11 HUMSS/ GA 1

Republic of the Philippines

ASIAN DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION COLLEGE
P. Burgos St., Tacloban City
2ND Semester S.Y. 2021-2022

Disciplines and
Ideas in the
Social Sciences
Quarter 3 – Module 5:
“Structural - Functionalism and its Importance
in Examining Socio - Cultural, Economic, and
Political Conditions”
Most Essential Learning Competency:
1. Apply the major social science theories and its importance in examining socio-
cultural, economic, and political conditions.
a. Structural-functionalism
b. Marxism
c. Symbolic Interactionism

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Read the module intently.

2. Follow the directions given in each activity. Failure to follow
means deduction of score.
3. Do NOT forget to TYPE your NAME on the Activity 2, which is
on a Google Forms.
4. LATE SUBMISSION, MINUS SCORE!
5. Submit/Turn in the answered ‘ACTIVITY 2’ before or on
April 16, 2022.

You can do it!

HAZEL M. SALAÑO, LPT

TEACHER
 LESSON 5: Structural - Functionalism and its Importance in 2

Examining Socio - Cultural, Economic, and Political Conditions

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
After going through this module, you are expected to:
1. apply the structural - functionalism theory; and
2. relate the importance of socio - cultural, economic, and political conditions to structural -
functionalism theory.

INTRODUCTION

The structural-functional approach is a perspective in sociology that sees society

as a complex system whose parts work together to promote solidarity and stability. It
asserts that our lives are guided by social structures, which are relatively stable patterns
of social behavior. Social structures give shape to our lives - for example, in families, the
community, and through religious organizations. And certain rituals, such as a
handshake or complex religious ceremonies, give structure to our everyday lives. Each
social structure has social functions, or consequences for the operation of society as a
whole. Education, for example, has several important functions in a society, such as
socialization, learning. Functionalism also states that society is like an organism, made
up of different parts that work together. Thus, one of the key ideas in Structural
Functionalism is that society is made-up of groups or institutions, which are cohesive,
share common norms, and have a definitive culture.

What is Structural Functionalism?

According to (Structural Functionalism: Definition, Theory & Examples, 2016)

Take a step back and think of your hometown's government. Unless you live in a
very small town, chances are that the local doctor is also the local policeman. In fact,
there are plenty of municipal services that make up the small town. Each part of the
government contributes something different. After all, you wouldn't want the local
dogcatcher to be too busy fighting fires to keep stray dogs out of your garbage.

Several decades ago, some sociologists thought that all of societies interact like
this; where each part of society had a specific task. They called this framework structural
functionalism. While the ideas of structural functionalism have fallen out of favor, let's
take a bit to try and understand what they were saying.
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Structural – Functionalism in Theory

First, let's look at the history of structural functionalism. During the 19th century,
the world was becoming a much smaller space. Trains and steamships had linked the
world in a way no one had thought possible. While many Europeans were starting to
think of themselves as superior, due to their more 'advanced' culture, a French
philosopher, named Emile Durkheim, noticed this and started to think that society was
made up of building blocks that were focused towards a common goal. If people stopped
agreeing on those common goals, then society would disintegrate. However, as long as
most people agreed, society would be fine.

In structural functionalism, individual institutions work together in service of the

whole.
For example, this image of a circular flow of money through an economy
demonstrates how something that almost everyone can agree on, education, is made
into a goal. Of course, this only worked as long as everyone was focused.
If one group disagreed on where society is going, then the whole thing falls apart.
These social bonds are very important.
However, structural functionalism had a serious problem. It was too far removed
from actual society. It assumed that these blocks were homogenous, all wanting the
same thing. Also, it thought that all motivation was a zero-sum game, meaning that there
had to be winners and losers. After all, if you increase funding for the police department,
that money had to come from somewhere, right?
This all neglects that groups can have different starting points and different
motivations. For a two-person dog catching team, an extra $50,000 in funding is a big
deal, while for a forty-person police department, it is relatively minor. To put that into real
world terms, structural functionalism assumed that all of society's groups are always
equal, which is simply not the case. Just turn on the news or watch any political debate
and you'll see that many groups of society are anything but equal.
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The method of functionalism was based on fieldwork and direct observations of

