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Functionalism is a theory that places importance on our shared norms and values, that allows society to function. It believes that societal structures shape us as individuals.

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Functionalists believe that society is generally harmonious, and that social solidarity is maintained through every institution and individual performing specified functions. Functionalists believe that every individual should be socialised into the norms and values of society. Otherwise, society will descend into 'anomie', or chaos.

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What is (STRUCTURAL) FUNCTIONALISM?

FUNCTIONALISM, also called STRUCTURAL FUNCTIONALISM, is a way of approaching a problem or scenario. These various ways are also called THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS.

In FUNCTIONALISM, society is viewed as a collection of social structures, all of which depend on and affect each other. You can think of a functionalist’s view of society as one would look at the different systems of the body. All of society’s institutions and structures are interdependent and when one of them has a problem, the rest compensate to continue to allow society to function smoothly.

Functionalism can be viewed as a sort of “let things handle themselves” way of looking at society, as the belief can be summed up as “things will work themselves out”. So if lung cancer rates skyrocket due to smoking, society will, eventually, look at that and go “holy cow, we need to make sure fewer people smoke!” and that’s what will cause social change.

Functionalism is a MACRO view of society, meaning that it takes society as a whole and analyzes it from a distance, rather than on an individual basis.

Some Notable Functionalists:

Émile Durkheim: A French sociologist, Durkheim has several well-known works, which include The Rules of Sociological Method,The Division of Labour in Society and Suicide.

Robert K. Merton: An American sociologist, Merton’s idea of functionalism had to do with standardized social/cultural beliefs that were functional for both society and the individual.

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Functionalism theory. By: Maryam Mohammadi & Pooneh Safaiyan. What is functionalism ?. Functionalism is the oldest, and still the dominant, theoretical perspective in sociology and many other social sciences. Slideshow 5444488 by viola

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Functionalism is one of the first sociological perspectives. Durkheim was interested in how social changes occurred and the move from pre-industrial society to a modern industrial one. He believed that any significant changes in society could make it unstable.

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The following post forms part of an introductory theory unit for Sociology.

In many ways, functionalism can be seen as one of the first sociological perspectives, being traced back to a Frenchman by the name of Emile Durkheim (1858-1917). Durkheim was particularly interested in how social change occurred and, particularly the move from a pre-industrial society to a modern industrial one. He believed that any significant changes in society could make society unstable. In a pre-industrial society, where the division of labour was fairly similar amongst people there was a strong sense of collective conscious, which are the moral values that help bind people to society itself.

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Meet the Perspectives: Functionalism (Part 1)

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The following post forms part of an introductory theory unit for Sociology. In many ways, functionalism can be seen as one of the first sociological perspectives, being traced back to a Frenchman by the name of Emile Durkheim (1858-1917). Durkheim was particularly interested in how social change occurred and, particularly the move from a pre-industrial society to a modern industrial one.

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Some people believe that functionalists fail to consider where rules and laws come from. They believe that laws are a set of rules that almost everyone agrees with; those who do not are “delinquents”. However this is not the case, as laws reflect the interests if a powerful minority rather than the collaborative decision of the whole society.

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Marxists in particular argue that functionalists fail to consider where the rules or the laws come from. Although Durkheim and others argue in favour of (organic) social change, they appear to view the law as merely a legal reflection of the value consensus of society: a set of rules that almost everyone agrees with. Those who disagree are deviants, or delinquents in subcultures. However, in reality, laws do not just, or even, reflect the collective conscience of a society, but are created by the powerful: the state. Marxists argue between themselves about the extent to which the state works in the interests of the ruling class, but they all agree that it usually does. Therefore, laws reflect the interests of a powerful minority rather than the collective conscience of the whole of society.
Feminists
Feminists question the fact that functionalist theories of crime and deviance appear to ignore gender altogether. There is a gender blindness in the theories: most refer to "lower class boys" but pay no attention to the presence or absence of girls in these subcultures. It is as if females do not exist. New Right thinkers, like Charles Murray, raise the issue of gender (but not in a way that would satisfy feminists) by suggesting male criminality is mostly women's fault. Matrifocal, single-parent families do not provide boys with positive male role models and thus contribute to the creation of an underclass. But most of the classic functionalist theories do not even blame women: they just ignore them.
Post Modernists
Some post-modernists focus on the way in which crime is quite pointless, rather than functional. It is something that occurs because of boredom, for some excitement, rather than because of shared subcultural values or in order to facilitate social change. These ideas are developed by Lyng in his work on "edgework": the idea that people like taking risks, including involvement in criminal behaviour. And by Katz who explores how crime can seem thrilling and alluring. However, it is possible to develop some of these ideas in terms of functionalist theory. Not everyone is attracted to a life of crime; many people few if any risks. Those who do might be socialised into doing so by belonging to a deviant subculture. Risk-taking might be a "focal concern". Furthermore, if people commit crime out of boredom, this may relate to the functionalist position that deviance provides a safety valve in society, as described by Kingsley Davis (1976). Minor crime can release some of the tensions in society that, if not relieved, could lead to more significant problems.
Realists
Realist sociologists (of left and right) are concerned with functionalist sociology of crime and deviance which explores deviance as an interesting phenomenon, but does not help solve crime as a really existing problem. Certainly, the concept that crime is functional and normal is of little comfort to the victims of crime. Even ideas like strain theory are of limited usefulness to policy-makers; however, left realists would argue that it supports their argument that relative deprivation causes crime; that policies should promote equality. Meanwhile, right realists would argue that Hirschi's ideas on social bonds and social control offer some support for their theories.

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Evaluating Functionalist Explanations of Crime | tutor2u Sociology

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Marxists in particular argue that functionalists fail to consider where the rules or the laws come from. Although Durkheim and others argue in favour of (organic) social change, they appear to view the law as merely a legal reflection of the value consensus of society: a set of rules that almost everyone agrees with.

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Conflict theorists such as Marxists and Feminists suggest that functionalists may have a rose-tinted view of society, and focus too much on how institutions perform while ignoring the negative impact that institutions have on people. For example the nuclear family can be seen to be useful for a society's productivity but has the negative effect of making women dependent on men, creating unequal gender roles and render them disempowered and at risk from domestic abuse.

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Functionalist Theory (A Level) Sociology

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Functionalism theory in sociology can be a tricky topic for beginners. I break down Functionalism into simple terms and including examples of a Functionalis...

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UK Economy Stats for 2022 Exams: (1) Growth and Jobs