Distinguish between manifest and latent functions
Answers
While manifest functions are consciously and deliberately intended to produce beneficial outcomes, latent functions are neither conscious nor deliberate, but also produce benefits. They are, in effect, unintended positive consequences.
Again there are some functions you are aware of and there are some other functions you are not aware of. Ask yourself why, as a student, you are regularly asked to sit for examinations. The examinations, you know, test your knowledge, enable you to work hard and, as a result, you get stimulated to sharpen your skill and intelligence so that you can become a better member of the society. This is undoubtedly the manifest function of the examinations. We are sure that you are aware of it. But that is not all. The examinations serve another function which you may not be aware of. The examinations tend to convince you that there are ‘good’ students and ‘not so good’ students; not everyone is equal; merit or intelligence or knowledge is not evenly distributed. In other words, these examinations, in the ultimate analysis, induce you to accept that even in a democracy some kind of hierarchy is unavoidable. This acceptance reduces the possibility of conflict. In fact, this is a lesson of adjustment. Society retains its order, unity, and cohesiveness, despite its inherent inequality or hierarchy. This is the latent function of the examination system, the deeper meaning of which you may not always be aware of.
Imagine your own society. Modern India, you would agree, intends to be mobile, democratic, participatory and egalitarian. In such a society the institution of caste, far from having a function, has dysfunctions. Instead of intensifying the democratic ideal, caste tends to lessen the degree of mobility, democratisation and participation. That is why, castes may be classified as dysfunctional.
With these clarifications it is no longer difficult for you to come to the main problem, manifest function and latent function. Be it a manifest function or a latent function, it is the objective, observed consequence which makes for the adaptation or adjustment of a given system. There is, however, only one difference and it goes to the credit of Merton that he is able to bring it out sharply and intelligently. Whereas the participants are aware of the manifest function, they are not aware of the latent function. In other words, the latent function is neither intended nor recognised.
Why is this so? This is because the participants can see what is immediately visible; they cannot always see the deeper or latent meaning of what they do. But for social scientists, the task is to go beyond the common sense perception of the participants and see the latent consequences of social practices. Think of Emile Durkheim’s famous analysis of the social functions of punishment. Its immediate, manifest function is obvious. Everyone knows it. It reminds the criminal that society would not permit his deviance. But, then, it has a latent function too, which is not generally recognised. The latent function of punishment, Durkheim would argue, is not what happens to the criminal; instead, it is deeper; it intensifies society’s faith in its collective conscience; the punishment of the criminal is an occasion that reminds the society of its force and its collective morals.
Dysfunction: When a Latent Function Does Harm
The thing about latent functions is that they often go unnoticed or uncredited, that is unless they produce negative outcomes. Merton classified harmful latent functions as dysfunctions because they cause disorder and conflict within society. However, he also recognized that dysfunctions can be manifest in nature. These occur when the negative consequences are in fact known in advance, and include, for example, the disruption of traffic and daily life by a large event like a street festival or a protest.