Theory: Functionalism (Consensus)



| |1. Theory: Functionalism – A Consensus Theory – A Structural Theory – A Macro Theory | | |

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|Ideas |Functionalism is a structural theory that was created by Durkheim (1858 - 1917) that studies sociology as a | |Durkheim developed a number of concepts to help him to explain and research society. ‘Social Fact’ was one of |

| |whole. It sees contemporary society as a system with all parts inter-related and working together to meet the| |them. In order to discover ‘Social Fact’ scientific research methods are preferable. |

| |needs of society. In other words, society operates like a living organism (the body) with interdependent | | |

| |structures of society such as medicine, families, education and religion (the heart and lungs etc). Every | |Functionalists therefore see sociology as a science and therefore favour the quantitative, positivist approach. |

| |society is made up of four sub-systems: economic, political, family, and cultural systems such as education, | |They like questionnaires, structured interviews and official statistics. |

| |religion and the media. Each sub-system functions to maintain a healthy society. | | |

| | | |Durkheim’s Suicide study is a classic example of using official Statistics to research societal causes of suicide.|

| |Cultural systems socialise individuals to conform to society’s norms and values. This creates a value | |(see crime learning table on Suicide.) |

| |consensus, which is a shared agreement of norms and values by all individuals in society. According to | |Functionalists also accept official Crime Statistics. |

| |Parsons (who was inspired by Durkheim), this maintains social order so that society is able to function | | |

| |properly, creating a stable and harmonious society. Because of this social change will be slow and gradually | | |

| |evolves. | |Functionalism has wider theoretical appeal. Its underlying ideas have been taken up by other structural |

| | | |perspectives and has generated new theories and research from the New Right e.g. like functionalists, the New |

| |If one part of the system does break down and becomes dysfunctional then this can affect all other aspects of| |Right believe that the family is the ‘heart’ of society. |

| |society. For example dysfunctional families have been connected to crime, mental illness and low levels of | | |

| |educational achievement, in this way social order and stability are threatened (in the same way heart disease| |Functionalism recognises the structural nature of society. It demonstrates the links between major social |

| |will cause the whole body to become weak). Where socialisation is inadequate, or aspects of society become | |institutions for e.g education, religion and the economy. |

| |dysfunctional, or where social change is rapid anomie can occur. According to Durkheim this means a state of| | |

| |normlessness, which is when society is unsure of what social norms are. | |Durkheim’s and Parson’s work has provided insights that have helped modern sociologists to understand contemporary|

| | | |societies and many of its basic assumptions still guide much sociological research. For example, the idea that |

| |Functionalists maintain that social inequality in society is both inevitable and functional, so acts as a | |society should be seen as a whole, society is structured and that social structure directs human behaviour. |

| |motivator for people to strive for high social class positions. | | |

| | | |Functionalism tends to over-emphasise the harmonious nature of society and fails to see that some groups are |

| | | |disadvantaged by society. Marxists, for example, criticise functionalism for its inability to explain conflict |

| | | |e.g. between the working and ruling class and change. It could be argued that they look at the world through ‘rose|

| | | |tinted glasses’. |

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| | | |Teleology is the idea that things exist because of their effect or function. For example, the functionalist claim |

| | | |that the family exists because children need to be socialised is teleological – it explains the existence of the |

| | | |family in terms of its effect. However, critics argue that a real explanation of something is one that identifies |

| | | |a cause – and logically, a cause must come before its effect. |

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| | | |Functionalism provides an inadequate explanation of social change. It simply states that if change does occur it |

| | | |will be due to evolutionary factors rather than anything else. |

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| | | |Dennis Young (an action theorist) criticises functionalism’s deterministic view of the individual. Individuals |

| | | |have no freewill or choice – they are mere puppets whose strings are pulled by the social system. The action |

| | | |approach takes the opposite view – that individuals create society by their interactions. |

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| | | |Finally, postmodernists argue that functionalism assumes that society is stable and orderly. As such, it cannot |

| | | |account for the diversity and instability that exist in today’s post-modern society. |

|Applic|Education | | |

|ation |Educational systems socialise individuals into norms and values through the formal and hidden curriculum e.g.| | |

|of |citizenship education. | | |

|Functi|Educational systems provide a vital role in allocating individuals into a class based society through | | |

|onalis|meritocratic principles. | | |

|m |Family | | |

| |The family is at the heart of society. Murdock (1949) claimed that the family is so useful to society that it| | |

| |is inevitable and universal. | | |

| |One of the main functions of the family is primary socialisation, through which children learn to accept and | | |

| |value the norms and values of society. | | |

| |Religion | | |

| |Religion plays a functional and positive role in society. It integrates people and provides support and | | |

| |guidance. In ‘The Elementary Forms of Religious Life’ Durkheim described religion as the primary force for | | |

| |social regulation. | | |

| |Neo-functionalists such as Bellah (1970) believe that religion still performs essential social functions, but| | |

| |on a more individualised basis. | | |

| |Crime | | |

| |They offer a structural causal explanation of crime & deviance. The causes are said to lie within the social| | |

| |structure of society and subcultures. | | |

| |Durkheim believed that a certain amount of crime and deviance could be seen as positive for society, helping | | |

| |to clarify boundaries of acceptable behaviour and generate change. | | |

|Crit |Although functionalists provide a useful insight into the workings of society the theory is ideologically driven. Therefore, the theory is reductionist as it fails to take into account competing theoretical ideas. |

|points|Postmodernists are critical of the functional meta-narrative as they claim to have a ‘totalising’ (all encompassing) theory of society. Postmodernists maintain that rival narratives should be considered for a full account of |

| |social life. |

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