societies. In the structural functionalism approach, society, its institutions and roles, was
the appropriate thing to study. Cultural traits supported or helped to preserve social
structures.
Functionalism emphasizes the importance of the economy for any society, and the
income and self-fulfillment that work often provides. Conflict theory highlights the
control of the economy by the economic elite, the alienation of work, and various
problems in the workplace.
The structural-functional approach is based on the view that a political system is
made up of several key components, including interest groups, political parties and
branches of government.
The structural-functional approach is derived from earlier uses of functionalism and
systems models in anthropology, sociology, biology, and political science.
Structural functionalism became popular around 1960 when it became clear that
ways of studying U.S. and European politics were not useful in studying newly
independent countries, and that a new approach was needed.
Structural-functionalism assumes that a bounded (nation-state) system exists, and
studies structures in terms of their function(s) within the system.
For structural functionalists the question to be answered is what does a structure
(guerrilla movement, political party, election, etc.) do within the political system (of
country x)? The goal is to find out what something actually does in a political system, as
opposed to what it is supposed to do.
Thus, structural functionalists would not waste time studying constitutions in Third
World countries if they found that the constitutions [structures] had little impact on
political reality.
Almond claimed that certain political functions existed in all political systems. On
the input side he listed these functions as: political socialization, political interest
articulation, political interest aggregation, and political communication. Listed as outputs
were rule-making, rule implementation, and rule adjudication.
Other basic functions of all political systems included the conversion process,
basic pattern maintenance, and various capabilities (distributive, symbolic, etc.).
Structural functionalists argued that all political systems, including Third World systems,
could most fruitfully be studied and compared on the basis of how differing structures
performed these functions in the various political system.
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Structural functionalism is based on a systems model. Conceptually, the political

process can be depicted as follows:

For analytical purposes the political system is considered to be the nation-state,

and the environment is composed of the interactions of economic, social, and political
variables and events, both domestic and external.
The idea is that there are a number of actors in the national political system
(political parties, bureaucracies, the military, etc.) and that the actions of all these actors
affect each other as well as the system.
The political analyst must determine the importance of these actors in a particular
political system. This is done by analyzing the functions performed by the various actors.
Any changes in the system also affect all the actors. The feedback mechanisms allow
for constantly changing inputs, as actors react to outputs.
Structural functionalists, like systems analysts, have a bias toward systemic
equilibrium, (i.e. toward stability). Such a bias tends to make this approach conservative,
as stability, or evolutionary change, is preferred [and more easily analyzed], to radical,
or revolutionary change.
A problem which arises with this system-based model is that the nation state's
boundaries are often permeable in the real world, rather than being the neatly bounded
nation-state conceptualized by structural functionalists.
In other words, in the real world it is usually difficult to state exactly what the
boundaries are, leading to some conceptual difficulties.
For example, some international actors are only intermittent, such as the U.S.
when it intervenes directly in Haitian or Panamanian politics. Should U.S. military forces
be considered a part of the Panamanian or Haitian political systems?
The parts of society that Spencer referred to were the social institutions, or patterns
of beliefs and behaviors focused on meeting social needs, such as government,
education, family, healthcare, religion, and the economy.
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Table 1: Some Social Behaviors According to Quexbook, 2018

Behaviors Concepts
Ritualism Occurs when an individual continues to do things
as prescribed by society but forfeits the
achievement of the goals.
Retreatism Involves the rejection of both the culturally
prescribed goals as well as the conventional
means of attaining them.
Conformity Occurs when an individual has the means and
desire to achieve the cultural goals socialized
into him
Rebellion A combination of the rejection of societal goals
and means and a substitution of other goals and
means.

Talcott Parsons (1902 - 1979) was an American sociologist and functionalist who
attempted to develop and perfect a general analytic model suitable for analyzing all types
of collectivities. He was concerned with how elements of society were functional for a
society as well as social order. His five pattern variables are considered as five
dichotomies to draw out the contrasting values to which individuals orient themselves in
social interactions.

Table 2: Talcott Parson’s Five Pattern Variables of Role-definition According to Quexbook, 2018
Pattern Variables of Role- Concepts
definition
Dilemma: deciding whether to express one’s own orientation
1st - Affectivity vs.
in terms of immediate gratification (affectivity)or whether to
Affective
renounce immediate gratification in favor of moral interests
Neutrality
(affective neutrality).
2nd - Self orientation vs. One’s role orientation is either in terms of his/her own interests
Collectivity or in terms of the interests of a group.
orientation
Dilemma: There is an issue on whether to react to a certain
3rd - Universalism vs.
social interaction “on the basis of a general norm” or reacting
Particularism
“on the basis of someone’s particular relationship to you”.
Achievement- orientation places an importance on the
4th - Achievement vs. performance and emphasizes individual achievement while
Ascription Ascription-orientation refers to the innate qualities of
individuals.
This refers to the nature of social contracts and how extensive
or how narrow are the obligations in any interaction.
5th - Specificity vs.
Specificity, is when the definition of a role is in specific terms
Diffuseness
while diffuseness is when role obligations are extended
outside the defined role - expectations.
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General Conceptual Diagram Durk et al. (2007)

The diagram below is a general conceptual diagram of Structural functionalism. It

shows that all of the different organizations and institutions in society are interdependent.
When one institution in society changes, other institutions accommodate that change by
changing as well, though the ultimate effect is to slow overall change.

