STRUCTURAL FUNCTIONALISM
Talcott Parson’s structural functionalism seeks to describe the role that each cultural aspect plays to support the structure of society. One of the primary assumptions of the structural-functionalist theory is the idea that people and culture work together in sustaining the anatomy of society. The theory views society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote stability and solidarity in the community. Herbert Spenser popularized a common analogy which presents these aspects of society as ‘origins’ that work harmoniously towards the proper functioning of the ‘whole body’.
Robert Merton expanded Parson’s theory by adding that, although there are people in the society who can function as a whole and contribute to society, some do not get the opportunity to do so. Those individuals do not afford the opportunity to contribute to the society due to sickness, gender, race, or social class. They end up becoming rebels or outcasts, thus leading them to act in a socially unacceptable manner or rather become deviant.
Deviance is a behaviour or action that violates formal social norms like enacted laws as well as informal social norms like folkways and mores. Structural functionalism argues that deviance helps to differentiate between acceptable and unacceptable behaviours in society (Anderson, 2014). The distinguishing of which action is acceptable or not affirms the cultural values and societal norms. Deviance also helps to clarify the moral boundaries in the society, as well as promoting unity in the society by creating an ‘us-versus-them’ mentality towards deviants.
Deviant behaviour is perceived as a means for society to adapt to change over time. Deviance can cause imbalance to the social equilibrium, and in the process of restoring the balance, the society adapts to norms in response to deviance. Some traits in society are stigmatized and can result in social disruption. With time those traits become more main-stream, and society gradually adjusts to the stigmatized traits.
Merton developed the strain theory, which supplements structural functionalism by adding the ideology of function analysis. Merton expands the functional analysis to include societal change and strength, and make a vital differentiation between functions and personal motives (Mulkay, 2014). He also develops a detailed description of functional analysis to guide social observation on a variety of socio-cultural phenomena.
Robert Merton believed that strain is caused by the tendency of society to emphasize wealth and the limited opportunities to obtain it. Strain pushes those who cannot achieve societal gaols legitimately to use unconventional means to achieve the goals. Merton terms those who use socially unacceptable methods to pursue the culturally-approved goals as innovators or deviants. Innovators engage in theft, drug trafficking, fraud or even street crimes, which can be termed as being deviant.
Functionalists generally point out that deviance is a social necessity because it integrates norms in society by reminding people of the consequences of their violation. Violation of social norms opens society’s eyes to the injustices in the system by presenting explanations for normative and non-normative behaviours.
In conclusion, the social functionalist approach emphasizes on social solidarity and stable social structures. Robert Merton and Talcott Parson argue that deviance is caused by strain in societal institutions. They further say that deviance provides an understanding of what is acceptable or non-acceptable in society. Deviance also promotes social unity in that, those who have been labelled as deviant take pride in their stigmatized identity, creating a mentality of ‘us-versus-them’. All these make deviance an essential aspect in the society’s functionalism.
References
Anderson, T. L. (2014). Understanding deviance: connecting classical and contemporary perspectives. Routledge.
Mulkay, M. (2014). Functionalism, Exchange and Theoretical Strategy (RLE Social Theory). Routledge.