Family and Households - CORE THEORIES Flashcards
To understand the core theories surrounding the family
How did Murdock (1949) view the family?
Four Functions
Murdock argues that the nuclear family has four important functions.
Sexual - Stable satisfaction of sex drive with the same partner, preventing the social disruption caused by sexual ‘free for all’
Reproduction - Reproduction of the next generation without which society could not continue
Education - Socialisation of the young into society’s shared norms of values
Economy - Meeting its members’ economic needs such as food and shelter.
Murdock accepts that other institutions fulfil this role, but argues the nuclear family is the most practical way to fulfil them
What are the criticisms of Murdock four functions theory?
Feminists argue that the family mainly serves the needs of men and oppresses women.
Marxist argue that it meets the needs of capitalism, not those of the family.
Parsons argues that he is out of date, as over time the family has lost functions due to institutions carrying out the functions.
How did Parsons (1955) view the family?
The functional fit theory!
Functions of Parsons argues that over time the functions of family have changed based on the societies needs, and this can change the shape of the family.
There are two types of societies - modern industrial and pre-industrial
The extended family was needed for a pre-industrial society. As in this time, a socially mobile workforce was not required, but generations of families working together was needed to maintain the lands they were working on.
The nuclear family is needed for modern industrial families. The nuclear family is geographically mobile, as its small size makes it ideal for workers to go to where employment is needed. The nuclear family also is socially mobile, as the father initially has a higher achieved status over the child where the child can work hard to overcome.
Parsons also argues that the functions of the family over time reduced to its fundamental functions. Stabilisation of adult personalities and the primary socialisation of children. This happened as other institutions slowly took up the roles of the family leaving only two that the state was unable to replace with an institution other than the family.
Criticisms of Parsons view functional fit theory.
Parsons has lots of criticism, for example Willmot and Young (1973) shows that the pre-industrial families were nuclear not extended.
There is a statistically significant amount of extended families in modern Britain, this shows that family type is still performing its functions so therefore not irrelevant.
What views did Engels have on the family?
Marxist Engles argues the family has been influenced by “inheritance of property”
All institutions have been shaped due to mode of production (who owns means of productions and controls in society). It is the capitalist class that owns the means of production, as the mode of production evolves, so too does the family.
Marx called the early societies ‘primitive communism’. As it was classless and nobody owned means of production. At this stage there was no family, just a ‘promiscuous horde’.
This changed however as when society’s wealth began to increase, a class of men emerged who were able to secure the means of production. In order for these people to get legitimate heirs to their private property, monogamy needed to be enforced.
This shift into monogamy is known as the “world historical defeat of the female sex” converting women to “a mere instrument for the production of children”
Criticism of Engels “inheritance of property” theory?
Marxists tend to assume that the nuclear family is dominant in capitalist society. This ignores the wide variety of family structures found in society today.
How did Zaretsky (1976) view the family?
Marxist Zaretsky argues the family is serving an “ideological function”
Zaretsky argues that the family performs ideological functions for society. They reinforce a set of ideas and beliefs that justify inequality and maintain the capitalist system by persuading people to accept it as fair, natural or unchanged.
One way in which the family does this is by socialising children into the idea that hierarchy and inequality are inevitable. Parental power over children makes children get used to the idea that someone needs to be in charge (normally a man) and this prepares them for a working life in which they can be exploited by their capitalist employers.
Zaretsky takes this idea further as he argues that the family acts as a “haven” from the exploitative. This “haven” is founded on the exploitation and subservience of woman
Criticism of Zaretsky “Ideological functions”?
Very outdated as it assumes the worker is male and that there is only one worker in the family
Also, despite acknowledging gender based exploitation, according to feminists he doesn’t explore it enough and go into detail in other ways women are victims of capitalism.
What is May (2011) theory on the family?
This personal life theorist proposes the networks theory
Changes in society has meant that people often draw meaning from relationships from outside of the family unit.
Greater diversity of family life and increase in lone person families means that functions of the family are often fulfilled by others.
People have networks of individuals - including family - to fulfil their needs. For example, single parents may rely on their neighbours for childcare and mental support when things get rough
How did Smart (2007) view the family?
She is a postmodernist and proposes the ‘connectedness thesis’
Sociology of the family is very ethnocentric - focus on white middle class family
People can develop meaningful relationships outside of the family. Often stronger bonds than the family.
The family is not insignificant due to friends, it’s whether people choose to let family be significant.
5 concepts that influence personal relationships:
Memory - shared emotional memories
Biography - life history of relationship
Embeddedness - the extent in which they are connected.
Relationality - health of the relationship
Imaginary - how the relationship is perceived by both pirates.
How did Beck view the family?
They are a postmodernist who proposes the ‘Negotiated family’
Relationships are emotional refugees in an insecure society. But all relationships have “risks”.
This risk leads to alternatives in the family. People come together and evaluate their needs to minimise risk and form a negotiated family.
How did Bauman view the family?
Post modernist Bauman argues ‘liquid love’
Relationships are based on consumer transactions (what one obtains from relationships)
Greater focus on individual freedom has put pressure on relationships. This insecurity has led to more preference in flexible relationships like LTA (living together apart) or open marriages
Can be seen to be the reason for increased divorce rate
