family and households - the functionalist perspective Flashcards
What are the two basic functions of the family according to Parsons?
Primary socialization of children and stabilization of human personalities.
Define primary socialization as per Parsons.
Involves the learning and internalization of society’s culture, including language, history, and values.
Why does Parsons argue that society would cease to exist without socialization?
Because the new generation must accept society’s basic norms and values.
How does Parsons describe the role of families in personality development?
Families are factories producing human personalities.
What is the emotional role of the family according to Parsons?
To provide emotional warmth and security.
What does Parsons suggest about the impact of industrial society on personalities?
The pressures of work and life can destabilize personalities.
What are the roles of men and women in the family according to Parsons?
- Women have an expressive role.
- Men have an instrumental role.
What does the expressive role of women provide in the family?
Warmth, security, and emotional support.
What does the instrumental role of men involve in the family?
Being the family breadwinner.
How does the sexual division of labor contribute to personality stabilization?
It relieves stress and anxiety through the support provided by the expressive role.
What family structure has emerged in contemporary British society according to Parsons and others?
The privatized nuclear family.
Define the privatized nuclear family.
A self-contained, self-reliant, and home-centered unit.
What do members of the privatized nuclear family often know more about?
Media soap stars, celebrities, and computer game heroes.
True or False: The classic extended family is still the main family form in modern society.
False.
What term does Parsons use to describe the isolated nature of the privatized family?
Structurally isolated.
What is the role of the family in society according to functionalist writers?
The family is seen as a beneficial institution that contributes to social stability and provides practical and emotional support for individuals.
How do conflict theorists view the family?
Conflict theorists view the family as an agency of social control that reproduces social inequality across generations.
What do Marxists believe about the family?
Marxists see the family as a means of teaching submission to the ideology of the wealthy upper class and dampening social conflict.
According to feminist writers, what is the family based on?
The family is based on patriarchy, reproducing and supporting a society where men hold most power, status, and authority.
What is the functionalist perspective on the family?
Functionalism emphasizes integration, harmony, and the family’s role in maintaining the stability of society.
List the four main functions of the family according to Murdock (1949).
- Sexual function
- Reproductive function
- Socialization function
- Economic function
What is the sexual function of the family?
Expressing sexuality in a socially approved context.
What does the reproductive function of the family provide?
Stability for the reproduction and rearing of children.
What is the role of the family in socialization?
The family is an important unit of primary socialization where children learn socially acceptable behavior and the culture of their society.
What does the economic function of the family entail?
Providing food and shelter for family members.
True or False: Murdock suggests that the nuclear family is found in every society.
True
Fill in the blank: Functionalists are interested in how the family fits with other social institutions like _______.
[education or work]
