Manifest and latent functions and dysfunctions
concept in social science
Manifest and latent functions are social scientific concepts created by anthropologist Bronisław Malinowski in 1922 while studying the Trobriand Islanders in the Western Pacific. It was later modified for sociology by Robert K. Merton. Merton appeared interested in sharpening the conceptual tools to be employed in a functional analysis.
Each system in society has a specific function that relies on and is associated to other systems. When these systems function, it leads to social stability. Dysfunction in one or more systems leads to social instability. Both functions and dysfunctions can be latent or manifest. Manifest functions or dysfunctions are deliberate and known. While latent functions or dysfunctions are unintended and/or go unrecognized by many. Positive or negative values are not attached to functions or dysfunctions.
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This entry incorporates text from “Manifest and latent functions and dysfunctions” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.