Topic 3 - Theories of the family

Question 1

What are 4 functions of the family according to Murdock

Answer 1

• Stable satisfaction of the sex drive (with the same partner, preventing social disruption caused by a sexual ‘free for all’
• Reproduction of the next generation (without which society could not continue)
• Meeting it’s members economic needs (food and shelter)
• Socialisation of children (into society’s norms and values)

Question 2

Marxist & Feminist criticisms of Murdock

Answer 2

Marxists - The family meets the needs of capitalism not society as a whole

Feminists -Sees the family as serving the needs of men and oppressing women

Question 2

Explain Parson’s ‘functional fit’ theory

Answer 2

• The functions that the family performs will depend on the kind of society it is found
• Extended family meets the needs of pre-industrial society
• Nuclear fits the needs of industrial society

Question 3

What are the 2 essestial needs of industrial society, according to Parsons?

Answer 3

• A geographically mobile workforce (Industries starting up, requires people to move where jobs are - easier for compact nuclear family to move)
• Socially mobile workforce (if extended family, conflict as son may achieve a high ascribed status, son will leave house to form nuclear family)

Question 4

How can the family lose its functions according to Parsons?

Answer 4

• When society industrialises, the family not only changes its structure from extended to nuclear but may also lose some of its functions
• Eg; the family ceases to be a unit of production, work moves into the factories and the family becomes a unit of consumption

Question 5

According to Parsons, how does the modern nuclear family specialise in performing 2 essential functions?

Answer 5

• The primary socialisation of children (equip them with basic skills and society’s values, enable them to cooperate with others and intergrate them in society)
• The stabilisation of adult personalities (the family is a place where adults can relax, enabling them to return to the workforce refreshed and ready to meet its demands)

Question 6

What did Engles argue about the inheritance of property?

Answer 6

• Monogamy became essential because of the inheritance of property
• ## Men had to be certain of the paternity of their children to ensure legtimiate heirs inherited from them

Question 7

What do Marxist feminists say about the role of the family?

Answer 7

Women absorb anger - wives are the ‘takers of shit’ who soak up the frustration their husbands feel because of the alienation and exploitation they suffer at work - explains male violence against women