Specific Conceptual Diagram Durk et al. (2007)

Below is a chart depicting how deviance is functional for society and how society
responds to deviance. A "deviant" individual commits an act that is deemed by the rest
of society as criminal, because it leads to public outrage and punishments. Because a
large portion of society respond to the action as though it is deviant, this draws a
boundary between what is and is not deviant. Thus, deviance actually helps to indicate
what is not deviant, or, the function of labelling behaviors or ideas as deviance is to
insure that most people do not engage in those behaviors.
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A Structural - Functionalist Understanding of Deviance

TO ANSWER THE ACTIVITY FORM 5 BELOW, PLEASE

PROCEED TO THE ATTACHED “GOOGLE FORMS”
(ACTIVITY 5…) ON THE SAME ASSIGNMENT SECTION.
 ACTIVITY FORM 5
9

NAME: _________________________________________________
GRADE LEVEL & STRAND: 11 - HUMSS DATE SUBMITTED: _____________ SCORE: _________

MODULE 5 in DISCIPLINES & IDEAS in the SOCIAL SCIENCE (DISS)

STRICTLY NO ERASURE!!!

TEST I. Multiple Choice.

Direction: Choose the LETTER of the correct answer. Write the LETTER of your chosen answer on the space
BEFORE the number. CAPITAL LETTERS ONLY! 15 points

1. It is an approach in sociology that views society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote
solidarity and stability.
A. Marxism B. Structural – Functionalism C. Symbolic Interactionism D. Psychoanalytic
2. He is an American sociologist and functionalist who attempted to develop and perfect a general analytic model
suitable for analyzing all types of collectivities.
A. Charles Darwin C. Karl Marx
B. Emile Durkheim D. Talcott Parsons
3. He is the French philosopher who noticed and started to think that society was made up of building blocks that
were focused towards a common goal.
A. Charles Darwin C. Karl Marx
B. Emile Durkheim D. Talcott Parson
4. This occurs when an individual has the means and desire to achieve the cultural goals socialized into him.
A. Conformity B. Rebellion C. Retreatism D. Ritualism
5. It occurs when an individual continues to do things as prescribed by society but forfeits the achievement of the
goals.
A. Conformity B. Rebellion C. Retreatism D. Ritualism
6. It involves the rejection of both the culturally prescribed goals as well as the conventional means of attaining
them.
A. Conformity B. Rebellion C. Retreatism D. Ritualism
7. A combination of the rejection of societal goals and means and a substitution of other goals and means.
A. Conformity B. Rebellion C. Retreatism D. Ritualism
8. It refers to the innate qualities of individuals.
A. Achievement Orientation C. Ascription Orientation
B. Affective Neutrality D. Diffuseness
9. When role obligations are extended outside the defined role - expectations.
A. Achievement Orientation C. Ascription Orientation
B. Affective Neutrality D. Diffuseness
10. Places an importance on the performance and emphasizes individual achievement.
A. Achievement Orientation C. Ascription Orientation
B. Affective Neutrality D. Diffuseness

For items 11 – 15, give the level of Pattern Variables of Role-definition below. Choose the LETTER of your answer
and write BEFORE each number.

A. First B. Second C. Third D. Fourth E. Fifth

11. Universalism vs. Particularism

12. Specificity vs. Diffuseness
13. Achievement vs. Ascription
14. Affectivity vs. Affective Neutrality
15. Self-orientation vs. Collectivity orientation
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TEST II.

Direction: Read each statement carefully and choose the correct answer. Choose the LETTER of your
corresponding answer on the choices below. Write the LETTER of your answer BEFORE the number.

A. Retreatism
B. Ritualism
C. Conformity
D. Achievement Orientation
E. Rebellion
F. Diffuseness
G. Ascription Orientation
H. Structural – Functionalism
I. Emile Durkheim
J. Talcott Parson

1. He/She is an American sociologist and functionalist who attempted to develop and perfect a general analytic
model suitable for analyzing all types of collectivities.
2. He/She is a French philosopher who noticed and started to think that society was made up of building blocks
that were focused on a common goal.
3. It is an approach in sociology that views society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote
solidarity and stability.
4. It refers to the innate qualities of individuals.
5. It is when role obligations are extended outside the defined role - expectations.
6. It is a combination of the rejection of societal goals and means and a substitution of other goals and means.
7. It places an importance on the performance and emphasizes individual
achievement.
8. It occurs when an individual has the means and desire to achieve the cultural goals socialized into him.
9. This occurs when an individual continues to do things as prescribed by society but forfeits the achievement of
the goals.
10. It involves the rejection of both the culturally prescribed goals as well as the conventional means of attaining
them.