Talcott Parsons

The structure of the social system is defined by the patterned expectations of behavior which are institutionalized in the roles of its members.

The most general and fundamental property of a social system is its tendency to maintain its boundaries and its patterns of interaction.

Action is a process in the actor-situation system which has a motivational as well as a cognitive aspect.

The unit of social action is the 'act' which involves a 'normative orientation' to a 'situation' by an 'actor'.

The problem of order is the central problem of sociology.

The primary function of any social system is the maintenance of its own equilibrium.

Social systems are boundary-maintaining systems of interacting personalities.

The concept of 'function' refers to the consequences of a social pattern for the social system as a whole.

The family is the primary agency of socialization.

The differentiation of roles is a fundamental aspect of social organization.

The pattern variables are a set of dichotomous choices that actors face in any social situation.

The AGIL paradigm represents the four functional imperatives that all social systems must meet.

Adaptation, Goal Attainment, Integration, and Latency are the four functional imperatives.

The concept of 'institutionalization' refers to the process by which patterns of behavior become established and accepted in a social system.

The 'sick role' is a patterned set of expectations about how sick people should behave and how others should treat them.

The professional role is characterized by universalism, affective neutrality, specificity, and achievement orientation.

The general theory of action is an attempt to integrate the insights of various social sciences into a single conceptual framework.

The 'cultural system' provides the values, norms, and symbols that guide social action.

The 'personality system' refers to the individual actor's motivations, attitudes, and beliefs.

The 'behavioral organism' is the biological substratum of human action.