Manifest and Latent Functions

Mead begins in the first few paragraphs with first, pointing out the fact that many sociologists accidentally confuse “conscious motivations for social behavior and its objective consequences” and therefore the “distinction between manifest and latent functions was devised.”

He then points out further that, “the motive and the function vary independently and that the failure to register this fact in an established terminology has contributed…to confuse the subjective categories of motivation with the objective categories of function.”I see it as how when you are a child and you are first learning the distinction between there, their, and they’re. You may use the wrong form of the word in the sentence but it was not your intentions to be mistaken, it just sort of happened. So, Mead tries to steer away from mistaken oversight by designating an appropriate set of terms.

First, he refers to manifest functions, “those objective consequences for a specified unit (person, sub group, social or cultural system)” which were intended. Second, he refers to latent functions, “unintended and unrecognized consequences of the same order.” He lists such analyses between the two such as: social stratification, propaganda as a means of social control (Hitler maybe used this, eh-hem), fashion, etc, which have been used. Since there seems to be such a variety of subject matter to distinguish between these two functions, Mead suggests there can be limitless “range of human behavior.” This leads to the heuristic purposes of the distinction, which aims to specify “uses to which this distinction can be put.”

I was a little confused why he started the next paragraph with what seemed to be an incomplete sentence: “Clarifies the analysis of seemingly irrational social patterns.” I assumed that this was referring to the heading of, Heuristic Purposes of the Distinction, Mead describes first how this distinction helps our view of “many social practices”, even when manifest function isn’t achieved. He gives an example of this in referring to Hopi ceremonies which were done to get rain to fall. Even though these people doing the “superstitious” ceremonies get labeled, “this in no sense accounts for the group behavior. It is simply a case of name calling.” I found this to be fairly true in respects to labeling people not only in our society, but in the past as well. The latent function of this behavior may for the group provide a purpose.

The problem (or consequence) occurs when the manifest function happens (in this case it rains) for as Mead says “for the meteorologist.” He/she understands that the ceremony didn’t cause it to rain but the fact that “the ceremony does not have this technological use.” Because of the concept of the latent function, there is a continued examination of the consequences of the ceremony for its group members. Basically, such ceremonies serve not real purpose but “ a means by which collective expression is afforded the sentiments which, in a further analysis, are found to be a basic source of group unity.”

Mead later goes on to discuss the reasons why sociologists should not stick with just the study of manifest functions. If they were to do this, then the sociologist would be determined in knowing, if in fact, a practice does actually achieve its purpose. By doing this they steer away from the “theoretic problems which are at the core of the discipline.” When sociologists study both functions, they extend their “inquiry in those very directions which promise most for the theoretic development of the discipline.

Mead concludes his view on these functions, which I find to be mostly pertinent even in our society, with “Proceeding from the functional view, therefore, that we should ordinarily (not invariably) expect persistent social patterns and social structures to perform positive functions which are at the same time not adequately fulfilled by other existing patterns and structures, the thought occurs that perhaps this publicly maligned organization is, under present conditions, satisfying basic latent functions…”