From Ruth A Wallace "contemporary Sociological Theory" sixth edition
Parson's action theory includes role players, either individuals or collective group. The role players are the ones who have motivation to reach certain goal, they must have means, with time and condition of their environment, applying normative standard or passing standard requirement, their actions will enable them to reach final goal.
According to him, a purposive actors who were oriented to gals but had to fulfill certain conditions, themselves defined by normative expectation, before they could be gratified. Parson wanted to show that actors' situation is not entirely unstructured and uncertain, he formulated the patten variables, which categorize expectations and the structure of relationships.
Parson's this part of work is based on Ferdinand Toennies's (1855-1936) gemeinschaft-gesellschaft typology. Toennies was interested in contrasting primitive communities (gemeinschaft) with modern industrial (gesellschaft) societies.
Gemeinschaft community is characterized by a predominance of close personal bonds or kinship relations; Gesellschaft by more impersonal, business type relations. Parson labeled the relationships in traditional societies, which are mainly personal and informal, expressive, and relationships in modern society, which are mainly impersonal, formal, instrumental.
In modern society, both relationships exist and are needed. Parson argued that the instrumental leadership role must be accorded to the husband-father, on whom the reputation and income of the family depend. Likewise because of the occupational responsibilities of the father, the mother must take on the expressive role-leadership in the socialization of children.
This idea was strongly criticized by Feminists who argued that Parson's statement regarding the positive functions of this expressive/instrumental division of labor in the family was attempt to justify the status quo. They criticized his theory of gender socialization as oppressive for both gender, but particular for women.
Facing such criticism, Parson expanded his twofold typology into the five-fold patten variables:
| Expressive(Gemeinschaft) | Instrumental (Gesellscaft) |
| Ascription | Achievement |
| Diffuseness | Specificity |
| Affectivity | Neutrality |
| Particularism | Universalism |
| Collective | Self |
Parson's definition of patten variable is " a dichotomy, one side of which must be chosen by an actor before the meaning of a situation is determine for him, and thus before he can act with respect to the situation."
The first choice actors must make is between ascription and achievement, i.e.what they are or what they can.
for example, the employers are expected to choose the employee based on what they can do in the past, not based on what they are, according to their color, age, gender, and sexual oriental etc. But bear in mind, there remains situation in which the recruitment or hiring choice is expected to be at least partly ascriptive, eg age requirement. Appropriate choice between these two variable is not arbitrary, and subject to normative expectation.
Second, diffuseness and specificity, here refers to the range of demands in the relationship. Diffuse relationship often refers to close personal ones when one can freely and deeply share personal affairs; while Specific relationship often refers to doctors and patients, involving specific profession and skill and within certain range.
Parson argued that in modern societies that appropriate choice generally involves specifically defined behavior, while traditional societies, more relationships are diffuse.
Third, Affectivity or affective neutrality, Here refers to whether the actor can expect emotional gratification in the relationship. An engaged couple certainly expect to relate to each other with affectivity; while, teacher and student are expect to opt for neutrality.
The fourth pattern variable is particularism or universalism. Here the choice is between reacting on the basis of a general norm or reacting on the particular group. Because teacher is expected to treat all the student equally, it is difficult for parents to have their own children as students.
The fifth pattern variable, the collectivity-self orientation, involves the dilemma of whether private interests can be gratified, or collective obligation or duty must be fulfilled. Self interest is highly institutionalized in the business world, while civil servants are expected to carry their duties for the best interests of public.
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