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4. SOCIOLOGICAL THINKERS
e. ROBERT KING MERTON (1910-2003)
Although both Merton and Parsons are associated with
Structural functionalism, there are important differences
between them.

Talcott Parsons Robert Merton

While Parsons advocated the
creation of Grand, overarching
theories which could explain
each and every aspect of reality,
Parsons had never Read Marx (at
least, that’s what he claimed).
Parsons focused on Manifest
functions only.
Traditional Functionalists had
generally restricted themselves
to the analysis of the society as a
whole.
Merton favored more limited, middle range theories
(explained in the next section).
Merton had not only read Marx, but he was more
favorable toward Marxian theories. That’s why
Merton, unlike Parsons, talked about dysfunctions as
well. In fact, Merton can be seen as having pushed
structural functionalism more to the left politically.
Unlike Parsons who focused on Manifest functions
only, Merton was more interested in uncovering latent
functions of social activities and institutions.
But Merton made it clear that there must be levels of
functional analysis. It means analysis could also be
done on an organization, institutions, or a group. For
example, rather than seeing whether poverty is
functional for the society as a whole, we should ask
about functions and dysfunctions of poverty for political
elites, corporates, poor families, traditional Dalit
families, rich families etc.

Also, he believed that any object that represents a

Parsons has a universal and
general approach to theory in
Sociology. His conceptual
schemes are free from the
limitations of time and space.
standardized item, can be subject to structural
functional analysis. E.g. Social roles, institutional
patterns, social processes, norms, social structure,
devices for social control.
Merton, on the other hand, takes a more modest view
of sociological theory. Functionalism dealt by Merton
is located in time and space. It deals with empirical
reality
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Since 1980s, the popularity of Functionalism has waned as its limitations have become apparent.
Though it is not true of Merton, many functionalist thinkers focused on stability and social order,
minimizing social divisions based on class, race, caste, and gender.
RK Merton criticized three basic postulates of functional analysis as developed by
anthropologists such as Malinowski and Radcliffe Brown

Postulates of Functional analysis Merton’s critique

Functional Unity: All parts of society as seen
to work together for the maintenance of
society as a whole as well as for individuals in
society
Merton argued this may be true for simple
level societies but not particularly true for
complex societies where pluralism of religion
and political parties based on different
ideologies, multiple identities like caste and
religion may even divide/disintegrate the
society.

Functional unity is a matter of degree. Its

Functional Indispensability: certain
institutions are indispensable to society and
no other structures and functions could work
quite as well as those currently found in
society. Here Merton has drawn the idea of
structural differentiation from Parsons.
Functional Universality: Functional
universality states that every social and
cultural forms and structures have positive
functions
extent must be determined by investigation
rather than simply beginning with the
assumption.
Merton’s criticism was that we must be willing
to admit that there are various structural and
functional alternatives to be found within
society. In modern societies where women too
work outside the home, some functions of the
family such as, childcare can be performed by
other institutions like creches, daycare
centres, and so on. Parsons assumes that
primary socialization is best performed by the
nuclear family, but one-parent families or
multi-generational families may do this just
as well.
not every structure, custom, idea, and
belief and so forth has positive functions.
For example, Cricket match against Pakistan
may arouse our patriotic feeling and enhance
our patriotism, but at the same time, it is
dysfunctional for other games like football or
hockey, which are relatively neglected by the
media.

In Conclusion, Merton’s position was that all these functional postulates (1,2, and 3) rely on
non-empirical assertions based on abstract and theoretical systems. They are matters for
investigation and should not form prior assumptions.
• At a minimum, it is the responsibility of the sociologist to examine each empirically.
• Merton’s belief that empirical tests, not theoretical assertions, are crucial to functional
analysis led him to develop his ‘paradigm’ of functional analysis as a guide to the
integration of theory and research.
• Merton claims that his framework for functionalist analysis removes the charge that
functionalism is ideologically based.
• He argues that the parts of society should be analyzed in terms of their ‘effects’ or
‘consequences’ on society. Since these effects can be functional, dysfunctional or non-
functional, Merton claims that the value judgement present in the assumption that all
parts of the system are functional is therefore removed.
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• To help answer the question whether positive functions outweigh dysfunctions, or vice
versa, Merton developed the concept of net balance.
• To have net balance possible, Merton added the idea there must be levels of functional
analysis. Functionalists had restricted themselves to the analysis of the society as a
whole, but Merton made it clear that analysis could be done on an organization,
institution, or group.

