust, due to sharp shocks or immediate radical change,
structural dissolution occurs and either new structures (and therefore a new system) are
formed, or society dies.

This model of social change has been described as a "moving equilibrium," order.

Parsons concept of the social system is developed in the nature of a general sociological
theory which can be applied for the study of both the simple primitive societies as well as the
complex modern industrial societies. Parsons has developed his theory from the level of action
to the social system. His conceptual scheme is provided to analyze the structure and
processes of social system.

Parsons formulates his approach to the social system through his theory of social action
which is an intrinsic element of the social system.

ACTION, according to Parson does not take place in isolation. it is not empirically discrete but
occurs in constellations” which constitute system. The concept of action, according to Parson,
is derived from behavior of human beings as living organisms. As living organisms they interact
(orientate) with outside reality as well as within their own mind.

Behavior becomes action when four conditions are present:

 It is ORIENTED TO ATTAINMENT OF ENDS OR GOALS or other anticipated affairs,

 It occurs in SITUATIONS,
 It is REGULATED BY NORMS AND VALUES OF SOCIETY, and
 It involves in investment of ‘ENERGY’ OR MOTIVATION OR EFFORT.

For example, a lady driving an automobile to go to a temple. She is probably going to offer
prayers. In this case then the offering of the prayer is her end or goal to which she is oriented.
Her situation is the road on which she is driving and the car in which she is sitting. Moreover,
her behavior is regulated by social norms or values in which the offering of prayers is
recognized as desirable. In addition, she is applying her intelligence in the skill of driving which
is learnt from society. Finally, the very act of driving the car implies expenditure of energy,
holding the wheel, regulating the accelerator and skillful negotiation through the traffic on the
road. WHEN BEHAVIOUR IS SEEN IN THIS ANALYTICAL CONTEXT, IT CAN BE DEFINED AS ACTION.
As mentioned earlier, action according to Parsons does not occur in isolation but occurs in
constellations: THESE CONSTELLATIONS OF ACTION CONSTITUTE SYSTEM. These systems of
action have three modes of organization which Parsons describes as THE PERSONALITY SYSTEM,
THE CULTURAL SYSTEM AND THE SOCIAL SYSTEM.

He proposed that the actual operating life of a society is made up of the following elements:

1. THE ABSTRACT PATTERNS OF BEHAVIOUR (CULTURAL SYSTEM) which prescribe what

individuals should properly or appropriately do in particular cases. FOR EXAMPLE, the
highway code prescribes how fast drivers should drive under what conditions and how
they should co-ordinate with fellow motorists;
2. THE PATTERN OF ONGOING ACTIVITY, (SOCIAL SYSTEM)i.e. how actual people in actual
situations behave in ways, which (roughly, more or less) accord with the abstract
patterns. FOR EXAMPLE, in traffic on the road, drivers are busy looking out for what
others are doing, and tactically adjusting their driving to accommodate and avoid one
another, such action depending in various ways upon the conventions of the highway
code being respected by most, if not all, drivers;
3. THE PERSONALITIES, OR CHARACTERISTIC PATTERNS OF PREFERENCE, OF REACTION
AND SO FORTH OF THE INDIVIDUALS CARRYING OUT THESE PATTERNS (PERSONALITY
SYSTEM). For EXAMPLE, in traffic they act as drivers, and they interact with one another
in terms of their characters: some drive much more quickly than others, some are more
respectful of others’ rights on the road, some get angry with traffic conditions, and
others remain calm.

Society as a system of checks and balances.

Social agency is not reduced to arbitrary actions or total free will, but is framed within the
patterned structure of relationships which are reproduced in social order and norms.

Talcott Parson(1902-1979) was an American Sociologist who did tremendous theoretical work
on structural functionalism and the theory of social action. According to Parsons, a function
refers to a set of activities that fulfill the needs of society. He described four functional
imperatives that are necessary for the survival of every social system:

1. Adaptation: a social system needs to adapt in accordance with the emerging

demands of its environment.
2. Goal attainment: a social system needs to define and accomplish its goals.
3. Integration: regulation of interrelationships between all the components is
essential.
 4. Latency: a social system needs to preserve and enhance the sense of motivation
among the masses. Maintenance of social patterns contributes to the creation of
this motivation. A system must furnish, maintain and renew both the motivational
and the cultural patterns that create and sustain the motivation

Cultural system – performs the latency function by providing actors with the norms and values
that motivate them for action.

