Functionalist Theory: Critical Analysis A very basic and inadequate description of Functionalist Theory is that it is a social/anthropological theory that people within a society generally agree on what is worthwhile/good, and that this agreement or value forms the basis of cooperation, stability and order within that society. These values are stratified or ranked in society and allow the evaluation and ranking of individuals within society: people who are successful in terms of those values receive a high ranking and be rewarded; people who are less successful in terms of those values receive a low ranking and are not rewarded. (Sociology Guide.com, 2011).

Comparison of Three Theorists in the Functionalist Category: John Dewey, Talcott Parsons and Robert K. Merton

John Dewey (1859 -- 1952) was a philosopher and psychologist who was also one of the founders of the Functionalist Theory within his field of Psychology. Intent on advocating democracy, Dewey concentrated on society and educational reform in his works. Some scholars describe Dewey as a "genetic psychologist" who believed in both "child-centered" and "discipline-centered" theories of education (Fallace, 2010, p. 129). Dewey believed that children and adolescents learn by inductive and deductive reasoning, while adults "construct new knowledge" by social constructivism, and children cannot be expected to learn as adults learn (Fallace, 2010, p. 130). Accordingly, Dewey and the theorists who followed him espoused certain stages of learning according to stages of consciousness "within the biological and social inheritance of the race" (Fallace,...

131). Each of the four stage includes aspects of any prior stage and seeds of the next stage; in addition, each stage corresponds with a certain level of education: "direct experience" stage, which corresponds with early elementary school; "consciousness of means and ends as distinct" stage, which corresponds with later elementary school; "consciousness of organization itself' stage, which corresponds with secondary school; "consciousness of calling or function" stage, which corresponds with higher education (Fallace, 2010, p. 138).
Talcott Parsons (1902 -- 1979) was a sociologist and professor at Harvard University. Parsons expanded on Functionalist Theory with his "Action System." Parsons proposed 4 Action Systems, each of which performs a necessary function: cultural, social, personality, and behavioral organism (Keel, Structural functionalism, 2011). Parsons also proposed that those 4 action systems assist 4 "functional imperatives": "adaptation," in which a system adjusts to deal with external environment, particularly if the system is threatened, is assisted/controlled by the behavioral organism action system; "goal attainment," in which the system defines the goals it wishes to achieve in order to effectively function, is assisted/controlled by the personality action system; "integration," in which the system manages all its parts and their relationships, is assisted/controlled by the social action system; "latency and maintenance," in which the system must induce participation by individuals by giving, sustaining and renewing motivation for participation, is assisted/controlled by the cultural action…