Family Flashcards
what was Murdock’s view on the family?
functionalism- there are four functions of the family:
* sexual
* reproductive
* educational/ socialisation
* economic
what did parsons say about the family?
functionalism- there are actually 2 functions of the family
* primary socialisation
* stabilisation of adult personality
what was parsons theory about family?
the warm bath theory
* family life stabilises adult personalities
* emotional support/ security in family reduces stress from work etc.
* this strengthens social stability
what are 3 criticisms of functionalist views on family?
- they put a happy picture on society and ignore conflict such as child abuse or violence
- functional relationships/ families can easily slip into dysfunctional relationships/ families
- based on white middle class american families- not considered how different cultures/ classes/ ethnicities can influence family structure
how does the family support capitalism (4 ways)
- recreates social class through inheritance
- consumer unit
- educational advantages are passed down (money to go to private school)
- working class learn to accept inferior position in capitalist society because these capitalist values/ culture are reinforced through the family
what is Zaretsky’s view on the family
marxism- family helps capitalism to continue and only socialism can end seperation of family and public life to fuflfil needs
* cushioning effect/ comforting device- comfort from the hardships of society but he believes that the family allows a man to feel in control and powerful which they don’t feel in the workplace due to bourgeoisie oppression
* economic function
* reproduces social class
* teaches children to become passive and respectful to authority to make them easier to control when older
what are 3 criticisms of the marxist approach to families?
- children may resist the process in primary socialisation
- many are satisfied with family life and see it as a goal
- feminists argue marxists focud on the male as breadwinner, ignoring family diversity
who thought there were four funtions of the family?
murdock
who thought there were two functions of the family?
parsons
who came up with the warm bath theory?
parsons
who thought that family helped capitalism continue?
zaretsky
how does family reinforce the patriarchy? (2 ways and an example)
- gender roles reinforce patriarchy as the roles are designed to benefit men at the expense of women
- primary socialisation- patriarchal ideology’s prescribed attitudes toward the categories of role, temperament, and status
- for example, the normalised obedience of wife to husband
what are Delphy & Leonard’s views on the family?
feminist (radical)- women exploited by doing unpaid housework which isn’t recognised and men benefit most from this
* hierarchy- husband provides but also controls woman for her unpayed housework even if she goes to work full time
* women are often financially dependent on the husband so even though they work hard they are lower in the family hierarchy
* therefore the family is patriarchal and helps patriarchy continue
who believed that the family exploits women and supports the patriarchy?
delphy & leonard
6 criticisms on the feminist view on families
- they are critical
- delphy and leonard are radical and don’t consider other factors
- there have been improvements
- some feminists ignore same-sex relationships/ diverse family types
- some women enjoy being housewives/ raising kids
- ignores equal households and stay at home dads
what are murray’s views on the family?
new right- there is a group of individuals in a society considered the underclass created by single parenthood
* this group comprises people take advantage of the welfare system, remain unemployed, commit crimes, and socialise their children to continue the same lifestyle
what is the new right perspective?
the decline of the traditional family and the growth of family diversity are the cause of many social problems such as higher crime rates and declining moral standards generally
who believed there was an underclass in society because of an increase of untraditional/ single parent families?
murray
3 criticisms of the new right
- they blame the victims (blame poor for poverty)
- relies on correlations between family types and social problems (correlation doesn’t necessarily mean causation)
- ignore class, gender and racial inequalities
what were rapoport & rapoport’s views on the family?
family diversity is an increasing global trend and cereal packet families are a myth and there are five types of family diversity:
* cultural
* life course- (family type changes as you go through life)
* organisational- (structure- division of labour, roles)
* generational- (different generations have different types of family because of the attitudes and views of their time)
* social class- (different classes are socialised differently)
who believed that family diversity is becoming more prominent in society and the cereal packet family was a myth?
rapoport and rapoport
5 reasons for family diversity
- changes in law/ social values- e.g. easier to get a divorce because of the divorce reform act 1969 and the no fault divorce law 2022
- longer life expectancy
- secularisation (decline in religion)
- immigration
- employment for women
what is a kibbutz?
living together communally and value equality and co-operation between members- found in israel
how is childhood socially constructred?
it is not given the same meaning across cultures and time, but is specific to each society- across the world, the age at which a person develops from a child into an adult is different
what is toxic childhood?
children are being deprived of proper time to be a child due to advancing technology- gaming, TV, internet- shaping their values which weakens the role parents play in socialisation
what were pre-industrial families like?
members worked together for survival
what were industrialised families like?
- people moved to towns/ cities for work
- laws excluded women/ children from workplace making men breadwinners
- women responsible for childcare/ emotional support
- children became more dependent on adults
- the state took over some functions of the family-
- nuclear family
what are contemporary families like?
- family type diversity
- more self sufficiency
- more sharing of tasks/ equal involvement in decisions/ both partners work
- more child-centered
- unit of consumption
- leisure time is spent together (money spent on enjoyment)
5 reasons marriage rate has decreased/ divorce rate has increases
- women no longer financially dependent on husbands
- increased secularisation
- changing values/ laws
- increased cost of living and marriages
- people have higher expectations of marriage
what are conjugal roles?
roles within a marriage or partnership- two types
what is the expressive role?
(acording to parsons) mothers are biologically suited to looking after the emotional/ cultural development of children
what is the instrumental role?
(according to parsons) the father works outside of the house to earn money for the family
what did parson believe about roles in marriages?
there are two types of conjugal role needed for a family to function based on biological differences between sexes- expressive and instrumental.
what were ann oakley’s view on the family?
feminism- conventional families are nuclear families composed of legally married couples, voluntarily choosing the parenthood of one or more (but not too many) children
* this was later called the cereal packet family (advertisement- “family sized”)
what is dual burden and who came up with it?
delphy and leonard- women doing work and housework
what is triple shift?
women doing work, housework and emotional work
what was Wilmott & Young’s theory on the family?
rise in the symmetrical family- where a family divides all responsibilities equally between partners
who came up with the idea of a symmetrical family?
wilmott & young
4 consequences of increasing divorce rate
- emotional effects on husband/ wife
- increase in lone parent families
- children must adjust to new relationships and it is difficult for them to keep in contact
- extended family may be cut off
what do marxists think about divorce?
although the nuclear family is upholds capitalism, divorce is also good for capitalism because they will have to spend more money on divorcing, remarrying and forming new families
