Functionalism In Sociology Essay

Functionalism views society as the stability and assimilation of a range of forces that function within it. While society is a separate entity with a life of its own, there are individual elements contributing to that stability. Functionalism as a sociological theory emphasizes assimilation rather than the dissociation of society. Therefore, the society is seen as a whole that is compromised of parts which give one another their identity and their function. The part, whether that is education, such as a school, or sports, such as a football team, operates in relation to the other parts, and cannot be entirely understood in isolation from the other parts. All the parts are interrelated, and when there is a disturbance in any one of the

Sociology is the “systematic or scientific study of human society and social behavior” (Ferris and Stein, 2016, p. 9). The study of an individual society and its behaviors can have contrast due to a 20th century event. In the essay Racism and Research: The Tuskegee Syphilis Study, the unethical experiment took place in the year 1932 in Macon County, Alabama. This case can discuss the topics of culture, socialization, deviance, and race. All of which can become visible in a society through the structural functionalism lens. This sociological perspective theory is “a way of looking at the world” through a specific lens (Ferris and Stein, 2016, p. 10).

Functionalists believe that society is based on a value consensus into which society socialises its members, which enables to cooperate harmoniously and meet society’s needs and goals.

The Functionalist theory emphasizes the contributions (functions) that all parts of society (e.g., social institutions) make within society. This theory has contributed to sociology by providing a view “which emphasizes the way in which the parts of a society are structured to maintain stability.” (Schafer 2013, pg13)

Although quite different, both Functionalism and Marxism have their similarities. They also have their positive and negative aspects and ways in which each theory dysfunctions. Functionalism is the study of society as a functioning system including interdependent institutions or patterned relations that are steady overtime, and that enact specialized functions for the whole. The main focus is on how direction is kept between parts of society. Any given pattern of relations or structures within society is interpreted by reference to the results or functions that such patterns have for them majority. It is an essential assumption within the functionalist perspective is that participation in social systems is voluntary. When a sociologist uses

Functionalism is a macro system theory which sees society as a mega structure of linked social institutions such as school, family and the legal system. Each different institution is functional to ensure the whole of society is maintained. For example primary socialisation takes place within the home where children are taught basic life

Functionalism is a theory which allows an individual to understand their place in society, and understands the relationship between physical input and behavioural output. It also believes that society is a system of components that are internally connected and that all the components work together to maintain stability in the society.

Functionalism looks at society in aspects of how it contributes to the steadiness/cohesion of the whole society (Anderson, Taylor, & Logio, P. 18). There are many institutions that are looked at that include the economic system, government, education, religion, health care, and family. All of which have different roles and perform different functions to ensure that society operates in a well-ordered manner. An example of this would be how family reproduces, takes care of children, exposes children to culture and heritage, supports other family members, and shares life experiences. Shared values and social stability are keys to this perspective. When this system breaks down it is because people’s needs are not being covered and shared values are deteriorating. When this occurs, it affects all parts of functionalism and the society must achieve

Functionalism is a theory by Durkheim that conveys that all aspects of a society serve a function and are necessary for the survival of that society. In this way, society is like an organism. If all institutions work properly it contributes to the

The Functionalist Perspective in sociology states that everyone in the society holds a position and in this position their status has a set of roles or certain behaviors that are required to perform the tasks at hand (Kornblum and Julian, 2004.) The roles consist of nurses at the medical institutions, lawyer's at international firms or just a blue collar worker at any type of factory. For the most part, each status' role is involved in an institution of some kind and is needed for the economy and society to function as a whole. "The Functionalist Perspective looks at the way major social instructions like the family, military, the health-care system, and the police and courts actually operate (Kornblum and Julian, 2004, 6.)" This basically means that for these institutions that are needed to fulfill these roles and duties for the economy, the roles and behaviors of employees need to evolve as a whole so that the institution can function (Kornblum and Julian, 2004.) For example, a nurse needs to know certain things about her job like what medicine can treat a certain

(Turner, p.112) Functional analysis established itself as a way of ‘bringing to light the significance of the institutional order and connecting it with the unintentional consequences of social action. (Turner, p.121) On page 35 of Back et al. it states that Durkheim’s argument is that classification is a process of ‘marking-off’, of showing things that are related, but have distinct points of difference to another. Functionalism assumes that society’s social institutions perform important functions to help ensure social stability. Rapid social change threatens social order, but slow social change is desirable.

Functionalism is a consensus perspective, whereby society is based on shared values and norms into which members are socialised. For functionalists, society is seen as a system of social institutions such as the economy, religion and the family all of which perform socialisation functions.

Functionalism is seen as a macro-scale approach to society; it sees society as a whole rather than looking at parts of it. Due to this, functionalism sees society as a body (organic analogy), all the institutions work together to make society. This is particularly useful when observing society in order to understand the way in which it functions and the way in which all the institutions (organic analogy: organs within the body) work together to sustain society as a whole. Functionalism being a macro-scale approach is therefore seen as a strength as it allows functionalist sociologists to observe society, and its institutions, as a whole.

Functionalism developed out of the positivist observation that 'all positive speculations owe their first origin to the occupations of practical life' (Comte, 1865, pg 11) and the boundaries of scientific knowledge can not go further than empirically observable truths and views societies as holistic systems where 'the whole is greater than the sum of its parts' (Taylor et el, 1997, pg 662). Functionalist analysis draws on three assumptions essentially seeking to transform society into a theoretical system of reality. The first assumption is that there are zero independent parts operating within

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