THESTRUCTUREOFSOCIALACTION

TalcottParsons
PersonalBackground

BorninDecember13,1902inColoradoSprings,ColoradoUSA
Father:EdwardSmithParsons

acongregationalminister,professor,collegepresident
Mother:MaryAugustaIngersoll
Brother:CharlesEdwardParsons

aphysician
GraduatedinAmherstcollegein1924,majorinPhilosophyandBiology
ContinuedstudiesinLondonSchoolofEconomics
Methiswife,HelenWalker,inLondon
Theyhad3children:

AnneParsons

CharlesDacreParsons

SusanParsonsCramer
ReceivedafellowshipinuniversityofHeidelberg
WrotehisdoctoraldissertationontheconceptofCapitalisminrecentGermanScholarship
BecameaprofessorofEconomicsatHarvardin1927
WithotherprofessorsfrompsychologyandanthropologyestablishedtheDepartmentofSocialRelationsin1946
BecamepresidentoftheAmericanSociologicalAssociationin1949
RetiredfromHarvardin1973
DiedinMay8,1979inMunich,
German
ybecauseofheartfailure.
Works

TheStructureofSocialAction1937
TheSocialSystem1951
EssaysinSociologicalTheory1964
Societies:EvolutionaryandComparativePerspectives1966
PoliticsandSocialStructure1965

BriefHistoryofAmericanSociology
SocialsciencegrewintheUnitedStatesduringthewakeoftheCivilWarandtheeconomicrecessionsandthegreat
migrationsofthepopulation.
SociologygrewasthePhDgrantingresearchuniversitiesdevelopedinthelatenineteenthcentury.
UniversityofChicago(1892)FirstGreatInstitutionalBaseofSociologyinAmerica
TheEarlyAmericanSociology

Thewordsociologywasfirstusedin1854byGeorgeFitzhughandHenryHughes
EarlyAmericanSociologycontextcamefromtheevolutionarytheory.
MostoftheearlyAmericansociologistswereinfluencedbyHerbertSpencer.
AccordingtoSpencer,sociologyisapartofaholistic,evolutionarynaturalscience.

TheFirstAmericanSociologists
LesterFrankWard(TheFirstGreatAmericanSociologist)

startedinthefieldofbiology

humanaffairsshouldbegovernedbytheblindnecessityofnature

biologygavehumanbeingsintelligence

 WilliamGrahamSumner

advocatedlaissezfaire

marriedevolutionarytheorytoeconomicliberalismandargumentsforaminimalstate

theoriginalsocialDarwinist

triedtoreplacesociologywithsocietology
FranklinH.Giddings

stressedmoreonsocialorganizationratherthanbiologicaldeterminism

differentiatedhumanassociationfromanimalsthroughthespeechandconsciousnessofhumanbeings
KeyPremises
Socialsystembasedonsubjectiveconsciousnessandrationality
Structuralfunctionalistframeworktoattempttoaddresstheproblemoforderinsociety(Parsonsmainconcern
sharedwithDurkheim)
largeattemptsatempiricism
systemtheoreticalconceptandthemethodologicalprincipleofvoluntaryaction
expectationsandbehavior

KEYTHEORIES
GENERALTHEORIESOFACTION
TheIdeaofSocialAction
"unitactbasicunitofactionsystems
Anactshouldinvolvethefollowing:

Actor
anagent

End
afuturestateofaffairtowardwhich

theprocessofactionisoriented

Situation
ofwhichthetrendsofdevelopmentdifferinoneormoreimportantrespectsfromthestateofaffairsto
whichtheactionisoriented
Twoaspects:
1.Conditionsofaction
2.Meansofaction

NormativeOrientation
Withintheareaofcontroloftheactor,themeansemployedcannot,beconceivedeitheraschosenat
randomorasdependentexclusivelyontheconditionsofaction
SystemsofSocialAction
Structuralsociallifeasasystemwithanetworkofdifferentparts
Functionalistsocialsystemsashavingneedstosurvive,andpartsthatfunctiontoattaintheneed
Emphasisonstabilityandorder
ThePatternVariables

Gratification/disciplineactorsemotionalinvolvement
Private/collectiveneedstoindividualorwiderpopulation
Universalism/particularismactiontoparticularperson
Achievement/ascriptioninteractionandachievements

 Specificity/diffusenessrangeofrolesanactorhas

Parsonslaterturnedawayfromactiontheorytowardastructuralfunctionalismthathadatitscoretheconceptsof
functionalimperatives,statusroles,needdispositions,andvalueorientations.

