What Are The Main Concepts Underlying Functionalism? Compare And Contrast The Positions Of Parsons Versus Merton With Respect To These Concepts. Briefly Present Your Critical Opinion Of Either Parsons Or Merton.

FunctionalismFunctionalism is considered single of the oldest theoretical perspectives of sociology and other accessible sciences . The functionalist perspective is be on the application of the scientific method to the objective upstanding world and use of an analogy between the private(a) organism and companionship ( HYPERLINK hypertext transfer protocol /network .grinnell .edu /cgi-bin /gfeed .dll ?mcclel grinnell .edu McClelland , equality .1 . Both the societal and physical aspects of the world can be studied with scientific method the use of analogy is used to determine the cordial needs which must be met as closely as the how they ar met for the existence of a social brass ( tally .2 . Functionalism focuses on the socialisation of a group or an idiosyncratic how an item-by-item or cultural group functions i n beau mondeSocialization can be defined as the exploit of acquiring civilization (O Neil , par .1 . During this process an individual learns the roles and deliverys of their nuance as well as the social norms . Socialization begins at birth , at master(a) common practices are learned , such as talking to , appropriate dress and types of food common in unmatchable s culture (O Neil . Familial roles are learned , such as the mother and father s role in one s culture , and that of the extended family etc . Further into the socialization of an individual , world views are acquired which are complex and exit effect how an individual testament interact in society (2006 . The world view consists of motivations , perceptions and beliefs which an individual acquires during socialization . Two major contributors to the functionalist perspective are Talcott Parsons and Robert K . MiltonParsons has been considered by many as the best-known American sociologist of the fifties a nd 60s ( HYPERLINK http /www .grinnell .edu! /cgi-bin /gfeed .dll ?mcclel grinnell .edu McClelland , par .5 . morphological functionalism is attributed to Parsons as he viewed society as a collection of strategys within brasss (5 Structural functionalism focuses on the role of norms and values as seen in the process of socialization .

An individual will pursue self-interests while the musical arrangement s interests as a whole will be served as well . The whole world , according to Parsons was system of societies Parsons and equal object functionalists tend to focus on the predict ability of an individuals behavior quite than an individuals ability to control his or her own destiny (par .6 . Robert K . Merton exceedingly disagreed with Parsons theory of structural functionalism , and therefore contributed many supernumerary theories touch in functionalism . Un equal Parsons , Merton s system dealt with the social system as a whole . Merton made a government blood between manifest and latent functions . Manifest functions are ones in which may represent motives of individuals in a social system and latent functions are the unrecognized , unpredictable actions of an individual ( HYPERLINK http /www .grinnell .edu /cgi-bin /gfeed .dll ?mcclel grinnell .edu McClelland , par . Other important theories purposed by Merton include distinguishing functions which are positive and those that are dysfunctional in society as well as those that serve neither . Merton in like manner made theories as to the different levels of...If you want to bring out a full essay, order it on our website: Ord erCustomPaper.com

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