Social system – copes with the integration by controlling its component parts

Personality system – performs the goal attainment function by defining system goals and
mobilizing resources to attain them.

Behavioral organism as a system – handles adaptation function by adjusting to and

transforming the external world.

The crucial feature of societies is homeostasis (maintaining a stable state)

The interconnectedness of different elements of society that supported individual integration

into social structures.

The successful functioning of society required altruism, or collectivism.

Order was the result of the influence of certain values in society rather than in structure.

Societies are reflections of the collective consciousness, in which people internalize the shared
norms and standards of society.

Order amounts to a reflection of the general values of a society.

Four levels at which the individual is socialized into society, each level represents a separate
category with its own dynamics but together they underpin the social system.

System of level Aspects of experience

Physiological system
The basic organic level of social interaction
Personality system
Individual’s biographical blueprint of the
attitudes, beliefs derived from early
socialization. Concerned with internalization
of values.
Role of the body in social reproduction: the
human body is a precondition for the
development of individual psychology. Body
is a container of different drives.
Individual psychology + engaging with social
structures at the level of our desires, drives,
unconscious reflexes and inhibitions. Very
influenced by Freud.
 The social system as an entity (structure)
The social system as processes (how social
interactions are shaped by, and in turn,
shape social structures)
Cultural system
Human interaction over time creates a store
of knowledge and tradition. The cultural
system contains the core values and beliefs
of a given society and enables these values to status and universalistic values.
be passed down. It is how the society
reproduces itself.
The family is the primary agent of
socialization. We derive status and roles from
position in family. The functions of the family
mirror those of society.
Function of family: the primary socialization
of children and stabilization of adult
personalities
Education is a bridge between family and
wider society, preparing us for adult roles in
society. Education is the main secondary
agent of socialization. In advances industrial
society, we are judged in terms of achieved

(3) Social systems emerge from interactions which are repeated over time and that produce
durable expectations about the behavior of those involved. In a fully developed social system,
such as modern society, these expectations become institutionalized. They become part of the
accepted fabric of society which people have to take into account when formulating their
behavior.

Human personality is not born, but must be made through socialization process that in the first
instance, families are necessary. They are factories which produce human personalities.

(4) Schools are examples meritocratic principles of society, which means that everyone is
treated in the same way and that everyone has the same chances to succeed. Therefore, those
that achieve the most in school do so on merit. Schools ensure that the best people will
perform the most important jobs – and this will benefit society as a whole.

Interested in the external forces that shaped individual motivations and interests. Individuals
adapted their choices they made (roles) to the norms of the society. There is a correspondence
between the roles taken by individuals in society and the prevailing norms of a society.

Meritocracy was a successful way of allocating roles in ways that ensured the ultimate well-
being or stability of the social system.

Social stratification, he suggested, was an outcome of the role allocation that created the
differential ranking of human individuals who compose a given social system and their
treatment as superior or inferior relative to one another in certain socially important respects.

Fundamentals of stratification:
Ascription vs Achievement – ascribed status vs achieved status

Ascription – the most important value in traditional society as it give rises to persistence
without the element of change. Achievement is modern trait.

The idea of an organic system is generalized to social phenomena and made the central
theoretical focus, without in the process, being related to a particular historical situation. An
abstract system is postulated in which social and cultural phenomena are conceptually handled
and this system is conceived as being boundary maintaining and structure maintaining. It is
viewed as resisting external forces and retaining some considerable degree of stability and
structure in order to remain in a system.

The idea of function is regarded as an objective consequence of action.

Functional pre-requisites of the system that refer to the essential functional problems which
every social system must solve in order to continue existing as an independent and distinctive
entity. Functional alternatives and functional substitutes, all of which are largely synonymous
and point to the idea that certain elements of the system are not functionally indispensable but
may be substituted with other elements.