TheFunctionalPrerequisitesofSystemsofAction

SocialSystemsmustbestructuredsothattheyoperatecompatiblywithothersystems
Thesocialsystemmusthavetherequisitesupportfromothersystemstosurvive.
Thesystemmustmeetasignificantproportionoftheneedsofitsactors.
Thesystemmustelicitadequateparticipationfromitsmembers.
Itmusthaveatleastminimumofcontroloverpotentiallydisruptivebehavior.
Itmustbecontrolledifconflictbecomessufficientlydisruptive.
Asocialsystemrequiresalanguageinordertosurvive.

AGILParadigm

AGILrepresentsthefourbasicfunctionsthatallsocialsystemsmustperformiftheyaretopersist.Itwasoneof
thefirstopensystemstheoriesoforganizations.

UnliketheMarxists,whofocusedontheoccurrenceofradicalchange,Parsonsexploredwhy

societiesare
stableandfunctioning.

Whyarepeoplemotivatedtobehaveacertainway?

Adaptation

Theproblemofgettingadequateandsufficientresources.

Distributingthoseresourcesthroughoutthesystem.

ECONOMY

BusinessFirms

Howweusenaturalenvironmenttoproducethingsthatarebeneficialtous.

ForParsons,adaptationworkedsmoothly.
2. GoalAttainment

PolicyDecisionsdecidingwhatgoalstopursueandhowtheywillbeattained

AllocativeDecisionsallocationofresourcesandresponsibilitiesamongpersonnel

CoordinativeDecisionshowpersonnelwillbemotivatedandcontributionscoordinated

SupportingValuesvaluesthatservetolegitimateandauthorizedecisionmakingrightsinsystem
1.

Integration

Theproblemofmaintainsolidarityorcoordinationamongthesubunitsofthesystem.

Implementsnorms,controls,andregulatesaction.

LEGALSYSTEMS

Courts,politicalparties,socialcontrolagencies

Whydoweintegrate?

Theneedforthesystemtoregulateus.(integrativeorganizations)

Controlbadorunappealing
4. Latency

Theproblemofcreating,preserving,andtransmittingthesystem'sdistinctivecultureandvalues.

Howdothesecomponentsdriveustodecisionmaking?

Arethesecomponentsmakingourdecisionsforus?

Needstofunctiontokeepsocietyintact.

MORALCOMMITMENT

Family,Religion,Education,Museums

HOWOURVALUESAREINFLUENCEDBYSOCIETY
3.

Individualdecisionscanbepredictedbythestructureofsociety.

TheSubsystemsofAction
Basicsubsystemsofthegeneralsystemofactionconstituteahierarchicalseriesofsuchagenciesofcontrolover
thebehaviorofhumansororganisms:
Behaviorsystemispointofarticulationofthesystemofactionwiththeanatomicalphysiologicalfeaturesofthe
physicalorganismandisitspointofcontactwiththeenvironment
Personalitysystemisasystemofcontroloverthebehavioralorganism(thesocialsystem)overthepersonalitiesof
itsmembersandtheculturalsystemisasystemofcontrolrelativetosocialsystems
KatzandKahn:OrganizationalSubsystems

KatzandKahn(1978)elaborateParson'ssystemanddescribeorganizationsashavingfivesubsystems:
1.Production:(throughput,transformationofmaterials)
2.Supportive:(garnerinputresources,dealwithoutput,gainlegitimacy)
3.Maintenance:(recruitment,socialization,training,preservingthesystem,rewards)
4.Adaptive:(senseenvironmentalchangesanddeterminemeaningfororg,strategyproductresearch,
marketresearch,longrangeplanning,etc.)
5.Managerial:(control,coordinateanddirectsubsystems,developpolicies,usebothregulatory
mechanisms(feedback)andauthoritystructuresdecisionmakingandimplementation).
Theyalsoseethreemainfunctionsofthesupportivesubsystemsprocurementofmaterialsandresources,
disposalandmarketingoftheproduct,andaninstitutionalsubsystem(alaParsons)thegarnerslegitimacyand
supportfromtheenvironment.
TheDynamicsoftheSystemsofAction
Parsonsworkledtotheaccusationthatheofferedastructuraltheorythatwasunabletodealwithsocialchange.
1960shecouldresisttheattacksnolongerandmadeamajorshiftinhisworktothestudyofsocialchange
socialevolution
ParsonsEvolutionarytheoryhedevelopedaparadigmofevolutionarychange
Differentiation
anysocietyiscomposedofaseriesofsubsystemsthatdifferinboththeirstructureandfunctionalsignificancefor
thelargersociety
newsubsystemsaredifferentiatedassocietyevolves
Adaptiveupgrading
associetyevolves,itgrowsgenerallybetterabletocopewithitsproblems
Integration

