Agenda for 3/29

1. Finish your children's book

2. Functionalist Perspective 

Assignment #8 (eBackpack) - Answer the following questions using the notes below on the Functionalist Perspective (theory). Be sure to write answers in your own words/descriptions. Do not simply copy what is in the notes.

1. Define functionalism.

2. Explain example of how functionalists would interpret a particular part of society.

3. Explain an example of how different parts of society are connected to each other.

4. What is a functional element of society?

5. What is a dysfunctional element of society?

6. How can crime be both dysfunctional and functional

7. What are manifest functions?

8. What are latent functions?

9. In what ways does the education system have both manifest and latent functions?

10. Which of Murdoch’s essential functions of the family do you think is the most essential? Why?

11. In what ways could families also be dysfunctional?




A. According to functionalism society is a system of interconnected parts that work together in harmony to maintain a state of balance and social equilibrium.

Functionalists regard society as a system made up of different parts which depend on each other. Different institutions each perform specific functions within a society to keep that society going, in the same way as the different organs of a human body perform different functions in order to maintain the whole.

• family provides a context for reproducing, nurturing, and socializing children 
• education offers a way to transmit a society’s skills, knowledge, and culture to its youth
• 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. 

B. The functionalist perspective emphasizes the interconnectedness of society by focusing on how each part influences and is influenced by other parts. 

•  As a result of changes in technology, colleges are offering more technical programs, and many adults are returning to school to learn new skills that are required in the workplace. 
• The increasing number of women in the workforce has contributed to the formulation of policies against sexual harassment and job discrimination. 

C. Functionalists use the terms functional and dysfunctional to describe the effects of social elements on society. 

• Elements of society are functional if they contribute to social stability and dysfunctional if they disrupt social stability. 
• Some aspects of society can be both functional and dysfunctional. For example, crime is dysfunctional in that it is associated with physical violence, loss of property, and fear. But crime is also functional for society because it leads to heightened awareness of shared moral bonds and increased social cohesion. 

D. Sociologists have identified two types of functions: manifest and latent. 

Manifest functions are consequences that are intended and commonly recognized. 

Latent functions are consequences that are unintended and often hidden. 

• For example, the manifest function of education is to transmit knowledge and skills to society’s youth. But public elementary schools also serve as babysitters for employed parents, and colleges offer a place for young adults to meet potential mates. The baby-sitting and mate-selection functions are not the intended or commonly recognized functions of education; hence they are latent functions.

E. The Functionalist View of Society the Family

In functionalist thought, the family is a particularly important institution as this it the ‘basic building block’ of society which performs the crucial functions of socializing the young and meeting the emotional needs of its members. Stable families underpin social order and economic stability.

George Peter Murdock – The four essential functions of the nuclear family

Looked at 200 different societies and argued that family was universal (in all of them). Suggested there were ‘four essential functions’ of the family:

1. Stable satisfaction of the sex drive – within monogomous relationships

2. The biological reproduction of the next generation – without which society cannot continue.

3. Socialization of the young – teaching basic norms and values

4. Meeting its members’ economic needs – producing food and shelter for example.

2. Deviance and Social Control - video

Answer the following questions after watching the first ten minutes of the video above.

A. What is deviance?

B. What are some examples of deviance?

C. What are some examples of informal social control?

D. What are some examples of formal social controls?

E. How does the functionalist theory explain crime and deviance? Be sure to explain how crime:

• identifies the failure of social structures
• reinforces the societal norms and promote social unity
• leads to social change

F. What is the major criticism of the functionalist perspective of crime?

3. Classic Sociological Theory #2 - Functionalism - Youtube/Khan Academy

Answer the following question after watching the first 3 minutes of video above:

1. What are some examples of social institutions?

2. What are some examples of social facts?

3. Explain how functionalists see society like a cell.