Focus on dynamic equilibrium within the social system – relates to the analogous feature of
homeostasis within the biological organisms. There is always a certain amount of continuing
process within the system which provides an impulse for change of state. There is supposedly
always an element of flux in the external situation which tends to throw the systems continually
off balance. The dynamic equilibrium of a social system is not so much a matter of a system
remaining always in a stable state as it is of the system having the capacity to achieve some
stability after each minor disturbance. The dominant tendency is towards stability within the
system as maintained through mechanisms of social control which serve as equilibrating
function.

Unit of analysis: status-role

Status refers to the location/position of the individual and role is essentially what the individual
does in that position. In as much as each person occupies a number of different statuses, the
organized system of statuses and roles which can be attributed to the particular individual
constitute his identity as a social actor. In turn, systems of statuses are combined collectivities
which are partial social systems, each of which is composed of particular interactive roles. A
network of such collectivities is seen as constituting a complex social system.

Concept of institutionalization – ties a complex system together, meaning that actions of the
individuals involved in the social systems are guided by shared and internalized values. These
shared values held by the social actors within the system are the glue that holds the system
together and although perfect integration within the system is never found empirically, it is the
mode of normative integration which has been sketched that is regarded as fundamental in all
actual social systems.

Dysfunction is present, which are resolved themselves or to be institutionalized (that will serve
with function for the social system’s stability). Change is regarded as occurring in generally
gradual, adjustive manner within the system – the dynamic state of equilibrium of the system.

Four functional problems (social needs) faced by social systems: (internal and external) (AGIL) –
open systems theories of organization, why societies are stable and functioning.

1. Adaptation – to the external situation of the system. Included in these are not only the
problems coming to terms with the environment but also the active manipulation of
either the environment of the system itself. Acquiring sufficient resources (ex)
2. Goal attainment – refers to the coordination of activities in such a way that a system
moves toward whatever goals it has set itself. Settling and implementing goals (ex)
3. Integration – relations of individual social actors in the system to one another and the
problem of establishing and maintaining a level of solidarity or cohesion among them.
Maintain solidarity and coordination among the sub-units of the system. (in)
4. Latency – pattern maintenance and tension management. Both are concerned with
conditions internal to the system itself which have consequences for system functioning.
It is faced by social actors in reconciling the various norms and demands imposed by his
participation in any particular sub-system with those of other sub-systems, in which he
also is part of. Creating, preserving and transmitting the system’s distinctive culture and
values (in)

Parsons has applied this type of scheme to role differentiation within social systems. For
example, in the systems of the family, a husband-father is viewed as the specialist in the
instrumental function relative to the interaction of the family with the external environment
while the wife-mother is the specialist in the expressive or social-emotional areas concerned
with relations internal to the family. Also, this scheme has been applied in terms of analyzing
structural differentiation among social sub-systems in the same larger system or society. That
is, Parsons argues that for each of the four functional problems of the social system of society,
there will be a corresponding "functional sub-system" of the society.

He applied this model at the social psychological, structural, and ecological levels. In terms
of the larger society the organizational type that served each function (plus some
examples):

Adaptation -- Organizations oriented to economic production -- Business firms

Goal Attainment -- Org's oriented to political goals -- Government agencies, banks.

Problems fall within the primacy of the state, polity, or, more specifically, the government.
In short, the task of defining system goals and moving toward them is primarily the
delegated responsibility of government.
 Integration -- Integrative Organizations -- Courts, political parties, social-control agencies,
the church, and many other structures about which important cultural values are focused.

Latency -- Pattern -maintainence organization -- museums, educational org's, religious

organizations, family. Major socializing agency of society and as a result of the extent to
which it plays a part in the day to day management of tension, Parsons sees the family as
having primacy in dealing with the pattern maintenance and tension management system
needs while educational institutions, religious groupings, and hospitals are secondarily
included.

What is a goal for a specific organization is a function for the larger society. An organization
may expect to get resources and approval based on the importance of it's function in society.
This goal/fuction system can also be reproduced at the formal organization level through
examination of subunits. While he doesn't insist that specific subunits will be created, he does
imply they will form based on these four divisions, because the various functional needs are
somewhat in conflict.

For example, in informal groups inherent tensions may create the need for a "task leader" to
lead toward to the goal and a "socio-emotional leader" to handle tensions and motivate people.