groupsformerlyexcludedfromcontributingtothemustbefreedfor
inclusionasfullmembersofthesociety
GeneralizationofValues
legitimizethewidervarietyofgoalsandfunctionsofitssubunits

Parsonsdidnotviewevolutionasaunilinearprocess
Somesocieties,foravarietyofreasons,coulddeteriorateorcollapse
Threebroadevolutionarystages:
1.Primitive
2.Intermediate
3.Modern

TheCyberneticHierarchy
SystemsarerelatedthroughexchangeofsymbolicinformationThroughexchangeofsymbolicresources,
equilibriumismaintained
Anysystemiscontrolledbyasubsystem,containshighestinfoandlowestenergy(thushierarchy)
Direction:Lowerpushupenergy,higherpassdowninfo
Equilibriumvia
(1)homeostaticloopchangeinonesubsystemaffectsothers,returnstothefirstandreturntooriginalsituation,
and
(2)feedbackmechanismhighersubsystemscontrolsubordinatesubsystems
SOCIALSYSTEMSANDSOCIETY
SociologyandtheSocialSciences
THEPOSITIONOFSOCIOLOGICALTHEORY
1. Mustberecognizedasfundamentallyimportanttoanyscience.
2. Musthavesocialsystems.
3. Mustconformtothestructuralfunctionaltype.
4. Mustbeformulatedwithinanactionframeofreference
5. Mustbeframedintermsofgenuinelyoperationalconcepts.

FUNDAMENTALIMPORTANCE

Whenpeoplerecognizefundamentalimportance,socialsciencewillmatureandhavemorepredictivepowerin
thesciencerealm

Someofthehighestlevelsofscientificdevelopmentneedthetheoreticsysteminordertoconceptualizeideas
SOCIALSYSTEMS

theoreticalschemewhicharticulatesourownfieldwithotherswhichareequallypartofthesamebroader
fundamentalsystem.
STRUCTURALFUNCTIONALTYPE

aframeworkforbuildingtheorythatseessocietyasa
complexsystem
whosepartsworktogethertopromote
solidarityandstability.

Organsinabody.(Spencer)

Functionalismaddressessocietyasawholeintermsofthefunctionofitsconstituentelementsnamely
norms
,
customs
,
traditions
,and
institutions
.

For
TalcottParsons
,"structuralfunctionalism"cametodescribeaparticularstageinthemethodological
developmentof
socialscience
,ratherthanaspecificschoolofthought.
ACTIONFRAMEOFREFERENCE

Cannotbecompletelybehavioristic

Excludingpointofviewofactor

Essentialinordertounderstandthefoundationofmotivationalcategories,whichinclude:attitudes,
sentiments,goals,complexes,etc.
GenuinelyOperationalcomplexes

havetheoreticalcategoriesofsuchacharacterthattheempiricalvaluesofthevariablesconcernedarethe
immediateproductsofourobservationalprocedures

ECONOMICSAlfredMarshall

analyzedmarginalutility(utilitytheory)

wantssatisfactionhedonism(pursuitofpleasure)

focusesontheimportanceofactivities

activitiesprogressivedevelopmentofcharacter

newrangeofeconomicforces

humanaffairsintofunctionalrelationwiththepricesystem
lateronconsidereditthehalfoftheanalysiswhichwasnotasimportantashumancharacter

Marshall'sassumptions:
1.Theedificeisbuiltessentiallyonacompetitivebasis.Heconsidersmonopoly,butseparately.Themostusual
connotationoftheterm"normal"forhimis,atleastinarelativesense,"competitive"
2.Itassumesthatwantsaregivenindependentlyoftheutilityaspectsofprocessesleadingtotheirsatisfaction,
i.e.,thattheyareconstantsintheproblemofeconomicequilibrium.Thewholeconcepthasreferencetothe
satisfactionofgivenwantsandnottotheexplanationoftheirexistence.
3.Itassumesthatallmovableeconomicresourcesareeffectivelymobileanddivisible.
4.Actionmustberationallydirectedtowardwantsatisfaction.Itistobenotedthatitisthewantstopeopleas
consumersandnotasproducerswhichareconsideredasbeingsatisfied,andthatunderacompetitiveorderthe
twofactors,forceandfraud,areruledout,partlybycompetitivepressure,partlybyalegalauthoritywhichsets
uprulesofthegameandpenalizesinfractionsofthem.

