Functionalist Perspective on the Family Flashcards
Outline the functionalist perspective
- They believe society is based on a value consensus which socialises its members and enables harmonious cooperation to meet society’s needs
- They see society as made of sub-systems that depend on each other (organic analogy) including the family
What does Peter Murdock argue?
- The family performs 4 function to meet the needs of society and its members:
- Stable satisfaction of the sex drive, with the same person to prevent social disruption
- Reproduction of the next generation, to continue society
- Socialisation of the young, into societal norms
- Meeting its members’ economic needs, like food and shelter
- He argues that the sheer practicality of the nuclear family as a way of meeting the 4 needs explains why it’s universal
What are criticisms of Murdock?
- Some argue that these needs could be performed equally well by other institutions or non-nuclear families, Murdock says the nuclear family is just more practical
- Marxists and feminists reject the harmonious consensus view that the family meets the needs of all. Feminists see the family as serving men and oppressing women while Marxists argue it meets the needs of capitalism
Outline Parson’s ‘functional fit’ theory
The family can perform other needs, than just those of Murdock, e.g. welfare, religious function etc.
- But Parsons says th functions performed depend on the kind of society the family is found in, and the function it has to perform will affect its structure,
Describe the two family types identified by Parsons
- The nuclear family: parents and their dependent
- The extended family: three generations living under one roof
- Parsons argues the structure and functions of a given type of family will ‘fit’ the needs of the society it is found in
Describe the two types of societies identified by Parsons
- The industrial and pre-industrial society. The nuclear fits the needs of industrial society and is the dominant type in that society while the extended family fits the needs of pre-industrial society.
- He argues, when Britain began to industrialise, the extended family gave way to the nuclear. As the emerging industrial society had different needs and the family had to adapt to meet them
What are the two needs of the industrial family as identified by Parsons?
- A geographically mobile workforce
- A socially mobile workforce
What is a geographically mobile workforce?
In pre-industrial, people worked in the same village and farm. But in modern society, industries are moving constantly to different parts of the country or the world, which requires people to move where the jobs are.
How does the nuclear family fit the need of a geographically mobile workforce?
Parsons argue a compact two-generation nuclear family to move is easier two move than an extended one, so it’s better fitted to the needs of modern society of a geographically mobile workforce
What is a socially mobile workforce?
- Modern society is based on evolving science and technology, which requires a skilled workforce. It is then essential that talented people win promotions , even if they are from humble backgrounds
- People can now earn individual status by ability, not ascribed by their background making social mobility possible.
How does a nuclear family fit the need of a socially mobile workforce?
- Parson argues the nuclear family is better suited as in an extended, adults sons live in their fathers home, who has a higher ascribed status in the family, but at work the son may have earned a higher status, causing tension in the household.
- The solution is for them to move out, leading to the nuclear being more effective.
What does a mobile nuclear family result it?
The mobile nuclear family is ‘structurally isolated’ from its extended kin. Though it may keep in touch, it has no obligations towards them, unlike the pre-industrial where relatives had an overriding duty to help one another e.g. at harvest or in hardships
How was the pre-industrial family a multi-functional unit?
- It was both a unit of production, as family worked together, and a unit of consumption, feeding and clothing its members.
- It was more self-sufficient as it provided health and welfare and met most individual and social needs.
Give evidence against Parsons
- Young and Willmott, and Laslett suggested the nuclear family was the most common before industrialisation.
- The extended hasn’t disappeared, evidence suggests that it still performs important functions (e.g. finical and emotional support and childcare)
Describe the loss of functions
- Parsons argues the family isn’t a unit of production, now works in factories and is only a unit of consumption and lost other functions to other institutions, e.g. schools and health service.
- Due to the loss, the modern nuclear family performs just two essentials functions
