Functionalist views of family

Question 1

Economic function of family

Answer 1

-Fulfils the economic function through the man working and providing for the family
-Women= domestic role that met the economic needs often through unpaid labour at home

Question 2

Murdock

Answer 2

-Focused on the nuclear family
-Existed in all societies studied by Murdock and performed clear function for its members and wider society

Question 3

Sexual regulation function of family

Answer 3

-Sexual relationships between men and women within marriage controlled and regulated sexual urges
-Promotion of heterosexuality ensured reproduction of next generation of society

Question 4

Education function of family

Answer 4

-Children learn norms and values of society through their parents/primary socialisation
-Norms and values allow children to fit into society and contribute to the harmonious functioning of society

Question 5

Reproduction function of family

Answer 5

-Men and women reproduce and these children become the next generation of society
-Without the function of reproduction, society could stagnate which places strain on elder members of society

Question 6

Evaluations of Murdock

Answer 6

-Marxists argue Murdock ignores the influence of capitalism in reproducing the next generation of workers
-Outdated- it fails to acknowledge changing gender roles and greater diversity of family

Question 7

Parsons

Answer 7

-View of nuclear family= more isolated- ‘privatised nuclear family’
-Domestic division of labour- males and females taking on specific roles based upon biological characteristics

Question 8

Primary socialisation- Parsons

Answer 8

-Early socialisation of children into norms and values of society
-Parents reinforce behaviours that are positive and sanction socially undesirable behaviours so that children will ‘fit into’ wider society

Question 9

Stabilisation of Adult Personalities- Parsons

Answer 9

-‘Warm bath theory’
-Family life provides emotional security for adult members
-Adults can indulge in childish tendencies through interacting with their children
-Actions stabilise personalities and prove a sense of fulfilment

Question 10

Functional fit theory- Parsons

Answer 10

-Nuclear family formed as an adaptation to industrialisation
-Functions of extended family needed to be replaced as nuclear family became socially and geographically mobile
-Nuclear family= best fit for modern society as people move for work and are rewarded for their efforts with promotions, leading up to movement up class system

Question 11

Sex role theory- Parsons

Answer 11

-Instrumental role taken on by male= economic support through going to work and provides discipline
-Expressive role- emotional support and nurturing role taken on by female

Question 12

Evaluations of Parsons

Answer 12

-Feminists criticise Parsons for stereotypical views of female role and expectations of females towards males
-Outdated- contemporary research states a decline in the functions of the family

Question 13

The March of Progress- Wilmott and Young

Answer 13

-March of progress= an idea of the family developing through a number of stages through history
-Stratified diffusion= changes in norms and values start among the wealthier in society and pass down to the lower class

Question 14

Pre-industrial family- Wilmott and Young

Answer 14

-Based in rural areas and worked in agriculture
-Family operated together- men, women and children working on land and in the home
-Family was a unit of production- produced its own goods for their own consumption, with any surplus traded with others in return for other goods

Question 15

Early industrial family- Wilmott and Young

Answer 15

-Families would move to urban areas and become employed in new industries such as manufacturing (pull factor)
-Families became a unit of consumption- exchanging labour in return for wages
-Extended family networks- provided education and childcare whilst adults worked
-Male and female time= separate- women stayed with family, men with fellow workers

Question 16

Symmetrical family- Wilmott and Young

Answer 16

-Developed post-war period
-Self-sufficient nuclear families had replaced kinship networks
-Men and women shared leisure time, joint conjugal roles developed but a division of tasks was still gender based
-There was male and female employment, although based on gendered stereotypes

Question 17

Asymmetrical family- Wilmott and Young

Answer 17

-Predicted the asymmetrical family organisation of upper classes would move down to working class
-Richer families had segregated conjugal roles, women employed helpers in home and they spent leisure time apart
-Limited application to current social hierarchy particularly working-class families

Question 18

Evaluations of Wilmott and Young

Answer 18

-Feminists critique the symmetrical family- women suffered a dual burden and triple shift
-Doesn’t take into account the greater diversity of family types outside the nuclear family