Self Fulfilling Prophecy:

WI Thomas (Thomas theorem) once said: when you define something as real, it is real in
its consequences. E.g. If a teacher labels a student as bright and hardworking, that student
develops an intellectual/studious self-concept and tries to live up to the high expectation of the
teacher. In this attempt he/she gets high grades, and if a student is labeled as failure, he will
remain failure because he was never encouraged to perform well. This is Pygmalion effect (Self
Fulfilling Prophecy). This is how inequality is reproduced in education system. Studies show
what teachers believe, pupil achieve. Labeling is often done on the basis of preconceived notions
like Class, gender, sexuality, caste, race etc. E.g. If
someone is white, he may be labeled as
intellectually superior to the black by the teacher.

This led Merton to develop a concept called as Self-

Fulfilling prophecy. It is a prediction that
directly/indirectly causes itself to be true. e.g. Bank
run, stock market fluctuations, and Placebo effect.
Similarly, According to Stanley Cohen, media
attention may create a ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’ by
exaggerating the behavior it reports, which may
create ‘Moral Panics’ in society. E.g. Media’s
exaggeration of a local incident between Hindu
Muslim groups may lead to a larger moral panic in
society, namely Communalism. 9/11 attacks in
New York, sparked moral panics about ‘terrorism’
leading to widespread Islamophobia.

Self-negating prophecy is the exact opposite of self-fulfilling prophecy.

Today, the idea of a self-fulfilling prophecy is commonly used by sociologists as an analytic lens
through which to study student performance, deviant or criminal behavior, and the impact of
racial stereotypes on targeted groups.

Both Merton's definition of self-fulfilling prophecy and the Thomas theorem reflect the fact that
beliefs act as social forces. They have, even when false, the power to shape our behavior in very
real ways.

MATTHEW EFFECT: Comparative advantage: It is sometimes summarized by the adage "the

rich get richer and the poor get poorer". Rich gets richer due to comparative advantage that he
has over poor. The concept is applicable to matters of fame or status, but may also be applied
literally to cumulative advantage of economic capital. E.g. Kapoor family actors are popular
because they have comparative advantage that they belong to Kapoor family. A discovery is
credited to a professor even though it may have been discovered by his students. This is because
that professor has comparative advantage (is known and having degrees). Matthew effect also
explains reproduction of inequalities through education.
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MIDDLE RANGE THEORY

Theory offers a guideline to conduct research. In sociology multiple theories are developed.
Merton was opposed to both strict empiricism (sole attention to collection of data without any
attention to a theory) and abstract theorizing of scholars (like Parsons and Marx) who attempted
to construct a total theoretical system (Grand theories) covering all aspects of social life. He
wanted to study basic social problems in society like drug addiction, alcoholism, racism,
unintended consequences of purposive action, relative deprivation, gang formation, role-conflict,
and marginal man.

The ‘middle range theory’ establishes a balance between strict empiricism and abstract
theorization. It shares some views with postmodernism, especially in its preference for mini
narratives over sweeping statements or grand theories made by classical social theorists- a period
dominated by what Merton calls as “total sociological systems” which provided an overarching
comprehensive explanation of society as a whole.

Steps in MRT
It starts with an empirical phenomenon (as opposed to a broad abstract entity like the social
system), collects data on it, and finally develops theory which can be verified by data.
There are 3 kinds of theories

