Question

Robert merton used the term _____ for the harmful consequences of people's actions.

Answer 1

Robert Merton used the term dysfunctions for the harmful consequences of people's actions.

According to Merton, functions (people's actions_ in society can either be functional (positive) or dysfunctional (negative). Here, we are focusing on dysfunctions- harmful consequences of people's actions. Dysfunctions in turn can either be manifest (obvious and expected) or latent (hidden and unintended). A manifest (expected) dysfunction is rowdy behavior at a football game, whereas, a latent (hidden) dysfunction is the effect of urbanization on an endangered bird species.