Manifest and Latent Functions
After the origin of structural functionalism, over time many sociologists were able to add their two cents to the paradigm. One such functionalist, Robert Merton, extended the theory by describing two possible outcomes of functionalism, these being manifest functions and latent functions. Manifest functions are simply the “intended functions of a social structure”, while latent functions are “the less obvious, perhaps unintended functions of a social structure” (Ferris and Stein, 21). The item you see above is a small, sparkly rubber band. These small bands connect a patient’s bottom and top braces, pulling his jaw to line up better and therefore fixing his overbite or underbite. When I had braces, I wore my rubber bands every night and corrected my overbite …show more content…
The sticky note has a small section of weak adhesive across the top back, that allows it to stick to surfaces, like a desk or a laptop. As opposed to a stronger adhesive like duct tape, the sticky note is literally “loosely enforced”, representing the leniency of folkway norms. Due to the small, flimsy nature of sticky notes, they tend to get lost from time to time. This represents how an individual can lose folkway norms fairly easily, without huge repercussions. For example, if a person starts wearing gloves in the summer, people may think it’s unusual, but no one is offended or seriously dismayed, and the wearer may simply be labeled as unconventional. Although sticky notes can be negligible at times, they do serve the purpose of reminding people of semi-important information. Sticky notes have helped me remember appointments, phone numbers, and tasks to do that I otherwise would’ve forgotten about. Sticky notes allow for me to have a better flow during the day. Folkway norms have the same purpose in society, as they create a more uniform society and allow for a better flow of
After the origin of structural functionalism, over time many sociologists were able to add their two cents to the paradigm. One such functionalist, Robert Merton, extended the theory by describing two possible outcomes of functionalism, these being manifest functions and latent functions. Manifest functions are simply the “intended functions of a social structure”, while latent functions are “the less obvious, perhaps unintended functions of a social structure” (Ferris and Stein, 21). The item you see above is a small, sparkly rubber band. These small bands connect a patient’s bottom and top braces, pulling his jaw to line up better and therefore fixing his overbite or underbite. When I had braces, I wore my rubber bands every night and corrected my overbite …show more content…
The sticky note has a small section of weak adhesive across the top back, that allows it to stick to surfaces, like a desk or a laptop. As opposed to a stronger adhesive like duct tape, the sticky note is literally “loosely enforced”, representing the leniency of folkway norms. Due to the small, flimsy nature of sticky notes, they tend to get lost from time to time. This represents how an individual can lose folkway norms fairly easily, without huge repercussions. For example, if a person starts wearing gloves in the summer, people may think it’s unusual, but no one is offended or seriously dismayed, and the wearer may simply be labeled as unconventional. Although sticky notes can be negligible at times, they do serve the purpose of reminding people of semi-important information. Sticky notes have helped me remember appointments, phone numbers, and tasks to do that I otherwise would’ve forgotten about. Sticky notes allow for me to have a better flow during the day. Folkway norms have the same purpose in society, as they create a more uniform society and allow for a better flow of