Deck 9: Structural Functionalism

Question 1

Latent functions refer to

A) the accomplishing of purposively directed goals.
B) Unintended consequences.
C) The harmful effects resulting from intended actions.
D) Alternative ways of meeting system needs.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

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

A) personality system.
B) social system.
C) cultural system.
D) role-set.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

A ________ is a complex arrangement of interconnected social roles.

A) cultural system
B) personality system
C) role-set
D) social system

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Perhaps Merton greatest contribution to functionalism and sociology is that he

A) showed Parsons's system did not exist.
B) showed that system components may or may not be "in sync."
C) proved Parsons's system to be foolproof.
D) confirmed Parsons's notion of deviant sex-roles.

Question 5

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

A) Karl Marx
B) Ferdinand Tönnies
C) Max Weber
D) Charles Horton Cooley

Question 6

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

A) socialization, internalization, and institutionalization.
B) socialization, externalization, and gemeinschaft.
C) socialization, gesellschaft, and culturalization.
D) socialization, externalization, and institutionalization.

Question 7

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

A) the reduction of status competition and jealousy between husband and wife, and thus more stable marriages.
B) a labor force in which workers are trained and rewarded on the basis of merit.
C) the socialization and psychological security of children.
D) children and relative wellbeing.

Question 8

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

A) role-set.
B) latent.
C) unit act.
D) manifest.

Question 9

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

A) Self-orientation
B) universalism
C) specificity
D) particularism

Question 10

Parsons defines the personality system as

A) a system of action organized by role-sets.
B) a system of action organized by cultural systems.
C) a system of action organized by unit acts.
D) a system of action organized by need-dispositions

Question 11

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?

A) role-set
B) cultural system
C) pattern variables
D) gesellschaft

Question 12

Which of the following concepts from Sex Roles in the American Kinship System can be viewed as still relevant from a twenty-first century perspective?

A) Many women succumb to dependency cravings.
B) Men are valued on their occupational skills; women are not.
C) Discrepancy between mans' love for woman and her inferiority.
D) Women abdicate their opportunities for genuine independence.

Question 13

Manifest functions refer to

A) the accomplishing of purposively directed goals.
B) unintended consequences.
C) the harmful effects resulting from intended actions.
D) alternative ways of meeting system needs.

Question 14

A hypothetical actor in a hypothetical situation bounded by an array of parameters and conditions is called a

A) unit act.
B) role-set.
C) latent.
D) manifest.

Question 15

Which of the following is not one of the four basic problems that a society, group, or individual must confront in order to survive as a system of action?

A) Amalgamation
B) Goal attainment
C) Integration
D) Latent pattern maintenance

Question 16

Robert Merton contrasted Parsons because Merton favored

A) master conceptual schema.
B) middle-range theory.
C) research oriented work.
D) theory un-connected to research.

Question 17

Parsons saw social action as composed of four basic elements that distinguish it from isolated, individual behavior. These four elements include:

A) gender, class, norms, effort
B) class, agency, situations, effort
C) latency, agency, norms, effort
D) goals, situations, norms, effort

Question 18

Merton's concepts of values, social status, role expectations, and goals all fall within which basic theoretical orientation?

A) Nonrational/collective
B) Nonrational/individual
C) Rational/collective
D) Rational/individual

Question 19

Which refers to "modes of action that do not conform to the dominant norms or values in a social group or society"?

A) Dysfunction
B) Latent function
C) Deviance
D) Manifest function

Question 20

Different parts of a system may be at odds with each other and can produce unintended negative consequences or

A) deviance.
B) latent function.
C) dysfunction.
D) manifest function.

Question 21

Explain the four basic elements that compose social action according to Parsons.

Question 22

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.

Question 23

Parsons's single most important idea is that action must not be viewed in isolation.

Question 24

Beginning in the 1970s, structural functionalism at best was viewed as an old-fashioned tradition with a conservative bias.

Question 25

Deviance occurs when the values of a society are out of sync with the means available for achieving them.

Question 26

The ritualistic type of retreatism cannot be readily identified. It involves the abandoning or scaling down of the lofty cultural goals of great pecuniary success and rapid social mobility to the point where one's aspirations can be satisfied.

Question 27

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

A) the basis of all action and social organization.
B) the basis of specific actions and individualism.
C) organic interactions which he focused on.
D) individualism and globalization.

Question 28

The ritualistic type of __________can be readily identified. It involves the abandoning or scaling down of the lofty cultural goals of great pecuniary success and rapid social mobility to the point where one's aspirations can be satisfied.

A) conformity
B) socialization
C) retreatism
D) adaptation

Question 29

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

Question 30

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

Question 31

Parsons worked in middle-range theories while Merton developed master schema.

Question 32

Parsons believed personality, social and cultural systems function together to produce social order and stability.

Question 33

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

A) would become predictable.
B) would only improve.
C) could not be maintained.
D) would return to mistakes of the past.

Question 34

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.

A) Immigrants, emigrants, migrants, refugees, prisoners of war, holocaust survivors, war criminals.
B) Lobbyists, Legislators, Presidents, Prime Ministers, Chancellors, Campaign Managers
C) Psychotics, autists, pariahs, outcasts, vagrants, vagabonds, tramps, chronic drunkards and drug addicts.
D) Teachers, Police Officers, Carpenters, Electricians.

Question 35

Overall, structural functionalism tends to emphasize the collective/nonrational realm.

Question 36

Merton proposed that status of a role is fixed.

Question 37

For Parsons, actions are empirically discrete.

Question 38

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

Question 39

Great cultural emphasis upon the success-goal invites this mode of adaptation through the use of institutionally proscribed but often effective means of attaining at least the simulacrum of success________.

A) wealth and power
B) logic rationalization
C) middle class status
D) high educational attainment

Question 40

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

Question 41

What is a principal manifest function of establishing the legal right of women to choose an abortion? What might be a latent function?

Question 42

Explain the concept of and specifically define all of Parsons's pattern variables.

Question 43

Perhaps Merton greatest contribution to functionalism and sociology is that he showed that system components may or may not be "in sync." Using this statement, develop a response that takes a side. Do you agree or disagree with Merton? Why or why not. Provide examples to support your response.

Question 44

According to Parsons, what four needs must all social systems meet in order to sustain equilibrium? What subsystems perform these necessary functions? (Provide both the theoretical label and a concrete example for each.)

Question 45

Explain the concept and define each component of Parsons's AGIL scheme. Use a concrete contemporary example in your explanation.

Question 46

Ressentiment was introduced in a sociological sense by Max Scheler. Describe how this complex sentiment's three interlocking elements function.

Question 47

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

Question 48

Choose one of Merton's concepts and explain why it sits where it does in the authors' basic theoretical orientation chart.

Question 49

Analyze the following line and then discuss what is meant by it: Great cultural emphasis upon the success-goal invites this mode of adaptation through the use of institutionally proscribed but often effective means of attaining at least the simulacrum of success wealth and power.

Question 50

Define and compare the AGIL scheme to pattern variables.

Question 51

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.

Question 52

Define deviance and dysfunction and explain how it relates to Parsons's body of work.

Question 53

Discuss how Merton's concepts of manifest and latent functions enhanced Parsons's notion of society.

Question 54

Discuss Merton's contribution to role-theory specifically in regards to social status and role-sets.

Question 55

Explain and define the social, personality, and cultural systems. In addition, define and explain each way these systems interpenetrate one another.

Question 56

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.

Question 57

Discuss how Merton's conceptions of manifest and latent functions, deviance, and dysfunction enhanced Parsons's conception of society and structural functionalism in general.