• Case theory (low-range theory): specific to individual cases. It explains behavior of a

client or an individual.
E.g. why do I fall asleep? Why did he commit crime? Why X consume drug? To explain
these questions, grand theories like Marxism, Feminism, and functionalism are irrelevant
and case theories are developed.
• Middle range theory: explains set of behavior among a set of population. E.g. it explains
why unemployed males demonstrate domestic violence or why do girls achieve higher
education qualification than boys or how can poverty lead to crime.
These theories are testable, concrete, and avoid sweeping generalizations. E.g. In
a Reference Group theory, researcher collects data, draws a hypothesis from that data,
and form a theory around this data. RGT is formulated after collecting data. This data is
closely observed. A hypothesis Is developed around this data which helps to build a
theory. This is testable by applying the same to a different set of population.
• Grand theory (Upper range theory): Focuses on why society is ordered the way it is.
How society functions and who benefits from the functioning? How society has
malfunctioned? These are answered by Functionalists and Marxists. It also explains
causes and cures for malfunctioning of society and the explanation is then generalized
across population. E.g. Marx’s Historical materialism, Parson’s Structural functionalism,
Freud’s Psychosexual development, Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, Durkheim’s
Anomie, Suicide and Weber’s Bureaucracy and Rationalization of society. All these are
non-testable, abstract, and not specific to a setting.

In Conclusion, Merton argued that true theory is one which integrates facts and hypothesis and
is developed on facts alone. Observe problem, generate theoretical hypothesis about the problem,
verify the theory by testing it against the data. Karl Marx never verified his data, hence it is not
a middle range theory.

CONFORMITY AND DEVIANCE

• Biological theory of deviance: established correspondence between physiological traits
like hairstyle, forehead, size and shape of their tooth, types of nose and ears, and criminal
behavior. E.g. Cesare Lombroso in his book ‘Born Criminal’ describes some biological
traits unique to criminals.
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• Psychological theory of Deviance : Deviance is the result of a) Failures in psychological

development b)Inherent personality traits c) Mental illness
• Sociological theories: focus on social and physical environmental factors in their study
of criminal behavior. Chicago school developed the following theories:
o Social Disorganization theory: focuses on conditions in the environment:
▪ Deviant behavior is more likely in communities with deteriorated
neighborhood & inadequate social control.
▪ where social institutions like Family, schools, and justice system fail to
exert control over population.
o Subculture theory: the ultimate outcome of social disorganization and cultural
deviance is the development of an independent, typically lower-class culture.
o Differential association theory (Edwin Sutherland): Deviance is less a
personal choice and more a result of differential socialization process.
Criminal behavior is learned (not inherited) in the interaction process and
therefore, it is a result of exposure to deviant acts. Learning process for crime is
no different from the learning process for any other behavior. E.g. If an individual
has friends who are highly sexually active, he may view sexual activity as
acceptable and normal.
o Interactionist theory of Deviance: Howard S. Becker deviance is a matter of
interpretation. People react differently to the same act depending on the social
context and this influences the label that is placed on the act. What is deviance
in one context, may not be deviance in another context. For example, drinking
alcohol in a party is conformist behavior, but drinking alcohol in the middle of the
road is seen as deviant. Killing someone would be labeled as murder. However, in
a war, killing someone is normalized and may be labeled heroic. Also, there may
be no consensus over the application of the label because ‘one person’s terrorist
is another person’s freedom fighter’. Hence deviance is a phenomenon and not
something objective.

o Marxist theory of Deviance: Whole capitalism is based on exploitation of

Working class by the ruling class, leading to ever increasing poverty of
proletariats. Hence the class who could not afford basic necessities of life might
turn to crime to provide what their employers do not. Values of capitalism are,
potentially, criminogenic: to get as much money and wealth as possible,
irrespective of how that might harm other people. Marxists further question: who
the real criminals are? Employers paying poor wages or the workers trying to feed
his or her family?

o Structural Functional theory of Deviance: Durkheim believed there is nothing

abnormal about deviance. In fact, it performs three functions: a) responding to
deviance brings people together b) clarifies moral boundaries c) encourage social
change

Merton’s Deviance Typology (Strain theory)

After reviewing all the theories on deviance, Merton believed that society is set up in way
that encourage too much deviance. Strain Theory was first developed by Robert Merton in the
1940s to explain the rising crime rates experienced in the USA at that time
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Merton argued that the cultural system of the

USA was built on the ‘American Dream:
(material prosperity) which encouraged
individuals to pursue a goal of success -largely
measured in terms of the acquisition of wealth
and material possessions. People were
expected to pursue this goal through
legitimate means such as education and work.
The dominant cultural message was if you are
ambitious, talented and work hard, then
income and wealth should be your rewards.
However, not everyone could achieve these
goals through legitimate means due to certain
structural constraints like class, race, sex, and
caste etc.

