Merton

• Latent and manifest functions,

• Conformity and deviance,
• Reference groups
Merton
• Functionalism emerged as the most dominant sociological theory,
especially in the USA, in the 1950s and 1960s. Parsons led the way
and extended the life of functionalism.

• Merton started with the project called "The Negro in the Philadelphia
Press". It was his introduction to empirical social research in the form
of content analysis
Merton
• He had a serendipitous encounter with Sorokin and a teacher like
Parsons. His notable publications were:

Social Theory and Social Structure

The Sociology of Science
Sociological Ambivalence
On the Shoulders of Giants
A Shandea Postscript
Merton
• He also developed some of the concepts like self fulfilling prophecy,
role model, deviant behavior, focus group to name a few. He also gave
theories like:
The middle range theory
Latent and manifest function
Deviance typology
Merton
• Functionalism came as an alternative to Marxian Theory. Marxian
Theory was criticized as an ‘economic deterministic approach.

• When Marxian theory talks about the inevitability of conflict,

functionalism glorifies functional integration; thus old determinism is
replaced by new determinism.
Merton
• Merton makes an attempt to liberate sociology from the bondage of
this determinism.

• He brings in newness into sociological imagination and evolved a

realistic sociology that was absolutely missing out both in the writings
of Talcott Parsons and Karl Marx.
Merton
• To Parsons, every change is a continuous process which is not
arbitrary, where each part affects the other. It is a deliberate change
affecting social life and which is harmonic in nature.

• Merton looks at society differently from the standpoint of Parsons. To

him Parsons is over committed to the question of integration;
something which cannot be guaranteed in social life.
Merton
• Merton talks of why functional theories of Radcliffe-Brown and
Malinowski (formulated for tribal societies) could not be applied to
contemporary societies.

• For example, religion, which is universally integrative in simpler tribal

societies, may cause disharmony in modern society
Merton- Critique of assumptions of
functionalism
• He criticized the three postulates of functionalism

Functional unity
Functional indispensability
Functional universality
Functional unity
• Durkheim, Spencer and R Brown emphasized on functional unity.

Merton argued that today’s world is complex and it is not necessary

that whatever exists provides the function of unity.
Investigator has to study ‘dysfunction’ of a particular ‘social item’ as
well. This idea was new in functionalist approach
Functional unity
• He gave example of religious diversity. In a society of variety of faiths,
religion may divide rather than uniting.

• Merton argued that functional unity is a matter of degree which

should be determined through investigation, rather than assumption.
Functional unity
• The idea of functional unity implies that a change in one part will
result in change in other part. Again it is a matter of investigation than
assumption.

• To him, in a highly differentiated societies, institutions may have high

degree of autonomy. The change in an institutions may not impact
much.
Functional universality
• Earlier functionalists believed that social and cultural forms are
universally functional and fulfill some positive function.

• Merton argued that the context in which the ‘social item’ is studied,
actually matters.
Functional universality
• The item may be functional in one context and dysfunctional in other
context. He also distinguished between latent and manifest functions.

• To Merton, every aspects of society performs positive function-- is

premature and incorrect statement.
Functional universality
• For example, poverty may be dysfunctional for the poor but
functional for donor agencies.

• Merton suggested a net balance of functional consequences is

maintained either through coercion or persuasion.
Functional indispensability
• Functionalists had argued that there are some social institutions
which are have indispensable function in the society.

To Merton ‘social items’ are not indispensable and there may be
‘functional alternatives’.
Functional indispensability
• To him, there is no justification for holding religion, stratification, etc.
as functionally indispensable.

• To replace indispensability, Merton talked of functional equivalence or

alternative. For example, communism can provide an alternative to
religion.
Merton
• Merton’s position was that all these functional postulates rely on non-
empirical assertions based on abstract, theoretical systems.

• He believed that empirical tests, and not theoretical assertions, are

crucial to functional analysis. He through his framework, removed the
charge that functionalism is ideologically based.
Merton
• To this end, he developed his own ‘functional paradigm’ of functional
analysis as a guide to the integration of theory and research.

• His addition of concepts of ‘non-functions’, ‘dysfunctions’ and

‘manifest and latent functions’ define his new paradigm.
Manifest function (MF) and
Latent function (LF)
MF & LF
• To Merton, the word `Function’ has been too often used in sociology
which affected clarity of analysis. For example, it can mean a social
event, occupation, role, mathematical function, etc.

