Structure of the general action System Adaptation: a system must cope with external situational exigencies. It must adapt to its environment and adapt the environment to its needs Cultural Social Goal attainment: a system must System System define and achieve its primary goals Integration: a system must regulate the interrelationship ofits component parts. It also must manage the relationship among the Behavioral Personality other three functional imperatives Organism System atency (pattern maintenance): a system must furnish, maintain and A G renew both the motivation of individuals and the cultural patterns that create and sustain that motivation
Structure of the General Action System L Cultural System I Social System Behavioral Organism A Personality System G • Adaptation: a system must cope with external situational exigencies. It must adapt to its environment and adapt the environment to its needs. • Goal attainment: a system must define and achieve its primary goals. • Integration: a system must regulate the interrelationship of its component parts. It also must manage the relationship among the other three functional imperatives • Latency (pattern maintenance): a system must furnish, maintain, and renew both the motivation of individuals and the cultural patterns that create and sustain that motivation
Society and its Subsystems Adaptation: The economy is the subsystem that performs the function for society of adapting to the environment through labor production, and allocation Fiduciary Societal Goal attainment: The polity(or political System Community system) performs the function of goal attainment by pursuing societal objectives and mobilizing actors and resources to Integration: The integration function is performed by the societal community Economy (law), which coordinates the various com ponents of society A Latency(pattern maintenance): The fiduciary system(schools, family) handles the latency function by transmitting culture to actors and allowing it to be internalized by them
Society and its Subsystems L Fiduciary System I Societal Community Economy A Polity G • Adaptation: The economy is the subsystem that performs the function for society of adapting to the environment through labor, production, and allocation. • Goal attainment: The polity(or political system) performs the function of goal attainment by pursuing societal objectives and mobilizing actors and resources to that end. • Integration: The integration function is performed by the societal community (law), which coordinates the various components of society • Latency (pattern maintenance): The fiduciary system (schools, family) handles the latency function by transmitting culture to actors and allowing it to be internalized by them
Pattern variables Pattern variables are" the principle tools of structural analysis outlining the derivation of these categories from the intrinsic logic of social action --the inherent dilemmas of choice facing actors". Parsons argues that there are a strictly limited and defined set of alternatives or choices that can be made, and the relative primacies given to choices constitute the"patterning of relational institutions These choices or alternatives are called orientation-selection
Pattern Variables • Pattern variables are ''the principle tools of structural analysis outlining the derivation of these categories from the intrinsic logic of social action -- the inherent dilemmas of choice facing actors'' . Parsons argues that there are a strictly limited and defined set of alternatives or choices that can be made, and the relative primacies given to choices constitute the ''patterning of relational institutions.'' These choices or alternatives are called orientation-selection
Affectivity Vs. Affective- neutrality There are five pattern variables of role-definition that Parsons discusses, although he says that there are many more possibilities. The first is the gratification-discipline dilemma affectivity vs. affective-neutrality The dilemma here is in deciding whether one expresses their orientation in terms of immediate gratification(affectivity) or whether they renounce immediate gratification in favor of moral interests(affective neutrality). parsons says, "no actor can subsist without gratifications, while at the same time no action system can be organized or integrated without the renunciation of some gratifications which are available in the given situation
Affectivity vs. Affective-neutrality • There are five pattern variables of role-definition that Parsons discusses, although he says that there are many more possibilities. The first is the gratification-discipline dilemma: affectivity vs. affective-neutrality. The dilemma here is in deciding whether one expresses their orientation in terms of immediate gratification (affectivity) or whether they renounce immediate gratification in favor of moral interests (affectiveneutrality). parsons says, ''no actor can subsist without gratifications, while at the same time no action system can be organized or integrated without the renunciation of some gratifications which are available in the given situation''