Merton observed that the means to achieve the goals were not fairly distributed, and explained
it as: disjunction between socially defined goals and ability to attain them, results into
deviance. This is STRAIN THEORY. Such a strain faced by individuals may lead to breakdown
of norms. Merton divides people into five categories according to their response to the strain
experienced by them due to the pressure of conforming to the culturally defined goals.
• Conformists: pursing cultural goals through socially approved means.Those who try to
attain culturally defined goals like IITian, IAS through the accepted routes of education
and resources, talent, hard work, drive, and determination.
• Ritualists: They would respect recognized means of achieving success, but wouldn’t
attempt to climb the corporate ladder to success. E.g. Bureaucratic personality (someone
who always adheres to these rules regardless of the situation
• Innovators (often seen as criminals): using socially unapproved or unconventional means
to obtain culturally approved goals. Example: dealing drugs or stealing to achieve
financial security. E.g. AL Capone was example who became rich through organized
crime. He rejected culturally acceptable means of making money, but still shared the
widely accepted cultural value in the U.S. of making money. LGBTs in India do sex work
and begging.
• Retreatists: reject both the cultural goals and the means to obtain it, then find a way to
escape it. They are the drop outs of society who have resigned to their failure. E.g. Hippies,
drug addicts, drunkards, vagabonds, and psychotics.
• Rebels : similar to retreatists but create alternative goals and means of achieving them
and seek to advance a counterculture. This group includes terrorists and revolutionaries
who can effect social change.
Innovation and Ritualism are pure cases of Anomie because there is discontinuity
between means and goals.

Summary and Analysis

• It can be seen that change can occur internally in society through either innovation or
rebellion. Overall, the deviance theory of Merton is a rejection of Parsons belief that
individuals are always conformists and mechanisms are put in to make them one.
• Merton developed his theory from a well-established observation from official statistics –
that a higher proportion of acquisitive crime is committed by those from unskilled manual
backgrounds (or ‘lower social classes’).
• In particular, it suggests a deeply felt relative deprivation among ‘lower working
class’ groups, which explains their over-representation in the prison population.
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Thus, it is not so much the individual’s flaws that lead them to crime, but rather ‘anomie’ in
society – the combination of the pressure to be materially successful and the lack of legitimate
opportunity structure to achieve that success.
Criticism
• Not all working class individuals turn to crime, and so we need something else to explain
why some of them do and some of them do not. What makes the majority law-abiding
most of the time? Are there sociological explanations for some people choosing to
innovate while others retreat? Although Merton does not provide us with answers to
those questions, Sub-cultural theorists argued that deviant subcultures provide
rewards for individuals who commit crime.
• Cohen: argues that working class subcultures emerge because they are denied status
in society. This leads to status frustration. Several boys going through the same
experiences, end up banding together and forming delinquent subcultures by offering
positive rewards (status) to those who are the most deviant. Status may be gained by
being malicious, intimidating others, breaking school rules or the law and generally
causing trouble. Strain theory only really explains economic crime, it doesn’t really
explain violent crime and crime for fun(vandalism).
• Cloward & Ohlin: combined Merton + Cohen. Echoing Merton, they believed that there
was a "legitimate opportunity structure" (what Merton had meant by the socially-
acceptable means to achieving social goals), but they also identified an alternative
"illegitimate opportunity structure" which was available through gang membership.
Because someone is unable to become wealthy through working hard and gaining
qualifications does not mean that they will easily find a criminal path to wealth and
success. There could also be a strain even in relation to illegitimate opportunity
structures.
Explanation
Criminal Subculture Organised crime (e.g. the mafia). Young are exposed to criminal
skills and role models. Those who perform have the opportunity
to rise in the professional criminal hierarchy.
Conflict subculture When gangs are engaged in turf war over territory.
Retreatist subculture There are few who fail both in legitimate and illegitimate
opportunity structures.