• He criticized some of the aspects of structural functionalism and tried

to add new dimensions to functional analysis.
MF & LF
• According to him, a social item like slavery may be functional in one
situation or for one group and dysfunctional in other.

• To cope up with such issues, he suggested there should be multiple

level of analysis while dealing with social items.
MF & LF
• Earlier functionalists looked only at the manifest functions, but
ignored the possible unintended functions.

• Difference between Manifest and Latent function can also be seen as

difference between ‘Conscious Intention’ and ‘Actual Outcome’.
MF & LF
• Thus, his approach combined ‘Psychological’ and ‘Socio-cultural’
aspect respectively.

• For example, one may do things which are aimed at some goal but
end up achieving something else.
MF & LF
• For a sociologist studying the intended consequences are easy. But
the challenge is more in identifying those which are unintended and
where mostly the actors are unaware of.

• Merton gives the example of the ‘Hopi Indians’. These people, in

times of drought, gathered to perform a ritual dance. The intention
was that it magically caused rain (manifest/ intended function).
MF & LF
• Whether the ritual brings rain or not, it does promote a general
feeling of solidarity (latent function).

• The distinction between MF & LF makes a sociologist a critical analyst.

Once he is aware of the notion of latent functions, he would not
discard something as irrational; if it has no manifest function to him.
MF & LF- purpose of distinction
• To Merton, what appears irrational becomes meaningful. For
example, rain dance. This irrational link between dance and rain
invented the other function of solidarity.

• A critical look into some phenomenon brings out a new horizon of

enquiry. For example, a critical look into school education reveal that
school is a status symbol.
MF & LF- purpose of distinction
• With a distinction of MF & LF, the realm of sociological knowledge
expands. For example, a close look into the narrative of `nation first’
shows that it can be a technique of polarization.

• Such distinction help in challenging the established morals. For

example, depiction of women as Durga is nothing but a patriarchal
mindset.
Dysfunction
• It is important to note that ‘one social fact can have negative
consequences for another social fact’

• To rectify this serious omission in early structural functionalism,

Merton developed the idea of a Dysfunction.
Dysfunction
• For example, slavery in the Southern USA has positive consequences
for the Whites (cheap labor, support for the cotton economy and
social status, etc.).

• But it also had negative consequences in the sense that the Whites
were too dependent on an agrarian economy and therefore
unprepared for industrialization.
MF & LF Conclusion
• These distinctions between ‘Manifest and Latent Functions’ and
‘Function and Dysfunction’ developed by Merton have made
Functional Analysis of Social Change and Cultural patterns both
scientific and meaningful.
Example of university
• Students go to the university to obtain academic degrees. They pass
out of the university with the degrees and subsequently enter the job
market.

• Here the function of university is to supply manpower to the

working/service industry.
Example of university
• But what people generally forget about is that university is also a
place for political socialization- students contest elections, participate
in campaigns.

• In return these help the students to grow up in the national political

system.
Example of university
• Hence one must observe such implicit functional role of the
educational system.

• Also one will find a series of dysfunctional roles of university that

includes when students are not going for their own choice based
courses.
Example of university
• They are carried away by the compulsion of market. Their interest in a
particular stream of knowledge is lost. Education becomes a
pathological experience for the child.

• This could result in disillusionment among children and their dropping

out from the education system.
Conformity and deviance
or
Merton’s strain theory
Strain theory
• Strain Theory was first developed by Robert Merton in the 1940s to
explain the rising crime rates experienced in the USA at that time.

• It argues that crime occurs when there aren’t enough legitimate

opportunities for people to achieve the normal success goals of a
society.
Strain theory
• In such a situation there is a ‘strain’ between the goals and the means
to achieve those goals, and some people turn to crime in order to
achieve success.

• Merton argued that the cultural system of the USA was built on the
‘American Dream’ – a set of meritocratic principles.
Strain theory
• These principles assured the American public that equality of
opportunity was available to all, regardless of class, gender or
ethnicity.

• The ‘American Dream’ encouraged individuals to pursue a goal of

success which was largely measured in terms of the acquisition of
wealth and material possessions.
Strain theory
• 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.
Strain theory
• Merton pointed out that these goals were not attainable by all as the
social structure (inequality, ethnicity, gender, etc.) does not allow
equal access.

• It was difficult, if not impossible, for some to compete and achieve

financial success.
Strain theory
• Merton developed the concept of ‘anomie’ to describe this imbalance
between cultural goals and institutionalized means.

