STRUCTURAL FUNCTIONALISM

Structural functionalism refers to the distinct structures or institutions that shape a society and
each structure has a specific function or role to play in determining the behaviour of the society.
For example to maintain security for the members of a society, it has military system to defend
the members from external threat, and police system to maintain law and order of the society.
The systems are the structures of the society and the functions of the systems are to provide
security and stability for the society.

This is a macro theory, which means it looks to large-scale patterns of society to explain social
phenomena. Structural functionalism views society as a whole unit made up of interrelated
parts that work together, rather like a person’s body, which has a number of systems. Like the
body, when one system does not work properly, the entire body or society becomes sick, or
dysfunctional. When the parts work together, society is stable.

The pioneers of structural functionalism were Auguste Comte, Emile Durkheim, Herbert
Spencer, Talcott Parsons, and Robert Merton.

Emile Durkheim (1858-1917), like Comte, was a French sociologist. His goal was to have
sociology recognized as a separate academic discipline. He also was an advocate for the
scientific method, and is most famous for coining the term anomie - which means disorder, or a
lack of social regulation. Anomie occurs when people are not socially integrated or not tied to
their communities. One of his most famous studies was a book called ​Suicide​ in which
Durkheim compared the suicide rates of several European countries and then compared them
by religion. He found that groups of people that had less social integration, or fewer ties to the
community, had higher suicide rates. His study was not only a breakthrough in the study of
society; it was also a major accomplishment in the use of scientific method - using comparisons,
observations and experimentation.

Herbert Spencer (1820-1903) is known for his belief that societies evolve from confusion to
order, and only the most orderly societies will survive. He called this Social Darwinism.

Robert Merton (1910-2003) did not agree with the organism analogy of structural functionalism,
but likened the parts of society to a whole thing. He maintained that there were three types of
functions in society. Manifest functions were the expected and recognized social consequences
of a social pattern. Latent functions were the hidden or unintended consequences of a social
pattern, and dysfunctions were social patterns that upset the equilibrium in society. Merton felt
that whenever a small part of society was examined, its functions and dysfunctions should also
be examined to see how they are related to the larger unit.
A good example of a social pattern that has these different types of functions is divorce. Its
manifest function is to separate the unhappy parties involved. Its latent function is that the family
unit is weakened and bonds are broken. Divorce can be dysfunctional in that it can have a
negative effect on children and has made the family more fragile.
SOURCES

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_structural_functionalism_in_sociology
http://www.elearnportal.com/courses/sociology/introduction-to-sociology/introduction-to-sociolog
y-sociological-paradigms