Functionalism and the family Flashcards
Functionalistic views on the family
-For functionalists the institutions in society are important as they help maintain social order and cohesion
-They see the family as positive for society and believe that the nuclear family is a positive institution that is beneficial to society. They look at functions that the nuclear family provides for the good of society as a whole.
-The nuclear family is the best suited to the wider needs of society.
Murdock
-Carried out research in 250 countries and argued that there are 4 basic functions of the family- Sexual(provides sexual satisfaction to adults), Reproductive(produces and raises the next gen.), Economic(families support each other financially), Educational(socialises children into wider society)
-In conclusion he claims that the family is universal and inevitable and that families exist in every society.
Murdock Evaluation
-He has a rose tinted view of the family and tends to ignore the conflict and exploitation within the family, especially female exploitation
-Feminists see the family as serving the needs of men and oppressing women, as Murdock ignores the inequality and power imbalances within the nuclear family particularly the unequal division of labour and the subordination of women.
-Morgan- Murdock ignores things such as divorce and domestic abuse.
Parsons
-He saw the family as being a factory that produces the next batch of citizens.
-He identified 2 basic and irreducible functions of the family: primary socialisation and stabilisation of adult personalities
-Warm bath theory- the idea that the family is a relaxing and caring place away from the worries of the world
Parsons evaluation
-He presents an idealised view of the family, his theory was solely based on white middle class, this ignores variations in families and cultures
-Primary socialisation is seen as a one way process and ignores how children socialise and mould their parents.
Popenoe
-Neo functionalist that argued that the decline of the nuclear family is a major social problem. He believes in traditional and nuclear family, with a clear division of labour and between husband and wife which is fundamental for the healthy development of children and the stability of society
-He contended that the rise of single parent households and cohabitation has led to an increase in social problems such as crime, poverty and educational failure.
Popenoe evaluation
-Postmodernists disagree with Popenoe’s view of the family because they challenge the idea of a single ideal family structure. They emphasises the diversity and fluidity of family forms.
-Popenoe’s focus on the nuclear family as the standard is too rigid and romanticised as it fails to recognise the good about the wide range of family structures that exist in contemporary society.
New Right
-If the family is not nuclear then it is negative for society.
-They believe that children who come from nuclear families do better in school, get better jobs, do not turn to crime.
-It believes that single parent and same sex parent couples are bad for society. The new right argues that the nuclear family is ideally suited to teaching a child moral decency
-Charles Murray- he links excessive welfare benefits lead to no positive, working, make role model and these lead to intergenerational transmission of the culture of dependency.
New Right evaluation
-We can argue that the New right and Murray often blame single parent families and the poor for societal problems, overlooking the structural factors such as poverty, discrimination, and lack of opportunities that contribute to family challenges.