• Mertonian structural analysis is best reflected in his work ‘Anomie’. It

talks about the structural condition of dissociation between cultural
demands of success and means to attain it.
Strain theory
• He argued that such an imbalanced society produces anomie- a
tension between the goals and means which produce unsatisfied
aspirations.

• The net result of this anomie is ritualism, retreatism, rebellion, etc.

depending upon the wider structural context within which it appears.
Five Adaptations to Strain
• Merton argued that when individuals are faced with a gap between
their goals (usually finances/money related) and their current status,
strain occurs.

• When faced with strain, people have five ways to adapt:

Conformity: pursing cultural goals through socially approved means.
Five Adaptations to Strain
Innovation: using socially unapproved or unconventional means to
obtain culturally approved goals. Example: dealing drugs or stealing to
achieve financial security.
Ritualism: using the same socially approved means to achieve less
elusive goals (more modest and humble).
Five Adaptations to Strain
Retreatism: to reject both the cultural goals and the means to obtain
it, then find a way to escape it.
Rebellion: to reject the cultural goals and means, then work to
replace them.
Five Adaptations to Strain
Explanation
• Merton developed his theory from a well-established observation
from official statistics.

• He found that a higher proportion of acquisitive crime is committed

by those from unskilled manual backgrounds (lower social classes).
Explanation
• Merton argued that for those from lower social classes, this ‘American
dream’ had become an ideology.

• The legitimate opportunities are not available to all. And those who
failed to achieve success via legitimate means were condemned for
their apparent lack of effort.
Explanation
• This situation puts great pressure on people to achieve material
success by illegitimate means to avoid being branded as a failure.

• In short, Merton argued that America was a highly unequal and

divided society which promoted goals that only some of its
population could realistically hope to achieve. 
Explanation
• Thus, it is not so much the individual’s flaws that lead them to crime.

• Rather ‘anomie’ in society is because of the pressure to be materially

successful and the lack of legitimate opportunities to achieve that
success.
Example of crime
• Merton indicates that crime should not be treated as dysfunctional
phenomena. People generally adhere to culturally prescriptive means
to achieve goals.

• But in many cases they are not in a position to accomplish their goals.
There emerges a huge gap between commitment to culture and
accomplishment of goals.
Example of crime
• This dichotomy leads to the manifest function of criminality. Hence,
deviance is present in every society and it can be functional,
dysfunctional and nonfunctional.

• Therefore while looking at deviance as an act we should not be

jumping at the conclusion that deviance has positive roles to play or
negative roles to play. It needs to be studied in detail.
Example of social change in India
• Civil society movement against corruption in India can be addressed
by Merton’s sociology of deviance.

• There is a way of addressing corruption not by considering whether

corruption is bad or good; rather asking different questions.
Example of social change in India
Why corruption persists in society?
How it addresses the needs of people in different way?
What are the various dimensions of corruption?

• All these questions can best be explained by Merton’s theory of

deviance and social structure.
Criticism
• Not all working class individuals turn to crime. So we need something
else to explain why some of them do and some of them do not.

• Subcultural theorists argued that the role of working class subcultures

plugs this gap in the explanation. Deviant subcultures provide rewards
for individuals who commit crime.
Criticism
• Secondly, Merton’s reliance on official statistics means he over
estimates working class crime and underestimates middle class/ white
collar crime.

• Thirdly, Strain theory only really explains economic crime, it doesn’t

really explain violent crime.
Reference Group (RG)
Background
• RG as a concept first was developed by Herbert Hayman. Merton
added a functional dimension to it.

• This theory was primarily inspired from the Samuel Stouffer’s – ‘The
American Soldier’ which highlights the feeling of relative deprivation
of a soldier despite no apparent deprivation in terms of actual
hardship.
Background
• But to Merton, Stoufer’s work neglects the orientation towards the
non-membership group which is a distinct criteria for reference
group.

• RG is defined as a group to which one always makes comparison to in

order to evaluate one’s achievement, aspirations, role performance
and ambition. They act as normative standards for the individual.
Background
• Merton later on distinguished between ‘Reference Group’ and
‘Interaction Group’.

• Interaction groups are a more general part of the individual’s social

environment. It may not set ‘normative standards’ for individual or
secure as a standard of comparison.
Reference group
• On the other hand reference group is the aspirational group and is
defined in normative terms as a standard of comparison.

