Family - Functionalism And The Role And Function Of The Family

Question 1

What did George Peter Murdock claim?

Answer 1

The nuclear family is universal and is the most common type of family found in any society and it performs four basic functions

Question 2

What are the four basic functions of the family according to Murdock

Answer 2

Reproductive
Sexual
Economic
Educational

Question 3

Explain the reproductive function (Murdock)

Answer 3

This is essential as without it society would cease to exist. It generally occurs within a marital and family context

Question 4

Explain the sexual function (Murdock)

Answer 4

Serves both society and the individual.
Unregulated and uncontrolled sexual behaviour which can potentially be socially disruptive and cause disorder.

Marital sex creates powerful emotional bond between a couple, encourages infidelity and commits the individual to family life.

Sex within marriage contributes to social order and stability because marital fidelity sets the moral rules for sexual behaviour in general.

Question 5

Explain the educational function of the family (Murdock)

Answer 5

Children learn the social values and norms via primary socialisation from their parents to be good conforming citizens.
The survival of society is dependent on culture being handed down from one generation to another

Question 6

Explain the economic function of the family according to Murdock

Answer 6

Parents take economic responsibility for the welfare of their children by being productive workers and bringing in a family income which underpins the family’s standard of living.
It also benefits society because if is assumed without question that family members should take their place in the economy and the division of labour as specialised wage earners thereby contributing to to the smooth running of the economy and society

Question 7

Who was Talcott Parsons

Answer 7

An American psychologist who contributed to the functionalist theory of the family.
Previously the family performed a variety of functions but now they specialise in just two basic and irreducible functions

Question 8

What are the two basic and irreducible functions according to parsons

Answer 8

The primary socialisation of children

The stabilisation of adult personalities

Question 9

Explain what Talcott parsons thought about structural differentiation

Answer 9

Pre industrial families performed a variety of functions (multi-functional) but because of urbanisation and the industrial revolution the nuclear family evolved and underwent a process called structural differentiation where it lost most of its functions to other specialised agencies and institutions

Question 10

Name three traditional function of family

Answer 10

Economic production and maintenance - providing food,shelter and clothing

Welfare- looking after and taking care of family members

Socialisation and education of the young

Question 11

What did parsons say about the family’s importance

Answer 11

The family has not decreased in importance as it is now specialised it can do a more effective job

Question 12

What two functions did parsons say that the modern isolated family is now focused on

Answer 12

The primary socialisation of children

The stabilisation of adult personalities

Question 13

What two functions did parsons say that the modern isolated family is now focused on

Answer 13

The primary socialisation of children

The stabilisation of adult personalities

Question 14

Explain the primary socialisation

Personality factories

Answer 14

Personalities are made not born and a child could only become a social adult by internalising the same norms and values of society.
Personality factories- Young citizens committed to the rules, patterns of behaviour and belief systems . Family is responsible for moulding personalities so society’s culture is a part of them.
Acts as a bridge between children and the wider society.

Question 15

If there was no primary socialisation what did parsons say there would be

Answer 15

No value consensus and without consensus social life would not be possible

Question 16

Explain gender socialisation parsons

Answer 16

Learning cultural patterns of behaviour expected of their gender such as what is appropriate masculine or feminine behaviour.
From an early age people are trained by their parents childr earring practices to conform to social expect ion of how male and females should behave.

There are also then reinforced through secondary socialisation

Question 17

Explain social control - parsons and Murdock

Answer 17

As Murdock said the family is regarded as he moral centre and sets how the rules regarding how people should behave especially regarding to sexuality and sex

Setting the boundaries of deviant behaviour, effective child rearing practices involves creating a moral conscience that teaches children to know the difference between right and wrong - backed up through sanctions.

Question 18

How does the family contribute to the maintenance of other social institutions (social order)

Answer 18

Ensuring that moral education of children who usually grow up to become decent, law abiding citizens and workers.

Question 19

What did parsons saw mothers as - social control

Answer 19

They played the major role in the process of nurturing and socialisation in families.

They are the expressive leaders who were biologically suited to looking after the emotional and cultural development of children.

Question 20

Key points of stabilisation of adult personalities

Answer 20

Warm bath

The family is to relieve stress of modern day living

steel and Kidd

Emotional support and security and the opportunity to play with children- acted as a safety valve and prevents stress from overwhelming its adult members and so strengthens social stability

Question 21

What did steel and Kidd note

Answer 21

by providing in the home a warm, loving, stable environment where adults can let themselves go in a childish and undignified way and the supervision and socialisation give parents stability and responsibility.

