ABSTRACT
The work of Talcott Parsons is not currently in vogue in sociology, and yet, it represents an important moment in the development of contemporary sociological thinking. Contemporary cultural sociology has taken a particular form as a result of its emergence out of resistance to Parsonian structural-functionalism. Parsons employs the concept of values, which he regarded as ideals for role relationships and institutions, to connect the cultural and social systems and explain the ends toward which they are oriented. Contemporary sociologist Ann Swidler uses Parsons' perspective on values to create a position for her work on culture and how it operates on action. Parsons' work also points to an opening for Consumer Culture Theory (CCT) research to address the ways that personality is ordered by the social system, which Parsons places higher up in the cybernetic hierarchy. Parsons further refines his concepts of values, norms, collectivity, and role by matching them each with a primary function.