• It implies that relative deprivation is also akin to reference group

behavior.
Reference group
• RG can be positive and negative. Positive RGs are one that individual
wishes to join; negative are those which individual wishes to avoid.

• There are negative aspects of anticipatory socialization. A drug addict

often justifies her/his addiction by highlighting the ability of drugs to
generate experiences of transcendence, self confidence etc.
Reference group & anticipatory socialization
• He also gave the concept of ‘anticipatory socialization’ in which
individual starts to behave in a manner in which members of
aspirational reference group behave.

• Even though Gandhiji is dead many people consider Gandhian

philosophy as their point of reference. Young people don Gandhi
kurta, slippers and cap.
Reference group & anticipatory socialization
• This kind of behavior can be a manifestation of anticipatory form of
socialization. This helps them in becoming a Gandhian leader and
follower in future time.

• This celebration by the drug addicts often entices non-addicts into the
gang of drug users. This is negative reference group.
Reference group
• He found RG functional. RG leads to change in value system of
individual and it facilitates easy merger of individual in the
aspirational group.

• He also sees some dysfunctional aspects of anticipatory socialization

in case of ‘Closed Systems’.
Reference group
• In such a situation, an individual becomes a outcast in his own social
group and also fails to gain entry into reference group and is reduced
a ‘marginal man’.

• It is totally up to an individual to decide upon what reference group

he will make.
Reference group
• So a membership group may not be a reference group, but a non-
membership group can be.

• Merton also suggested some factors which are decisive in making a

group as reference group, viz. power & prestige, isolation in
membership group, open vs closed group, and role model in a group
Reference group
• Further, reference groups don’t remain same always. The choice of
reference groups depends on the nature and quality of norms and
values one is interested in and as interests change, reference groups
also change.

• As choice of reference group is entirely upon an individual, often

there is a considerable difference in type of groups chosen by
different generations, i.e., a kind of generation gap.
Reference group theory- Relevance
• Talking about reference group theory the questions that come are:

how an individual shapes his everyday life?

how a group negotiates with another group:
how a community interlinks itself with another community?
Reference group theory- Relevance
• Pt Nehru initiated development program. His reference groups were
USA, USSR and consolidated them as per needs of people of India.

• Nehru and Mahalanobis in turn brought out the idea of ‘mixed

economy’ as the India’s root of development
Middle range theories (MRT)
MRT
• Functional theories, according to Merton were value-neutral. There
are no ‘good’ or ‘bad’ aspects, just objective analysis.

• There may exist intended, manifest functions or there could be

unintended, latent consequences of action.
MRT
• In the year 1940s he used the term ‘middle range theory’ (MRT) to
overcome the problems inherent in the new sociological emphasis on
abstraction.

• There was an increasing desire among sociologists of the time for a

unified sociological theory but which ultimately became so broad as
to render it empirically untestable.
MRT
• Merton argued that MRTs could be developed to test subsections of
these high-level, abstract theories.

• Thus, MRT was developed to guide the empirical investigation of

higher-order theories.
MRT
• The goal of MRT was to generate the theories that were abstract to
allow behavioral generalization and also grounded in reality for
empirical verification.

• Simple, MRT is a set of theories that bridge the gap between the
empirical observation and untestable, general theories.
MRT- Features
• Not directly inferred from experience but generate inferences about
experience. For example, Strain theory based on lower class statistics
can generate inference based on observation.

• Limited scope: For example, reference group theory is abstract but its
scope in terms of scope in terms of studying social mobility is limited.
MRT- Conclusion
• Merton has suggested that social sciences focus on theories of the
middle range, rather than, mere hypotheses with little explanatory
power.

• His MRTs might not have been derived from general theories but may
have logical relationships to those broader theories.
Merton- Conclusion
• Merton’s theories and concepts are considered relevant especially,
developing a concept of holistic explanation in terms of both intended
and unintended consequences.

• Social problems can be approached in a more pragmatic way

undertaking its manifest and latent analysis.
Merton- Conclusion
• By using Merton’s functional paradigm a number of middle range
theories were formulated which have strengthened the
understanding of society.

• Finally, his reference group concept is so widely used in practice, that

it has now become a part of common vocabulary.
PYQ
• Difference between ‘unanticipated consequences’ and ‘latent
functions.
• How deviant subcultures are generated?
• Manifest and latent functions of security of the tenure of bureaucrats.
• Anomie is rooted in social structure.