Robert Merton

Robert K. Merton was a functionalist and he fundamentally agreed with Parsons’ theory. He
acknowledged that it was problematic, believing that it was too generalized. He identified 3
main limitations: functional unity, universal functionalism and indispensability. He also
developed the concept of deviance and made the distinction between manifest and latent
functions.

Merton criticized functional unity, saying that not all parts of a modern, complex society work
for the functional unity of society. Some institutions and structures may have other functions,
and some may even be generally dysfunctional, or be functional for some while being
dysfunctional for others. This is because not all structures are functional for society as a whole.
Some practices are only functional for a dominant individual or a group. Here Merton
introduces the concepts of power and coercion into functionalism and identifies the sites of
tension which may lead to struggle or conflict. Merton states that by recognizing and examining
the dysfunctional aspects of society we can explain the development and persistence of
alternatives.

Merton also noted that there may be functional alternatives to the institutions and structures
currently fulfilling the functions of society. This means that the institutions that currently exist
are not indispensable to society. Merton states that “just as the same item may have multiple
functions, so may the same function be diversely fulfilled by alternative items”.
The last of Merton’s important contributions to functionalism was his distinction between
manifest and latent functions. Manifest functions refer to the conscious intentions of actors;
latent functions are the objective consequences of their actions, which are often unintended.
Merton used the example of the Hopi rain dance to show that sometimes an individual’s
understanding of their motive for an action may not fully explain why that action continues to
be performed. Sometimes actions fulfill a function of which the actor is unaware, and this is the
latent function of an action.

Two types of functions:

Manifest functions – consequences that are intended and commonly recognized

Latent functions – consequences that are unintended and often hidden

Example: politics

Bronislaw Malinowski

He was one of the founding fathers of British social anthropology. With Radcliffe-Brown,
Malinowski pushed for a paradigm shift in British Anthropology that brought a change from the
historical to the present study of social institutions. This theoretical shift gave rise to
functionalism and established fieldwork as the constitutive experience of social anthropology.

He believed that all customs and institutions in a society are integrated and interrelated so that,
if one changes the other would change as well. Each then is a function of the other.

The second strand of Malinowski’s Functionalism is known as needs functionalism. Malinowski

(1944) believed that human beings have a set of universal biological needs and various customs
and institutions are developed to fulfil those needs. The function of any practice was the role it
played in satisfying these biological needs such as need of food, shelter etc.

Malinowski suggested that individuals have physiological needs (reproduction, food, shelter)
and these needs are fulfilled by the social institutions. He talked about four basic "instrumental
needs" (economics, social control, education, and political organization), that require
institutional devices to get fulfilled.

Malinowski looked at culture, need of people and thought that the role of culture is to satisfy
needs of people. Malinowski identified seven biological needs of individuals. Due to the
emphasis on biological needs in Malinowski‟s approach,his functionalism is also known as Bio-
cultural Functionalism.
The most basic needs are the biological, but this does not imply any kind of reductionism,
because each level constitutes its distinct properties and needs, and from the interrelationship
of different levels that culture emerges as an integrated whole.
Comprising all those things – material and non-material – that human beings have created right
from the time they separated from their simian ancestors, culture has been the instrument that
satisfies the biological needs of human beings. It is a need-serving and need fulfilling system.

Seven biological needs and their respective cultural responses:

Basic need Cultural responses

Metabolism Commissariat
Reproduction Kinship
Bodily comfort Shelter
Safety Protection
Movement Activities
Growth Training
Health Hygiene

For example, the first need is of food, and the cultural mechanisms are centered on the
processes of food getting, for which Malinowski uses the term ‘commissariat’, which means the
convoy that transports food. Similarly, the second need is of reproduction (biological continuity
of society) and the cultural response to which is kinship concerned with regulating sex and
marriage. From this, Malinowski goes on to four-fold sequences, which he calls the
‘instrumental imperatives’, and associates each one of them with their respective cultural
responses. The four-fold sequence is of economy, social control, education, and political
organisation. From here, he shifts to the symbolic system – of religion, magic, beliefs and values
– examining its role in culture.

Alfred Radcliffe Brown

 Focused on social structure

 Suggested that a society is a system of relationships maintaining itself through
cybernetic feedback, while institutions are orderly sets of relationships whose function
is to maintain the society as a syste,
 Social institutions constitute a separate level of reality distinct from those biological
forms and inorganic matter.
 Argued that explanations of social phenomena had to be constructed within the social
level. Thus, individuals were replaceable, transient occupants of social roles. Individuals
are irrelevant.

