Functionalism - done

Question 1

a society as a system

Answer 1

society is an organic analogy – like a biological organism - parsons
- system - organs for society are ed system and families as they keep the ‘body running’
- system needs - organisms have needs or they will die - socialization is needed for society to keep going
- functions - functions help to maintain the system with regards to society it is the economy

Question 2

value consensus and social order

Answer 2

parsons - social order is only possible if society members conform to its norms and values. he calls this value consensus.

Question 3

integration of individuals

Answer 3

value consensus creates social order by integrating individuals into the social system
socialization is to internalize values at a young age
social control means rewarding the good and punishing the bad

Question 4

the parts of the social system

Answer 4

status roles come in cluster which are the the positions given to people in society - teachers. they also come as institutions such as the family as they have mothers fathers and more

Question 5

system needs

Answer 5

parsons - system meets members’ needs. GOAL attainment - the system needs to set goals and allocate materials to achieve them. Integration - all members must have same goals. Latency - the process to maintain society over time

Question 6

social change

Answer 6

parsons - 2 societies - modern who have self interests and traditional whom have collective interests - he says that society has evolved like the biological system from a siple to complex system

Question 7

mertons internal critique of functionalism

Answer 7

merton criticises on 3 main accounts
- indispensability - ‘the nuc fam socialises best’ - others may do it better or just as well
- functional unity - everything in society is as one or in unity - complex societies have many parts
- universal functionalism - assumes everythin benefits everyone yet for some it may be functional and for others dysfunctional

Question 8

logical criticisms

Answer 8

they argue func is teleological - things exist for their function - family exists for socialization, they argue that a real explanation is something that identifies its cause