functionalist view of the family Flashcards
Murdocks 4 functions
-regulation of sexual behaviour
-reproduction of the next generation
-socialisation of the young
-meeting its members economic needs
Murdock’s regulation of sexual behaviour meaning
expressing sexuality in a socially approved context, disapproval attached e.g incest
Murdock’s reproduction of the next generation meaning
the family providing some stability for the reproduction and rearing of children
Murdock’s socialisation of the young meaning
family is an important unit of primary socialisation of children where they learn socially acceptable behaviour and the culture of their society to help build the shared ideas and beliefs which functionalists regard a important for maintaining a stable society
Murdocks meeting economic needs meaning
the family provides food and shelter for its members
Murdock’s 4 functions criticism
Murdock fails to recognise the negatives that happen in families e.g unable to care for children and social care replacing family so its too ‘rose tinted’
Parsons 2 essential needs for society and definitions
a geographically mobile workforce = easier to move a nuclear family than an extended family to find work
a socially mobile workforce = people able to achieve status in an industrial society rather than having it ascribed at birth means society makes use of all its talented members not just m/c - meritocracy
Parsons ‘functional fit’ definition
each family types fits the society it is found in, nuclear family is the best fit for modern industrial society - men take the ‘bread winner’ = instrumental role - women take the nurturing side = expressive role
Parsons 2 irreducible functions of the family
1 = primary socialisation of children - brining up children in the culture of society, learning and internalising societies language, history etc
2 = stabilisation of adult personalities - ‘warm bath theory’, need for work and money combined with boredom at work and pressure to succeed threaten to destabilise personalities so family is a place of relaxation to reduce stress
Parson’s primary socialisation criticism
the need for mums to earn a wage has led to primary socialisation also being responsibility of childminders or grandparents so no longer sole responsibility of the family
Parson’s stabilisation of adult personalities criticism
the family doesnt always help with stress, conflict, domestic abuse, child abuse so the family may not always be safe
hoe is extended family similar and different to nuclear family
similar = patriarchal, unit of consumption and primary socialisation
different = large/small , close links to kin/loose kinship network
functionalist view evaluations
-downplaying conflict, paint rosy pictures of family life however downplay ‘dark side’ of family life e.g violence leading to children being used as scapegoats by parents
-out of date, parsons instrumental and expressive roles are old-fashioned when women were only housewives but now women are wage-earning bread winners
-ignores exploitation of women, responsibility of housework and child-care with no pay which can cause stress
-ignores harmful effects of family, nuclear family has become privatised so its become a inward-looking institution that leads to stress, members demand too m much of each other
Parsons - 3 functions taken over by social institutions
-during industrialisation family ceased to be a unit of production + consumption
-family stopped being an agent of secondary socialisation as schools are main educator
-family lost function of caring (care home)
criticisms of Parsons
-Young and Wilmott argue men are now taking on domestic roles and women are becoming wage earners
-feminists reject his view that the division of labour is natural
