Topic 3 - Theories of the family Flashcards
Functionalists beliefs about society:
- society is based on a value consensus (shared norms and values) into which society socialises its memebers
- the valuse consesus enables memebers of society to cooperate harmoniously to meet societys needs and achieve shared goals
- society is like a biological organism, lots of diffrent subsystems that depend on eachother
Murdock (functionalist) familys 4 essential functions to meet the needs of society and its memebers:
- stable satisfaction of a sex drive (with the same partner, preventing the social disruption caused by sexual ‘free for all’)
- reproduction of the next generation (without which society could not contiue)
- socailistion of the young (into societys shared norms and values)
- meeting its memebers economic needs (such as food and shelter)
Criticisms of Murdock (Functionalist):
- Feminists (see the family as serving the needs of men and oppressing women)
- Marxists (argue that it meets the needs of capitalism, not thoes of family members or society as a whole
What does Murdock say about nuclear families?
the sheer practicality of the nuclear family as a way of meeting these 4 needs explain why it is universal - found in all human society’s without acception.
Parsons functions of the family:
Primary Socialisation:
Children internalise society’s shared culture – this is so strong that society’s culture becomes part of the child’s personality.Society would cease to exist without children accepting society’s culture.
The Stabilisation of adult Personalities:
Parson’s argues that the sexual division of labour helps get rid of this stress. Women provide warmth, nurture and emotional support to their male partner who is the breadwinner, experiencing stress and anxiety - therefore stabilising his personality by relieving the tension
‘Fit’ Theory: Parsons (1955):
This theory claims that the structure of the family changes over time to suit (‘fit’) the type of society that
exists at that time.
He argued that different types of families suit different types of societies - as society evolves, so the family adapts to meet its needs.
Pre-Industrial Life & Pre-Industrial Families:
Parsons argues that Pre-Industrial Society was characterised by rural Life where the family was a UNIT OF PRODUCTION - families made and grew what was needed.
This society & the lifestyle it generated meant that the family had many functions:
family members worked together e.g. on the farm
They produced food for their members
They produced clothes for their members
They would educate children
They would provide healthcare and welfare e.g. looking after elderly grandparents
what type of family does parsons argue is best suited for Pre-Industrial Life?
Parsons argues that Extended Families were most suited to pre-industrial society.
Industrial Life & Modern Industrial Families:
In Modern Industrial Society Families have moved from being a Unit of Production to being a UNIT OF CONSUMPTION - rather than making things, it consumes things e.g. buying food, services instead of making it, providing the service itself etc.
what type of family does parsons argue is best suited for Industrial life?
Nuclear familys
Industrialisation created the need for families to be:
> GEOGRAPHICALLY MOBILE
SOCIALLY MOBILE
and the nuclear family was the best ‘fit’ to meet these needs
Geographical mobility:
Industrialisation emerged in many different places and brought new opportunities for work. It was easier for the nuclear family to move for work than for the whole of the extended family to be uprooted (eg, think how difficult moving elderly grandparents would be).
Social mobility:
Industrial society allowed social mobility - an opportunity for a person’s social status to rise through their merit (ability and hard work) - whereas in a pre-industrial society, where the extended family was the norm, the status of the son would have been ascribed (fixed) by his father. For example, the son would continue to work in the family cattle-farming business. The change from extended to nuclear family prevented conflict between parents and their upwardly mobile children, which could threaten the stability of the family.
Structural Differentiation……
Parsons highlights how, during Industrialisation, the families began to lose some of their functions to other newly created institutions.
Parsons calls this ‘Structural Differentiation’ – different structures (institutions) have taken over many of the functions the family used to have.
This means that Extended Families were not necessary any longer – they began to fragment.
The ‘privatised nuclear family’ took over - a self-reliant, self-contained family isolated from extended family members
Loss of functions: Reproduction of the population: Having children was often seen as the main reason for marriage
Since the 1970’s there has been a steady increase in the reproduction of children outside of marriage
Loss of functions: Before industrialisation, the family was a unit of production, where work and home were combined.
After industrialisation, work moved to outside the home to factories and offices and the family became a unit of consumption.
Loss of functions:The family and kinship network traditionally played a major role in maintaining and caring for dependent children.
The modern nuclear family is less dependent on relatives for help with caring for children; welfare services and the NHS have helped with this.
Loss of functions: The family used to be on the only sources of education
The welfare state including the NHS is now largely responsible for this.
Evaluation of the Functionalist Theory on the Family:
Functionalists are criticised for ignoring the negative aspects the family can bring such as child abuse, neglect and violence.
Feminists would argue that the family serves the needs of men and oppressing women eg women end up staying at home being a housewife and not getting paid for this.
Marxists argue that it meets the needs of capitalism, not those of family members or society as a whole.
Zaretsky argues that the family only provides this emotional support in order to encourage its members to continue to work another day under the harsh realities of capitalism.
Some parents fail to bring up their children to make them socially acceptable and they may be bad role models for the young.
Functionalists ignore the possibility of socialisation being a two-way process in which roles are negotiated or that attempts at socialisation can be resisted by children.
Leach & Cooper (1967):
The Nuclear family has become so isolated and ‘inward looking’ that it is actually a very destructive institution which suppresses individuality and teaches blind obedience
What is Marxism
Marxism, is a perspective based on the ideas of Karl Marx (1818-83) who is critical of Capitalist society.
Capitalism:
a society where goods and businesses are owned privately for the purpose of profit.