Functionalist perspectives of the family Flashcards
1
Q
Functionalist theory of the family
A
- Nuclear family is the best for society as it maintains social order & stability
- Adults & children benefit from emotional satisfaction, providing security & identity
- Marriage is important for a value consensus
2
Q
Household
A
Group of people who live together, may or may not be family
3
Q
Extended family
A
3 or more of the same generation living together
4
Q
Reconstituted family
A
2 new partners who bring children from former families to create a new family
5
Q
GP Murdock (1949) on the family
A
- Observed 250 families from different cultures & argued some form of nuclear family existed in all cultures
- Concluded that the family has 4 functions: Sexual, Reproductive, Economic and Educational
6
Q
Positives of functionalist views on family
A
- Evidence of it in many well-functioning cultures
- Provides economic security
7
Q
Negatives of functionalist views on family
A
- Imbalances in family can still occur
- Bad parenting can affect development of child
- Some would argue it restricts women
- Can be argued it has contributed to a decline in religiosity in the West; with the number of non religious people being higher than religious people for first time ever (since records began in 1810)
8
Q
Criticisms of Murdock
A
- His definition of family very ethnocentric & reflective of a particular time & place - 1940s America (when he was writing)
- Dated and fails to account for modern trends
- Reproduction rates are declining
- Decline of religious influence
- Socialisation can take place in many more places now (media, TV, news)
- Solely focuses on heterosexual marriage
9
Q
Parsons on the family structures & relationships
A
- Argued that family structures & relationships shaped by industrial revolution
- Pre industrial societies consisted of lots of farming communities with extended families where the whole family fulfilled beneficial roles
- Effects of industrialisation meant factories built in urban areas which made families more geographically mobile
- Extended families split & became smaller
- No one made their own stuff anymore and nuclear families were reliant on work
- Children lost their value
10
Q
Parsons 2 thoughts about what role the nuclear family had
A
Primary Socialisation & Stabilisation of adult personalities
11
Q
Parsons arguments on primary socialisation
A
- Personalities are “made, not born”
- He viewed nuclear families as capable of moulding children into responsible people
- Anyone can turn out well
12
Q
Parson on the stabilisation of adult personalities
A
- Nuclear families can act as a “warm bath” and can soothe the mind and body after the hard day, & marriage is crucial to this
- “let go” at home which reduces the need to rebel
- Men and women different but equal; husband has an instrumental role and wife wife has an expressive role
