ABSTRACT
The functionalists argue that societies are held together by a consensus of values. Functionalism has often been criticised for its inability to deal with the issue of social change. Some critics believe that the functionalists difficulty in providing a satisfactory theory of social change is linked to the inadequacies of their theory of social stability. functionalism provides us with a deterministic view of the relationship between man and society. The functionalists notion of society as a structure of roles is, of course, very much tied to their view of man as an approval-seeker. Individuals, in their view, play the roles assigned to them not only because they are committed to society's shared moral standards, but also because they want the approval and esteem of others: not to do what is expected of them brings disapproval and thus loss of 'gratification'.