Utilitytheoryaccomplishes:
1.Providesanexplanationofwhyeconomicprocessestakethecoursetheydo
2.Providesanormofeconomicefficiency,intermsofanoptimumdistributionofresourcesandamaximumof
possiblewantsatisfactionundertheconditionsgiven
wantsvisavisrationality
money
wantsatisfactiononlyonedimensionofutilitytheorylessimportantpart
moreimportantrelationofeconomicconditionstohumancharacter
degradingeffectofpovertyoncharacterandthroughitonindustrialefficiency
eg.modernassemblyline
valuetheory=wantsisnottheultimatedata
Marshall'spositivetheoryofconsumptionmarginalutilityandconsumer'ssurplus
"standardoflife""thestandardofactivitiesadjustedtowants"
riseinthestandardoflife"anincreaseofintelligenceandenergyandselfrespectleadingtomorecareand
judgmentinexpenditure,andtoanavoidanceoffoodanddrinkthatgratifytheappetitebutaffordnostrengthandof
waysoflivingthatareunwholesomephysicallyandmorally"

SOCIALEVOLUTION

removalofbarriersandthedevelopmentofcertainarrangementsfacilitatingexchange,communications,etc.
(technology)

evolutionaryprocessofnewactivities

growthofrationality

evolutionofneeds(eg.Maslowshierarchyofneeds)

Marshallisforfreeenterprise
freeenterprisenotanunmitigatedstruggleofexistence
regulation
Marshallisnotforsocialism
hebelievesitdestroyswellbeing

hebelievesithasnoefficiency
"Economicsmustbemerelytheapplicationtoaparticularbodyofconcretephenomenaofthegeneralprinciplesnecessary
forunderstandinghumanconduct."

SocialInteraction
Roleistheessentialstartingpointforindividualinteraction
Inorderforinteractiontobestable,rolesandactionsmusthavemeaningsandbegovernedbyunderstood,shared
rules.Rulesdefinegoalsandtheconsequencesofandgivenmovebyoneplayerforthesituationinwhichtheother
mustmakehischoice.
Astablesystemofinteractionorientsitsparticipantsintermsofmutualexpectations,whichalsoexpressnormative
evaluations
TheConceptsofRoleandCollectivity
Sincethenormalindividualparticipatesinmanycollectivities,itiscommonplace,thoughacrucialone,thatonlyina
limitingcasedoesasingleroleconstitutetheentireinteractivebehaviorofaconcreteindividual
Rolesaresectorsofthebehavioralsystem
TheSocialSystemanditsEnvironment
Weconceivesocialsystemstobe"open,"engagedincontinualinterchangeofinputsandoutputswiththeir
environments.
Weconceivethemtobeinternallydifferentiatedintovariousordersofsubcomponentswhicharealsocontinually
involvedinprocessesofinterchange.
Socialsystemsarethoseconstitutedbystatesandprocessesofsocialinteractionamongactingunits.
Thebasicunitofthesocialsystemofactionistheunitactundertakenbyanactor.
Theunitactinvolvesanactive,consciousagent,whohasparticulargoalsorendsthatheorsheisattemptingto
meet,arangeofpossiblechoices,anenvironmentexercisingvariousconstraints,andanormativeorientation.
asocialsystemisasystemofprocessesofinteractionbetweenactorsitisthestructureofthe
relations
between
theactorsasinvolvedintheinteractiveprocesswhichisessentiallythestructureofthesocialsystem.Thesystemis
anetworkofsuchrelationships(Parsons,
TheSocialSystem,
p.25).
TheStructureofSocialSystems
Values:takeprimacyinthepatternmaintenancefunctioningofsocialsystems
Norms:functionprimarilytointegratesocialsystems,arespecifictoparticularsocialfunctionsandtypesofsocial
situations.
Collectivities:typeofstructuralcomponentthathavegoalattainmentprimacy.
Roles:thetypeofstructuralcomponentthathasprimacyintheadaptivefunction,weconceiveasdefiningaclassof
individualswho,throughreciprocalexpectations,areinvolvedinaparticularcollectivity.
Therealitysuigeneris
(ofitsownkind)
ofsocialsystemsmayinvolvetheindependentvariabilityofeachof
thesetypesofstructuralcomponentsrelativetotheothers.
Acollectivitygenerallyfunctionsunderthecontrolofalargenumberofparticularnorms.Italwaysinvolvesa
pluralityofroles,althoughalmostanymajorcategoryofroleisperformedinapluralityofparticularcollectivities.
Nevertheless,socialsystemsarecomprisedofcombinationsofthesestructuralcomponents.
Tobeinstitutionalizedinastablefashion,collectivitiesandrolesmustbe"governed"byspecificvaluesand
norms,whereasvaluesandnormsarethemselvesinstitutionalizedonlyinsofarastheyare"implemented"by
particularcollectivitiesandroles.
ADistinctionofLevelsofSocialSystem
Ithasbeenseenthroughoutthestudythatitisnecessarytodistinguishtwodifferentlevelsonwhichtheschemaof
actionwithallitsmainfeaturesmaybeemployed
DESCRIPTIVELEVEL