Radcliffe Brown(1881-1955) was a social anthropologist who immensely contributed to the

theory of Structural Functionalism. In his book “Structure and Function in Primitive
Society(1952), Brown established a comparative analysis between the life of a living organism
and the functioning of a social structure. According to him, the structure of an organism
consists of various cells and molecules that are arranged in systematic patterns. The living
organism tends to preserve the continuity of its structure by losing some of its molecules
through respiration and gaining new ones through absorption.

Similarly, the social structure of society is required to function collectively in order to maintain
its survival. On one hand, social institutions are necessary for inculcating the values and
strengthening solidarity among the masses. On the other hand, social facts are equally essential
for keeping a check on human actions and eradicating any form of deviance. Social facts can be
understood as an invisible instrument of social control which is present in every society in the
form of laws and norms.

Radcliffe-Brown was influenced by the French sociological school and emphasised upon the
social function. This school developed in the 1890s around the work of Emile Durkheim who
argued that "social phenomena constitute a domain, or order, of reality that is independent of
psychological and biological facts. As per this sociological school the social phenomena, must be
explained in terms of other social phenomena, and not by reference to psychobiological needs.

Radcliffe-Brown focused on the conditions under which social structures are maintained. He
also believed that there are certain laws that regulate the functioning of societies.

He also modified the idea of need and replaced it with necessary conditions for existence for
human societies and these conditions can be discovered by proper scientific enquiry.

He argued that the organic analogy should be used carefully. In a biological organism the
functioning of any organ is termed as the activity of that organ. But in a social system the
continuity of structure is maintained by the process of social life.

Structural Features of Social Life: According to A.R. Radcliffe-Brown, the structural features of
social life as follows:

1. Existence of social group: social structure consists of all kinds of social groups like family,
clan, moieties, social sanction, totemic group, social classes, caste group, kinship system etc.
The inter relations among these groups constitute the core of the social structural
phenomenon.

2. Internal structure of the group: these groups have specific internal structure. For example, a
family consists with the relations of father, mother and their children.

3. Arrangement into social classes: these groups are arranged into social classes and categories.
For example, the economic classes in the Western societies and the castes in the Indian
societies.
4. Social Distinctions: there is social distinction between different classes which is based on sex,
economic distinctions, and authority and caste distinctions. For example, in India there is social
distinction between the Brahmins and Shudras.

5. Arrangement of persons in dyadic relationship: an example of dyadic relationship is person to

person relationship like master and servant.

6. Interaction between groups and persons: interaction between persons can be seen in social
processes involving co-operation, conflict, accommodations etc. while the interaction between
groups can be seen while nation goes to war with another nation.

Types of Social Structure: According to Radcliffe-Brown the importance of social institution is

that social structure is the arrangement of persons which is controlled and defined by
institutions. There are two types of models of studying social structure i.e. actual social
structure and general social structure. ‘Actual social structure’ according to Brown, the
relationship between persons and groups change from time to time. New members come into
being through immigration or by birth, while others go out of it by death and migration. Besides
this, there are marriages and divorces whereby the members change in several times. Thus,
actual social structure remains changes in many times. On the other hand, in general social
structure, remain relatively constant for a long time. For instance, if one visits the a village and
again visits that particular village after few years i.e. after 10 years later he or she finds that
many members of the village have died and others have been enrolled. Now they are 10 years
older who survive than the previous visit. Their relations to one another may have changed in
many respects; but the general structure remains more or less same and continuing. Thus
Radcliffe-Brown held the view that sometimes the structural form may change gradually or
suddenly but even though the sudden changes occur the continuity of structure is maintained
to a considerable extent.

Structure and Function: Radcliffe-Brown in order to illustrate the relationship between then
structures and function he again turns to biology. The structure of an organism is consists of
ordered arrangements of its parts and functions of the part is to interrelate the structure of an
organism. Similarly, social structure is ordered arrangement of persons and groups. The
functions of persons are to the structure of society and social organism. Social structure is not
to be studied by considering the nature of individual members of group, but by examining the
arrangement of functions that make society persistent.

