Unlock Elite Access: Level Up Your Preparation with Exclusive Content

Sociology Optional PYQ Solutions · Model answer

Bring out the strength and the weakness of Robert Merton’s advancement over the classical functionalism.

  • UPSC 1995
  • Sociological Thinkers

Classical functionalism, from Bronisław Malinowski and A. R. Radcliffe-Brown to the grand system of Talcott Parsons, explained institutions by their contribution to the whole. Robert K. Merton, in "Manifest and Latent Functions" (Social Theory and Social Structure, 1949), kept the method but stripped away its untestable assumptions. His revision made functionalism more empirical, yet it…

You are reading the opening of the model answer. The full answer is part of Sociology Optional PYQ Solutions.

What the full answer covers

  • What Merton changed
  • Strengths
  • Weaknesses
  • Conclusion

Unlock this answer and 1,500+ more

  • 1,500+ solved UPSC Sociology PYQs from 1985 to 2026, Paper-1 and Paper-2
  • Topic-wise across all 25 syllabus units, newest exam year first
  • A full model answer for every question, shaped to 10 or 20 marks, with thinkers and Indian examples
  • Read online on lotusarise.com, plus PDF download

₹1,499₹2,50040% off

Get Sociology Optional PYQ Solutions @ ₹1,499 →

One-time payment · 12 months of access · Instant access · UPI, cards, RuPay

See every Sociological Thinkers question (192 solved) →Already enrolled? Log in