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Sociology Optional PYQ Solutions · Model answer

What, according to Merton, is the difference between ‘unanticipated consequences’ and ‘latent functions’? Give examples to elaborate.

  • UPSC 2019
  • Sociological Thinkers

Robert K. Merton developed the two ideas at different stages. "The Unanticipated Consequences of Purposive Social Action" (1936) belongs to a theory of action. The latent function, set out in Social Theory and Social Structure (1949), belongs to functional analysis of systems. The first concept is wider; the second is one part of it.

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What the full answer covers

  • The core distinction
  • Sources of unanticipated consequences (1936)
  • Examples
  • Conclusion

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