Manifest and latent functions are social scientific concepts created by anthropologist, Bronislaw

Malinowski in 1922 while studying the Trobiand Islanders in the Western Pacific. It was later
modified for sociology by Robert K. Merton.[1] Merton appeared interested in sharpening the
conceptual tools to be employed in a functional analysis.
Manifest functions are conscious, deliberate and beneficial, the latent ones the unconscious,
unintended and beneficial, and dysfunctions are unconscious, unintended and harmful. [2] While
functions are intended (manifest) or unintended (latent), and have a positive effect on society, are
unintended or unrecognized (latent) and have a negative effect on society.[3][clarification needed]

Functions[edit]
Manifest functions are the consequences that people observe or expect. It is explicitly stated and
understood by the participants in the relevant action. The manifest function of a rain dance, used as
an example by Merton in his 1967 Social Theory and Social Structure, is to produce rain, and this
outcome is intended and desired by people participating in the ritual.[4][5]
Latent functions are those that are neither recognized nor intended. A latent function of a behavior is
not explicitly stated, recognized, or intended by the people involved. Thus, they are identified
observers.[5] In the example of rain ceremony, the latent function reinforcesthe group identity by
providing a regular opportunity for the members of a group to meet and engage in a common
activity.[4]
Peter L. Berger describes a series of examples illustrating the differences between manifest
functions and latent dysfunctions:

"...the “manifest” function of antigambling legislation may be to suppress gambling, its

“ “latent” function to create an illegal empire for the gambling syndicates. Or Christian
missions in parts of Africa “manifestly” tried to convert Africans to Christianity, “latently”
helped to destroy the indigenous tribal cultures and this provided an important impetus
towards rapid social transformation. Or the control of the Communist Party over all
sectors of social life in Russia “manifestly” was to assure the continued dominance of
the revolutionary ethos, “latently” created a new class of comfortable bureaucrats
uncannily bourgeois in its aspirations and increasingly disinclined toward the self-denial
of Bolshevik dedication (nomenklatura). Or the “manifest” function of many voluntary
associations in America is sociability and public service, the “latent” function to attach
status indices to those permitted to belong to such associations.” "[2] ”
While Talcott Parsons tends to emphasize the manifest functions of social behavior, Merton sees
attention to latent functions as increasing the understanding of society: the distinction between
manifest and latent forces the sociologist to go beyond the reasons individuals give for their actions
or for the existence of customs and institutions; it makes them look for other social
consequences that allow these practices’ survival and illuminate the way society works.

Dysfunctions[edit]
Dysfunctions can also be manifest or latent. While functions are intended or recognized (manifest),
and may have a positive effect on society, dysfunctions are unintended or unrecognized, and have a
negative effect on society.[3]
Manifest dysfunctions are anticipated disruptions of social life. For example, a manifest dysfunction
of a festival might include disruptions of transportation and excessive production of garbage.[6] Latent
dysfunctions are unintended and unanticipated disruptions of order and stability. In the festival
example, they would be represented by people missing work due to the traffic jam.[6]
Medical science model[edit]
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Broadly stated and here relying on the systems model first developed in medical science, an
interrelated bundle of social structures (e.g., Zulu culture), treated as a social system, involves the
parts (structural elements) acting in such a fashion so as to help maintain
the homeodynamic equilibrium of the system of which they are an element. Manifest functionsare
the obvious and intended consequences a structural feature displays in the maintenance of the
steady state of the system of which it is a part. Latent functions are less obvious or unintended
consequences. Both manifest and latent functions contribute to the social system’s unchanging
ongoingness or stasis. In this very specific sense both may be interpreted as useful and positive.
In conducting a functional analysis, dysfunctions are consequences of structural elements that
produce changes in their environing social system. The flame of the candle system flickers. The
structural cause would be labeled dysfunctional. The candle’s steady state has been disturbed or
changed. The concept affords the only relief to structural-functionalism’s inherent conservative bias.
Dysfunction signifies the mechanism by which social change is evidenced within a social system.
Whether that change is manifest or latent is a relatively simple empirical question. Whether that
change is good or bad would seem to require interpretative criteria not afforded by a social scientific
paradigm for functional analysis.

Social Dysfunction
An umbrella term used to describe a variety of emotional problems largely experience in social
situations.

Shyness ( Blushing / Social Anxiety)

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Social phobia (also sometimes called social anxiety) - Is a type of anxiety problem. Extreme
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Fears

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Fear of Flying Information Resources. - A List of Helpful Resources. 2/5

Hyperhidrosis (Excessive Sweating)

Hyperhidrosis - A personal site. 3/5

Hyperhidrosis Info.com - Hyperhidrosis, excessive sweating of the hands, face, affects many
people and yet there is not that much clear information to date about it. 3/5

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areas on the body. Most commonly, hyperhidrosis occurs on the palms of the hands. In such
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Google Scholarly Article on

Social Dysfunction - Click
Here

Wikipedia - Social
Dysfunction - None