Exam 9: Structural Functionalism

Study the following statement and then present an argument that either supports or refutes this statement. Remember to use course concepts: According to retreatism, where conformity is discussed, the activities of "psychotics, autists, pariahs, outcasts, vagrants, vagabonds, tramps, chronic drunkards and drug addicts" are reflective of having relinquished culturally prescribed goals and their behavior does not accord with institutional norms.

Ressentiment was introduced in a special technical sense, by Max Scheler.

Which of the following concepts refers to the variant normative priorities of social systems, the dominant modes of orientation in personality systems, and the patterns of values in cultural systems?

Which of the following would match up with the concept of gemeinschaft?

Discuss the following quotation from Parsons "…serves to concentrate the judgment and valuation of men on their occupational achievements, while the valuation of women is diverted into realms outside the occupationally relevant sphere." Explain how the quote fits into the larger argument Parsons is proposing.

According to Parsons, the personality, social, and cultural systems interpenetrate each other through

In Sex Roles in the American Kinship System, Parsons argues that the "utilitarian" division of labor between men and women is functional, and thus beneficial, both for the economy and the family. Specifically, he contends that the kinship structure provides for

Parsons defines the personality system as

A complement of interdependent social relationships in which persons are involved simply because they occupy a particular social status is called a

Define and explain in detail how the personality, social, and cultural systems interpenetrate each other.

Latent functions refer to

According to retreatism, where conformity is discussed, the following activities are reflective of having relinquished culturally prescribed goals and their behavior does not accord with institutional norms.

Perhaps Merton greatest contribution to functionalism and sociology is that he

Merton emphasized the Parsonian notion of society through his conceptions of manifest and latent functions.

Values, norms and symbols which guide the choices made by actors and which limit the type of interaction which may occur among actors is defined by Parsons as

Summarize Parsons's points from Sex Roles in the American Kinship System. Explain which points were criticized by later scholars and why.

To the extent that a society is stable, adaptation type I-conformity to both cultural goals and institutionalized means-is the most common and widely diffused. Were this not so, the stability and continuity of the society could not be maintained.

Pattern variables are an extension of a renowned dichotomy first formulated by whom?

Merton's work is far less abstract than Parsons's, but it is no less theoretically multidimensional.

Parsons sought to devise a conceptual and theoretical framework with which to analyze