functions of the family

Question 1

Murdock functions

Answer 1

-sexual- provides a stable sexual relationship for adultts
- reproduction- provides new members of society
- socialisation- teaches children the norms and values of society
- economic- pools resources and provides for all of its members

Question 2

Parson’s functions

Answer 2

• socialisation- provides primary socialisation of children
• stabilisation of adult personalities- the emotional relationships between parents give support and security to cope in wider society and acts as a sanctuary from everyday life

Question 3

feminist criticism of Parson’s

Answer 3

• Murdock only focuses on the nuclear family

Question 4

marxist functions explanation

Answer 4

• The family performs essential functions for society which benefit the bourgeoisie and the economy but disadvantage the proleteriat

Question 5

Engles functions

Answer 5

• inheritance of wealth
• the family stays wealthy as it is passed on through inheritance

Question 6

Zaretsky functions

Answer 6

• cushioning effect
• provides a haven to comfort those who are oppressed at work and relieve frustration by having power in the home

Question 7

unit of consumption function (marxism)

Answer 7

• acts as a unit of consumption as they buy goods developed by the capitalist industry which helps increase the bourgeoisie profit

Question 8

althusser marxist function

Answer 8

• socialisation- passes on dominant ideology to children which supports the capitalist system, allowing exploitation to continue into the next generation

Question 9

criticisms of marxist functions

Answer 9

• ignores any other benefits to society
• assumes only the male has full time paid employment
• doesn’t explain why the family changes

Question 10

feminist functions

Answer 10

• feminists emphasise the harmful effects of family life upon women as it contributes to the continuing opression as family and marriage are major sources of oppression and gender inequalities in society

Question 11

liberal feminist functions

Answer 11

• culture and norms are reinforced by the family, but family is only sexist as it supports mainstream culture
• social change is possible if enough pressure is put on legal systems and government

Question 12

Marxist feminist functions

Answer 12

• the exploitation of women is essential to capitalism as they help produce and care for the next generation of workers at almost no cost to capitalism

Question 13

radical feminist functions

Answer 13

• housework exploits women but is down to a patriarchal society, not capitalism
• Delphy and Leonard- family is a patriarchal institution where women do most of the work whilst men get most of the benefits

Question 14

feminist functions criticisms

Answer 14

• portray women as passive
• not all family structures are patriarchal in contemporary society (neo-conventional)
• ignores gay or lone parent households
• women from different ethnic backgrounds may have different experiences

Question 15

Giddens- post modernism

Answer 15

• people have more choice in terms of relationship and family
• today’s relationships are pure relationships- last as long as they are happy, so cohabitation and serial monogamy are more common

Question 16

Stacey- post modernism

Answer 16

• women have more freedom now to shape the family arrangements to suit their needs and be reed from oppression
• divorce extended family- members of two families being connected via a divorce

Question 17

sociology of personal life

Answer 17

• Smart
• the family is not in decline, it is just more diverse and complex than before
• it focuses on relationships that are important but not neccessarily classed as family (pets)

Question 18

A03 personal life

Answer 18

• helps understand how people construct and define relationships
• ignores the specialty of blood or marriage relationships