Question 22

Explain parsons analogy of the family as a warm bath

Answer 22

The family relieves pressures of everyday life and recharges the batteries of individuals. He argued it was especially for the male workers in the family as he is the instrumental leader as he can compensate from the stress of working life by immersing himself in family life

Question 23

Give 5 critiques of parsons not including Marxist and feminist views or interactionists

Answer 23

1. Dated as it was based upon the 1950’s American middle class nuclear family
2. There is family diversity now
3. Marriage is no longer essential to family life and a lot of couples have children now cohabitate
4. Few women are full time housewives
5. Parsons paints an over socialised view of children with children being pumped of culture by their parents.

Question 24

Why do feminists and Marxists criticise parsons

Answer 24

Criticised by Marxists and feminists for assuming that the family no longer performs an economic function
Feminists argue that women still preform a unpaid domestic labour.
Marxists argue that the family provides workers that keeps the economy going and spends the family wage consuming foods and services.

Question 25

Why do interactionists criticise parsons

Answer 25

Instead of being pumped with culture by their parents they say that socialisation is a two way interaction which can involve children changing and or socialising their parents by being spoils, twisting their parents around their finger etc they can modify their parents behaviour to e.g. Pester power
Some commentators note that the media may be more influential than parents in socialising children

Question 26

Who said that the functions of the family have actually increased

Answer 26

Ronald Fletcher

Question 27

What four functions did Fletcher say the family did

Answer 27

Economic
Health
Educational
Recreation and leisure

Question 28

Explain the health function which fletcher explained

Answer 28

Most families support and care for other family members If they are ill, disabled,elderly or in poverty so the family makes an important contribution to vulnerable members of society and works alongside or institutions such as the NHS

Question 29

Explain the economic function which fletcher explained

Answer 29

The goods and services provided by the economy are mainly consumed by the family

Question 30

Explain the educational function which fletcher explained

Answer 30

This went beyond socialisation
Children often receives social and cultural supports from parents such as educational toys, help with homework, private tuition,attendance at private schools and some families offer their children considerable economic support not only during early years but also when they leave home e.g university

Question 31

Explain the recreation and leisure function which fletcher explained

Answer 31

Parents started to interpret the world as a much riskier place especially in the 1990’s for children and so their tended to spend more time at home

Question 32

Explain what evidence there was for the leisure and education function

Answer 32

Evans and chandler (2006) note now home and specially children’s bedrooms are often now furnished with media and technological entertainment such as televisions, DVD players and computer games

Question 33

Give two post modernists critiques of British functionalism

Answer 33

1. There is evidence that the uk faces a large amount of domestic violence and child abuse but it is rarely acknowledged by functionalists such as young and wilmott or fletcher
2. Family functions have changed considerably as we have more choices at our disposal

Question 34

List 7 functions of the family

Answer 34

Procreation 
Regulating sex 
Economic
Stabilising adult personalities 
Welfare 
Socialisation 
Social control

Question 35

How have recent changes affected the procreation function

Answer 35

People are choosing to have fewer children. They are choosing to have children later in life
Women are choosing to be childless in Pershing of a career
UK Birth rate gas consequently fallen

Question 36

How have recent changes affected the regulating sex function

Answer 36

Sex before marriage and outside marriage and cohabitation are now the norm
Alternative sexualities are now more acceptable

Question 37

How have recent changes affected the economic function

Answer 37

Although welfare benefits are seen by some as undermining family economic responsibilities. The family is still a crucial agency of economic support especially as the housing market becomes more expensive for first time buyers and so young people are in education longer and build up stent debt.
Stay at home into adult years

Question 38

How have recent changes affected the welfare function

Answer 38

A decline instate funding of welfare in the 1980’s led to encouragement of community care In which family and especially women became more responsible for the care of the elderly , long term sick and disabled

Question 39

How have recent changes affected the socialisation function

Answer 39

Socialisation is still rooted in the family however there are concerns that mass media and peer group are more influential resulting in children growing faster and becoming more sexualised at a much earlier age

Question 40

How have recent changes affected the social control function

Answer 40

Power has been shifted between parents and children as children acquire more rights.
Alongside this and banking the smacking of children is thought to undermine parental discipline

Other sociologists argue that families need fathers and see the absence of fathers in one parents families as a major cause of delinquency

Question 41

Give two strengths of functionalism

Answer 41

1. In almost all societies around the world we can find variations of the two-generation nuclear family with adults of both sexes and dependent children
2. Many people desire to live in a nuclear household first defined by parsons . Chester point end that there is a good chance in someone’s lifecycle that they will experience the nuclear family for a significant period of time