• Merton’s reliance on official statistics means he over-estimates the extent of working class
crime and underestimates the extent of middle class, or white collar crime.
• Laurie Taylor : criticized Merton for not carrying his analysis fair enough: for failing to
consider who decides on the laws and the cultural goals and who benefits from them. In
Taylor’s analogy, the whole game may have been rigged by the powerful with rules that
guarantee their success : the laws of society. Everyone is socialized into believing the best
way to achieve that goal is to work extra hard for their bosses. This is not a value
consensus ensuring social solidarity, of the sort that functionalists describe, but rather
capitalist ideology or hegemony, serving the interests of the bourgeoisie at the expense of
the proletariat.
• Different goals: Critics argue that it wrongly assumes that a single system of cultural
goals is shared by the entire society. The goals may be different for different people.
Everyone does not necessarily aim for the same goals.
• Strain theory fails to explain white collar crime, the perpetrators of which have many
opportunities to achieve through legal and legitimate means. However, It is possible to
apply Merton’s theory of anomie to explain White Collar Crime – white collar criminals
(those who commit fraud at work, for example) might be those who are committed to
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achieving material success, but have had their opportunities for promotion blocked by
lack of opportunities – possible through class, caste, age, regionalism, gender or ethnic
bias, or possible just by the simple fact that the higher up the career ladder you go, the
more competition for promotion there is.

Also, there is a difference between a Non-conformist and a deviant.

• The non-conformist challenge the legitimacy of the norms and reject them. But the
criminal (deviant) does not have the courage to reject their legitimacy. He does not agree
that theft is right and murder virtuous, he or she simply finds it easy and expedient to
violate the norms and evade them.
• The non-conformist believe that they are gifted with a ‘higher morality’ and want to alter
the norms of the group accordingly. The criminal does not have, however, any such vision
of morality.

Difference between Durkheim’s Anomie and Merton’s Anomie

MERTON DURKHEIM
Anomie at individual level Anomie at societal level
Strain/Anomie= due to presence Anomie= absence of norms.
of norms. For Merton people for Durkheim, absence of norms leads to increased crime
commit crime as a response to rate, and for Merton culture of society(norms) itself leads to
the prevalent norms. deviancy

Anomie is ever present in Anomie is a temporary stage, occurring when there is

society as some degree of
structural strain is always
there.
Merton argued that deviance
resulted from the culture and
structure of society itself.
a transition from one set of values to another and
there is lack of value consensus during this transition.
For Durkheim, deviance is universal, normal, and
functional. Crime is present in all types of society; indeed,
crime rate is higher in more advanced, industrialized
countries. It becomes abnormal only when crime rates
increase. However, he believed that excessively high rates
of crime reflected a breakdown in the collective sentiments
that bound people together

REFERENCE GROUP THEORY

You may read Harold Kelley, Muzafer Sherif, Stouffer and many other scholars on Reference
Group theory. But all of them are irrelevant and may kindly be ignored for your preparation. We
will directly start with what Merton has to speak on Reference Group theory.

Reference Group’s definition: A Reference group is one to which a person always refers to in
order to evaluate his achievements, his role performance, and ambitions.

Reference group is of 2 kinds:

• Positive Reference Group: a group which one likes takes seriously to shape one’s
behavior and evaluate one’s achievements & performance.
• Negative Reference Group: a group which one dislikes, rejects and which, instead of
providing norms to follow, provokes one to create counter-norms.

For example, imagine reaction of colonized to the colonial masters. Some native got hypnotised
by the success story of colonisers, they followed their lifestyle, spoke their language, emulated
their food habits. In other words, colonisers, acted like positive reference group to some. On the
other hand, colonisers were also negative reference group to many who hated the colonisers for
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their exploitation, arrogance, and brutality. Instead of emulating their norms, they create
counter-norms in order to separate themselves from the colonisers.

In relation to a Reference group, one feels Relative deprivation which is addressed through
Anticipatory socialization and the process continues.

Relative Deprivation: perceived lack of resources required to maintain the quality of life/
survival in the society; such as money, rights, food, political voice or status.

Anticipatory Socialization
Anticipatory Socialization is a process through which one prepares oneself for a group that
individual aspires to be a part of. It is like adopting the values, life-styles of a non-membership
reference groups.