Kinsgley Davis and Wilbert Moore

The Functional Theory of stratification is propounded by Kingsley Davis(2908-2997) and Wilbert

Moore(1914-1987) which is considered as the best-known piece of work in Structural
Functionalism.
According to Structural Functionalists, social stratification is considered an essential
prerequisite of society. It is a division of the population into strata that are interconnected yet
differentiated based on their social role and status. The system of stratification can also be
understood as a means of regulating access to ‘scarce resources’. Stratification is seen as a
functional necessity because a single unit cannot perform all the required tasks of society
therefore each unit of society has an assigned role and responsibility. Furthermore, this
stratification of roles and responsibilities creates a continuous motivation among individuals to
evolve and grow. For example, different responsibilities are assigned to a teacher and a laborer.
However, both of them have a significant contribution to the functioning of society yet a
teacher is placed above a laborer in the occupational hierarchy. The system of stratification is
considered as a ‘system of positions’ in which certain positions are regarded as prestigious and
superior. These higher-ranking positions are associated with certain rewards to ensure diligence
among the masses.

CRITICISMS

Structural Functionalism is estimated as incompatible in understanding the modern advanced

society. It has been subjected to criticism in the contemporary world primarily because
Structural Functionalism sees social change as a consequence of society’s changing needs. Any
form of immediate change is considered a deviation. The Structural Functionalist perspective
considers social reforms as paradoxical in nature. Furthermore, the perspective neglects the
importance of individualism in the functioning of society. It claims individualism to be
substantively erroneous. Structural Functionalism legitimizes the system of hierarchy in society
and promotes social inequality in terms of roles and positions.

In the 1960s, it was criticized for being unable to account for social change, or for structural
contradictions and conflict. It ignores inequalities including race, gender, class, which causes
tension and conflict.

STRUCTURAL FUNCTIONALISM IN SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE

The functionalist perspective is importance to social work because functionalist sees a useful
function in everything in society, that includes elements, characteristics, or processes that most
people would view as a negative, such as poverty or racial inequality. With the functionalist
perspective I believe that social work services should work together to help find a solution for the
existing system which is unfair.

Each of the social institutions contributes important functions for society:

 Family – provides a context for reproducing, nurturing and socializing children
 Education – offers a way to transmit a society’s skills, knowledge, and culture
 Politics – provides a means of governing members of society
 Economics – provides for the production, distribution and consumption of goods and
services
  Religion – provides moral guidance and an outlet for worship of a higher power

IP groups – certain social and cultural structure that are unique to them.

Examples

Technology during the pandemic time and up until now

Increasing number of women in the workforce: gender- friendly and sensitive policies

Social Workers may draw on the views of Durkheim to help understand that conflict does not
define society, but harmony does. With this understanding, Social Workers can examine social
phenomena in relation to the functions individuals play in the society to enhance social
cohesion and work towards promoting equality, social justice and inclusion.

The most general feature of the structural functionalist systems approach is the emphasis
placed upon the unitary or holistic nature of particular phenomena under investigation. The
emphasis is on a synthetic orientation as opposed to one which is more analytic in nature.
Viewing the profession of social work from this orientation one would not perceive discrete,
largely air-tight compartments of casework, group work, community organization,
administration, research, education, and so on, but instead would look to a more holistic
conception of social work. Thus, the logic of the systems approach leads away from increasing
differentiation within the profession and in the direction of a unified, social work process which
can be traced throughout the various sub-fields.

The systems principle of perceiving commonalities in terms of principles of organization from

the level of the individual through the levels of the group, the community, and the larger social
order, leaves the way open for a unified conception of the social work process which, in turn,
has relevance for the methods of casework, family treatment, group work, community
organization, and administration. This holistic type of orientation, however, directly entails the
basic assumption that elements of social phenomena cannot be regarded as isolated from one
another but must be seen as ultimately linked through a network of relationships. The social
work analyst or practitioner must assume the relatedness of all phenomena - tinkering in one
place has reverberations across space and time. The focus is on the systemic relations of
elements rather than on the nature of an element, in and of itself, in a relationship.