involvesanelementofselectionandemphasisamongthefactswhichamountstoajudgmentoftheirtheoretical
importance.
ANALYTICALLEVEL

permitstocollectandrelatesinglefactsandorganizethemcoherentlyinsubstantialtheories

TheSubsystemsofSociety

1.

Polity
performsthefunctionofgoalattainmentbydeterminingsocialgoalsandmobilizingresourcesfortheachievement
ofthesegoals
functionsasenforcement
ensuresthatcompliancetoestablishednormsandvaluesisbinding

2.

Fiduciarysystem(trusteebeneficiary,bydefinition)
performsthefunctionoflatencybyconveyingnormsandvaluesandsocializingpeople
establishedbyvaluecommitments
valuesystemsaregeneralized,sothattheycanregulateactionwithoutrelyingonspecificprohibitions

3.

SocietalCommunity
regulatestherelationshipbetweentheotherpartsofthesociety
accomplishesintegrationandunificationofindividualsintoagroupbydevelopingastructureofnorms
processofintegrationentailsreconcilinganddefiningthevariousloyaltiesindividualshave,asproducedby
rolepluralism

4.

Economy
performstheadaptationfunctionthroughlabor,production,andallocation
insistsuponefficientmanagementofresources
disapprovesofwastefulnessandcarelessness
containselementofwebersmoralelement,butismoregenerallybasedinrationality


TheSocietalCommunity

Parsonsgeneralconcernwastounderstandthefundamentalmechanismsmaintainingthestabilityofsocietal
communitiesasselfregulatingentities.
Parsonsarguedthatthesimilaritybetweenbiologicalandsocialclassesoflivingsystemsliesintheapplicabilityto
bothofthefundamentalconceptsofadaptationandintegration.
ParsonslaterwritingsonthesocietalcommunitysoughttocleansetheevolutionaryaspectsofSpencerian
sociologyoftheirassociationwithindividualismanddeterminism.

SystemsofExchange
Thefoursystemsofsocietymaintaintheirconnectionthroughtheexchangeofinputsandoutputs.
Thefunctionalinterdependenciescanbemappedasapatternofinputoutputrelations.
SymbolicMediaofExchange
regulatestheinterchangesofthesocietybecauseoftheirhighdegreeofstructuraldifferentiation
Money

nointrinsicvaluebutvalueinuse

measureofthevalueofgoodsandservices

makesiteasyforvaluetobestored
Power

capacitytosecureperformanceofbindingobligationsbyunitsofasystemofacollectiveorganization
Influence

meansofpersuasionbringingaboutadecisiononaltersparttoactinacertainwaybecauseitisfelttobea
goodthing
ValueCommitments

controlsthewayinwhichvaluesbecomeconcreteininteraction

CRITIQUES
Wecannotclaimthatsystemshaveneedsdifficulttogiveanexamplesomesocietieswereabsorbed,somewere
destroyed
Evenifthereareneeds,doesnotexplainhowneedsaremetnogoalslikehumans
Socialisationlearningtobesocial(e.g.childrenadoptingparentsattitudesastheirown)
Internalisationtheyidentifywiththeactor
Individualsworkoutabalancedpatternofexpectationsuntiltheyarriveatastablearrangement
SubsystemsinAGILoverlapfromtimetotime

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