Theories of the Family Flashcards
What are functionalist views on the family?
Because Functionalists believe that society is based on a value consensus - a set of shared norms and values - they see the family as an essential building block for this considering it socialises children.
What are the criticisms of Murdock?
- Firstly, some sociologist argue that other institutions could perform these roles and/or other family structures and not just the nuclear family.
-Secondly, Marxists and Feminists reject his ‘rose-tinted’ harmonious consensus view that the family meets the needs of both wider society and all the other members of the family apart from the male figure. Feminists see the family serving he needs of men and oppressing women. Marxists argue that it meets the needs of capitalism, not those of the family members or society as a whole.
What does Murdock say about the family and its functions?
He argues that the family performs four important roles : stable satisfaction of the sex drive, Reproduction of the next generation, Socialisation of the young and Meeting its members economic needs.
What are Parson’s views on the family?
He argues that the family serves specific roles based on the society it is found in. He states that the family will be shaped and structured differently based on the functions it has to perform. He distinguishes between two types of family structures : The nuclear family and the extended family. He believes that the extended family functions well in a pre-industrial society, whereas the nuclear family functions well in a industrial society.
What two needs does the industrial society require according to Parsons?
1 - A geographically mobile workforce : in a modern society industries constantly spring up and decline in different parts for the country so this results in people having to move depending on where the work is. Parsons argues that the Nuclear family works better in this type of lifestyle of moving compared to the larger extended family.
2 - A socially mobile workforce : in a modern society an individual’s status is achieved through their own hard work rather than from being passed down through family so, this makes social mobility possible. Therefore, Parsons argues that the nuclear family is better equipped to meet the needs of the industrial society. In extended families sons live in their father’s household meaning the father is head of the house even though the son may have a better and higher paying job. Ultimately, he believes this could cause conflict within the household making it better for the son simply to just leave the household and start their own.
What are Marxists views on the family?
They believe that the family’s functions are performed for the benefit of a capitalist society. It also maintains a social divide between the Bourgeoisie and the Proletariat causing the family to be a unit of consumption.
What does Engels say about the purpose of the family?
- Inheritance of property - Engels and many other Marxists state that who owns and controls society’s productive forces determines the shape of all social institution. Engels argues that the rise of the monogamous nuclear family represented a defeat of the female sex as men ensured there was a male heir to inherit the private ownership of the means of production and they merely used women as a means of having children.
