Early Structural Functionalist Dysfunctions

Structural functionalism is a perspective which views society as interconnected in to meet society’s needs. Early structural functional theorists compared the organs in the human body in that they are all connected to function properly. The structures in society include social institutions which can be described as patterns and beliefs. Institutions include government, family, healthcare, and religion. Structural functionalism refers to social facts as the activities that make our society stable such as morals, laws, customs, and religion. There are two sets of functions related to the social process; manifest functions and latent functions. There are dysfunctions, defined as undesirable or unintended consequences of functions that occur within …show more content…
Race is categorized by one’s physical traits such as, skin color, hair type, eye color etc. Sex is physical or physiological differences between sexual categories; male and female. Sex designation is based primarily on sexual characteristics of an individual. A person’s sex is determined by the chromosomes that a person has. If an ‘X’ chromosome pairs with the ‘X’ chromosome that the egg already has, the human is a female; however, if an ‘Y’ chromosome pairs with the egg’s ‘X,’ then the human is a male. In comparison, race and sex are different because race is socially constructed while sex is biologically constructed. Just the same that race is not limited to the physical traits that help determine it, sex does not limit one’s gender. Race and sex are similar in respect to the way they are segregated and categorized; they are designated on forms, identification cards, documents, and more. They are also alike in that they dictate how medical care is administered, education systems function, and more. Ethnicity refers to a way of life with culture that is shared based upon ancestry, nationality, language, art, customs, beliefs, etc. Ethnicity is socially constructed and is not always connected with a particular race or physical traits; however ethnicity can be connected to race. For example black is a race …show more content…
In society when mores are deviated from or violated public sentiment provides influence upon the violators in addition to law violations. For example, cheating on a partner while married. Folkways are norms which serve as conduct not set in stone with consciousness and are not morally significant. Folkways are sometimes courtesies, manners, and do not typically have consequence for deviating away from. Folkways describe an accepted way a group acts, dresses, and lives. An example of a folkway would be holding the door for someone as a courtesy while entering or leaving a building or room. Laws encompass significant morals and ethics utilized to regulate and keep order. For example, theft is an illicit crime in most of the world. A considerable difference between mores and folkways is that folkways are considered informal and do not merit moral significance while mores are morally significant. Folkways represent a smaller portion of a group while mores typically represent a group’s values. Similarly, folkways, laws, and norms all guide people within a group on how to act. Furthermore, folkways, laws, and norms may all vary among location and vary in different cultures. An anomie occurs when instability results from a lack of norms, standards, and values which are needed to regulate a society or individuals. Thus, what is right and what is wrong is in question and a lack of