Determinants of Reference Group:

• Reference Individual: Individuals do not select only reference groups, sometimes they
select reference individuals also. E.g. Sachin (not cricketers). RI described as role model.
Biographers, editors of ‘fan magazines’ and ‘gossip columnists’ encourage people to
choose their reference individuals. This is why editors don’t write just their professional
life, they tend to write their private life affairs and gossips as well. When one is chosen as
reference individual, one tends to accept everything he or she does.

• Selection of reference group among Membership groups: An individual may belong to

numerous groups: caste group, family, political group, religious organization. The
question is does the individual take all the groups seriously to shape his behavior or
evaluate his performance? Not all membership groups are equally important, only some
are chosen by him. Groups differ from one another on the basis of following parameters:
• Expected duration of the group
• Open or closed character
• Degree of social differentiation
• Degree of expected conformity to the norms of group
Individual may choose a group for different reasons. For example, in making big decision
of one’s life like Marriage, family is likely to serve as RG over College friends. It means
that a Brahmin boy, despite being a student of a modern institution, may prefer to marry
a Brahmin girl!

• Variation in Reference Groups for Differing Values and Norms Why do you choose a
reference group? There may be many reasons. For instance, you choose the Gandhians
as your reference group because you feel that the Gandhians are a dedicated lot and you
accept their politicoeconomic ideals. But that does not mean that you give your consent
to everything that the Gandhians do. You may not agree with their ‘conservative’ attitude
towards life - brahmacharya, vegetarianism etc. Regarding your life-style, food habit or
sexual morals, you may take the liberals as your reference group.

Merton & Kitt: Anticipatory socialization can be used to explain

• Social mobility
• Tension within one’s own group
• Rise of marginal man
• Role conflict and strain
• resolution of role conflict.

Anticipatory socialization is functional for the individual only within a relatively open social
structure providing for mobility, and will be dysfunctional for the individual in a relatively
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closed social structure, where lie would not find acceptance by the group to which he
aspires and would probably lose acceptance. E.g. If the system is closed, a lower class boy
would never get admission in Mayo college of Ajmer or Stephen’s college of Delhi. And secondly,
because of anticipatory socialization, imitation of the values of a non-membership group, he
would be disliked by the members of his own group. He would be reduced into a ‘marginal man’.
Hence Anticipatory socialization is beneficial only within an open system, and dysfunctional in
a relatively closed social structure.

Also, in a closed system, individual is unlikely to choose a non-membership group as a reference

group, and hence would feel less deprived. But in an open system in which individual always
compares his lot with relatively better off and privileged non-membership reference groups, he
remains perpetually unhappy and deprived. Quite often, an individual is torn between the
demands of a membership group to which he belongs but with which he does not identify and
the motivational dictates of a reference group of which he is not a member. Social psychologists
have termed this position as marginality.

Being a marginal man, he is subjected to role conflict within his group and relative deprivation
with respect to ref group.

Criticism:
DP Saxena: The concept of "preference group" may be applicable in both types of social structure,
that is, open and relatively closed. The concept may also be utilized in role taking by the
individual in the process of socialization. Such a concept degrades neither the group nor the
individual, but recognizes the importance of both ; hence, it is synthesizing in its spirit.

ROLE SET & STATUS SET (Structural elements of

Reference Group)
Status set : A status set is a collection of
social statuses that an individual holds. A
person may have status of a daughter,
wife, mother, student, worker, church
member and a citizen. Some of them are
ascribed status and some are achieved
ones.

The fact that one occupies not a single

status, but a status-set makes one’s task
difficult. It is not always possible to
reconcile the demands of all the statuses
one is occupying. For instance, a politician,
because of his commitment to a larger
public cause may not do Justice to his
other statuses, the status of a husband or
the status of a father. Therefore, if for
instance, the politicians become your reference group, then you must know of the conflict
inherent in the status-set of a politician and the possible ways by which such conflict could be
resolved.