Thus the use of the systems perspective should sensitize the worker to the possibility that a
change in one part of the system may have effects in another part due to the interdependence
of the system ele-

-493- ments. Moreover, the consequences of the changes effected may be neither linear or
desirable in nature. That is, a change strategy injected into the system may have cumulative or
amplified undesirable effects in certain parts of the system while having minimal effects in
other parts. As a glaring example of this process in the form of a
national change strategy -- the "war on poverty" - we can note the host of unanticipated
consequences arising out of the implementattion of the "maximum feasible participation"
clause in the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964.42 It should be noted, however, that the
desired changes may be brought about in one part of the system, not only by focusing directly
upon it but also by the alteration of more distantly removed elements. Thus, in effect, systems
analysis directs attention to the multiple possibilities of intervention into the system with
respect to solving a particular constellation of problems.

In itself, as has been noted, the structural-functionalist scheme tends to overstress the stable
properties of social life. On the other hand, the conflict view of social life espoused by such
theorists as Marx and Dahrendorf tends to over-stress the instability and disintegrative aspects
of social systems. Rather than being necessarily anti3 thetical views, these can, as Dahrendorf
has noted,4 be seen as complementary views of social reality. Thus, for example, in Polsky's use
of the Parsonian framework, by incorporating the disjuntive elements of the system into the
analysis the reader could be provided with a more coherent and "real]istic" assessment of the
total configuration of elements which go to make up the system of the residential treatment
unit. The consensual and dissensual, the stability and instability, the integrative and
disintegrative elements of the unit would then be more fully elaborated. Also the extent to
which conflict contributes to the integration of the system and the extent to which consensus
can prevent integration would be more amenable to empirical analysis. As it is, Polsky
completely omits such considerations from his work. Thus, while his analysis of the social
system of the residential cottage untilis insightful, it is also one-sided. A goal for social work
theory is to combine into a balanced theoretical perspective both aspects of the empirical
world with relevant intervention strategies based upon such a synthesis.

Most generally, then, the structural functionalist variant of systems theory would seem to have
great relevance for the development of a social work model in the form of focusing upon the
contextual "system" in which the social phenomena under consideration occur. This attempt to
focus on the contemporaneous interrelatedness of phenomena bears quite obvious connection
to Kurt Lewin's "field theory." In his terms, field theory analysis proceeds not by picking out one
or another isolated element within a situation, the importance of which cannot be judged
without consideration of the situation as a whole, but rather by starting with a characterization
of the situation as a whole.

CONCLUSION

When we look at society from the Structural-Functionalist lens, the whole structure of society is
interconnected and accountable for maintaining equilibrium and steadiness in society. Any
form of rapid deviation or change may cause disruption in its functioning. Structural
Functionalism as an explicative theory has been developed and redefined by various scholars.
For Durkheim, this perspective is significant for understanding social differentiation, social
order, and the social evolution of society. Whereas, Parson’s ideas on structure and system are
based on the four functional imperatives required in every social setting. However, in the
contemporary social world, the ideas of structural functionalism are considered insignificant
primarily because it neglects the importance of social change which is a key feature of modern
society.

KEY TERMS

Structure – a system of status, roles or positions, which are usually arranged in a hierarchical
manner.
Function – A complex of activities directed towards meeting a need or needs of the system.
Structural strain – disturbances caused by rapid social change, which often cause social
problems.
Social institutions – refer to complex social forms that reproduce themselves, such as
government, family, languages, universities, hospitals, etc

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Intraditional Difference, Interdependencies and Contradictions, 2018.
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Barnard, Alan. History and Theory in Anthropology, University of Edinburgh, 2021.

Gangwar, Sakshi. Structural Functionalism: Definition, Theories and Criticism, 2022.

https://www.sociologygroup.com/structural-functionalism-meaning-theories/?
fbclid=IwAR1CghZZPCIFSgsnlk9eQynHGBnQ29yuXbffvcdgBojqhvm-9O5QEJEncfE

Hudson, Joe. Structural Functional Theory, Social Work Practice and Education, Article 4,
Volume 5, The Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare, 1978.

Lotus Arise. Fundamentals of Sociology, 2022.

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http://www.grahamscambler.com/sociological-theorists-talcott-parsons/

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https://anthropology.ua.edu/anthropological-theories/