Theories of the Family Flashcards
name the four different views on family
- Functionalist (consensus perspective)
- Marxist (class conflict perspective)
- Feminist (gender conflict perspective)
- Personal life
Murdock’s definition of family
“approved sexual relationship and one or more children, own or adopted of the sexually cohabiting parents”
Murdock’s four function
sexual - stable satisfying sex with the same partner
reproductive - reproduction of the next generation
education - socialisation of the young into society’s shared norms and values
economic - meeting its members’ economic needs such as food and shelter
Functionalist perspective
they believe that society is based on a value consensus (set of shared norms and value) into society which socialises its members
Criticisms of Murdock
Murdock accepts other institutions could perform these functions, however, he argues that the sheer practicality of the nuclear family as a way of meeting these four needs explains why it is universal
- others criticise his approach, Marxists and Feminists reject his rose tinted consensus view, they argue that functionalism neglects conflict and exploitation
Feminist view
- they see the family as serving the needs of men and oppressing women
Marxist view
- they argue that it meets the needs of capitalism, not those of the family members or society as a whole
Parsons’ ‘functional fit’ theory
Argues the functions that the family performs will depend on the kind of society they are found in
Parsons distinguishes between two kinds of family structure:
- nuclear family
- extended family
Nuclear family
parents and their dependent children
Extended family
family of three gens living under one roof
Parsons Theory
according to hi, there are two basic types of society:
- modern industrial society
- traditional pre industrial society
Industrial society
the nuclear family fits this society and is the dominant family type in that society, while the extended family fits the needs of the pre - industrial society
Parsons sees industrial society as having two essential needs:
- Geographically mobile workforce
- Socially mobile workforce
Geographically mobile workforce
In traditional pre-industrial society ppl often spent their whole lives living in the same village/farm. By contrast, in modern society, industries constantly spring up and decline in diff parts of the country.
- Parsons argues that it is easier for the compact two gen nuclear fam to move than for a three gen extended fam
Nuclear fam is better fitted to the need that modern industry has for a geographically mobile workforce