Role set: set of expectations conforming to the status the individual has. E.g., As a wife, you
have certain roles (domestic and marital), as a professor, you have certain other roles (teaching,
administrator, and colleague).
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Role strain: When you are experiencing strain on your role due to higher expectation or
increasing responsibility, it is role strain. E.g. Multiple exams and study material.

Role conflict: If you are both a student and

employed, and your supervisor at work insists
that you work till late, this could interfere with
your ability to study for an exam that day.
Hence your role as a student and your role as
an employee are in conflict with each other.

In conclusion, RGT has been used in

sociological research to study social mobility in
different contexts. This theory liberates
sociology from the bondage of determinism,
and indicates that social reality is the making
of people and to study this reality one should
establish link between theory and facts.

The concept of Reference Group Behaviour has been criticized on the following grounds:
• This theory does not propound any new fact.
• It only explains the behaviour but does not suggest any means to control it.
• It only explains how an individual is influenced by a Reference Group, but it does not
explain how the Reference Group is influenced by his entry into the group.

However, the importance of this theory lies in the fact that it tells us about group behaviour of
society and informs us of the direction an individual’s behaviour may take in a particular social
environment. It can also help to explain the psychological strains and stresses in the modern
industrialized and complex society.

MANIFEST AND LATENT

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 Manifest function of rain dance
among Hopi tribe is to cause rain, but the latent function is social solidarity through ritual
participation.

• Adam Smith: Invisible hand is the unintended collective consequence of individual micro
actions. E.g. Self-interested individuals under capitalism to make profit unintentionally
create opportunities of employment and quality of living to the society.
• Durkheim: manifest role of religion would be faith in rituals and ceremonies, and latent
role is social solidarity.
• Weber: Manifest role of Religion would be to give values like work hard and do not sit
idle, and the latent role would be development of capitalism. Remember! Weber himself
agreed that Capitalism is the unintended consequence of Religion.
• Herbert Gans: Manifest function of poverty = lower life chances. Latent function=cheap
labor and vote bank etc.

Merton officially introduced the concepts of Manifest and Latent functions.

• Manifest functions are those that are intended, whereas Latent functions are
unintended. The task of sociology, for Merton, is to uncover the latent analysis. Peter
Berger calls this debunking (to look beyond stated facts).
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Unanticipated consequences:
Merton made it clear that unanticipated consequences and latent functions are not the same.
Type of Unanticipated consequence:
• Latent function is one type of unanticipated consequence, one that is functional for the
designated system.
• Latent Dysfunction: consequences which are dysfunctional for the designated system. •
Non-functional consequences: those which are neither functional nor dysfunctional for
the system.

Social phenomenon Manifest Function Latent function Dysfunction

Examination tests your knowledge Convinces us that Suicide.
and enable you to there are few good Hypercompetitiveness.
work hard students and many Rote learning.
bad ones. Irrationality of
rationality.
Produces personality
cult among toppers.

Legitimises inequality

Hides unemployment
Higher Education Provide employment Immigration, income
and skills to get jobs inequality

Examples of Manifest and Latent

• The examinations tend to convince you that there are ‘good’ students and ‘not so good’
students; not everyone is equal. In other words, these examinations, in the ultimate
analysis, induce you to accept that even in a democracy some kind of hierarchy is
unavoidable.
• This acceptance reduces the possibility of conflict. Society retains its order, unity, and
cohesiveness, despite its inherent inequality or hierarchy. This is the latent function of
the examination system, the deeper meaning of which you may not always be aware of.
• Crime seems difficult to explain from the functionalist perspective; it seems to play little
role in maintaining social stability. Crime, however, may have the latent function of
providing examples that demonstrate the boundaries of acceptable behavior and the
function of these boundaries to maintain social norms.
Merton says that the concept of function involves the standpoint of the observer, not necessarily
that of the participant. In other words, social function refers to observable objective
consequences, not subjective dispositions. The objective function of marriage or family is not
love but the stabilization and continuation of society

Criticism of Manifest and Latent Functional analysis

• Colin Campbell argues Merton is vague about these terms and uses them in various
ways (for example, as intended versus actual consequences and as surface versus
underlying realities).

DIY: Try to figure out the Manifest and Latent function of Corruption, Bureaucratic fixed
tenure, Green Revolution and Reservation.