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Chapter 4 Sociology > Topic 3- Theories of the Family > Flashcards

Topic 3- Theories of the Family Flashcards

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Sociology 101 flashcards
1
Q

who argued that the family performed 4 essential functions for society?

A
  • murdock
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2
Q

what are the 4 essential functions murdock says that family performs for society?

A
  • satisfaction of the sex drive with the SAME partner
  • reproduction of the next nation
  • socialisation of the young into shared norms and values
  • meeting its members’ societal needs like food and shelter
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3
Q

what type of family does murdock believe it has to be in order to perform the 4 essential functions for society?

A

nuclear family

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4
Q

give 3 criticisms of murdock’s explanation for the need for a nuclear family in order to perform the 4 essential functions of society

A
  • other family structures can perform the functions
  • marxists and faminists view his explanation as a rose tinted harmonious consensus view that family meets wider societal needs
  • functionalism neglects conflict and exploitation
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5
Q

what do feminists view family as

A

serving the needs of men and oppressing women

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6
Q

what do marxists argue about the family?

A
  • it meet the needs of capitalism not of singular members or society as a whole
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7
Q

explain parsons’ functional fit theory

A
  • family structures change along with society and that each type of family is created to ‘fit’ society at the time.
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8
Q

what 2 types of family structure did parsons identify?

explain what they are

A
  • nuclear family- parents and dependent children
  • extended family- 3 generations under one roof
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9
Q

what type of society does the extended family fit?

A
  • pre industrial family
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10
Q
A
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11
Q

what type of society does nuclear family fit?

A
  • modern industrial society
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12
Q

what are the 2 essential needs of an industrial society?

A
  • a geographical mobile workforce
  • a socially mobile workforce
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13
Q

why is the nuclear family better suited for a mobile geographical workforce?

and why

A
  • easier for the nuclear family to relocate to new jobs
  • cheaper
  • less confusing (old parents)
  • less to move
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14
Q

why is the nucler family better to have a socially mobile workforce?

A
  • in an extended family in pre-industrial times, adult sons lived in their father’s house-their father
    had a higher status as this was ascribed.
  • Modern industrial society relies on a skilled workforce to cope with changes in technology.
    The best people need to fill the most important jobs-status is achieved.
  • EG.the son of a labourer may become a doctor through their efforts and ability.
  • the best solution is the nuclear family- sons leave home once married.This encourages social
    mobility.
  • There are no binding obligations to them in a nuclear family as there would have been in pre-Industrial society.
  • The nuclear family is better equipped to meet the needs of modern Industrial society.
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15
Q

give 3 pieces of evidence against parsons’ functional fit theory and family structures

A
  • young and wilmott found that the pre industrial family was nuclear with parents and children working together in cottage industry
  • young and wilmott use exchange theory to explain that the industrial period had a rise of mum centred families where mothers and married daughters relied on eachother and individuals break off or maintain ties between them
  • extended family has not diappeared and continues to exist providing financial support, childcare and emotional support
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16
Q

explain the loss of functions as family structures move

A
  • the pre industrial family was a unit of production and cosumption and more self sufficient
  • industrialisation caused the families to lose functions
  • the modern industrial famiy was a unit of consumption only as work moved to factories
  • as a result the nuclear family specialised in performing 2 functions
17
Q

what are the 2 functions the modern nuclear family performs?

A
  • primary socialisation of children to integrate them into wider society
  • the stabilisation of adult personalities where tensions are relaxed to return to the workplace refreshed which is functional for the efficiency of the economy
18
Q

what are the 3 functions that marxists see the family as fulfilling for capitalism

A
  • inheritance of property
  • ideological functions
  • unit of consumption
19
Q

how does the inheritance of private property help serve the needs of capitalism?

name one sociologist

A

engels
* family had a clear economic function for capitalism, by ensuring that wealth remained in the hands of the bourgeoisie.
* Family relations, based on clear legal contracts, facilitate inheritance and therefore when rich people die it is their children who keep hold of their wealth.
* made sure social mobility couldn’t occur as the wealth was passed to their own generation

20
Q

how does ideological functions in family help to serve the needs of capitalism?

A
  • The family does this by socialising children into the idea that hierarchy and inequality are inevitable.
  • Parental power over children presents the idea that there will always be someone in charge-usually a man.
  • This prepares them for working life- to accept orders from their capitalist employers.
21
Q

how does the idea that family is a unit of consumption help to serve the needs of capitalism?

3 ways

A
  • the family plays a role in generating profits as it is the market for the sale of consumer goods
  • capitalist advertising urges families to buy the latest products
  • the media target children who put pressure on parents to spend more
  • children who are mocked by peers for not having the latest items ‘must have’ them
22
Q

what are 3 criticisms about marxist’s approach to family serving the needs of capitalism?

A
  • assumes the nuclear family is dominant and ignores wider society
  • feminists say marxists emphasise class and underestimates gender inequalities. they say they are more fundamental than class inequalities as family serves the needs of men not capitalism
  • functionalists argue that marxists ignore the benefits that family provides for its members
23
Q

what are the 4 main types of feminists who have perspectives of the family

A
  • liberal
  • marxist
  • radical
  • difference
24
Q

what do liberal feminists say about the family

A
  • Liberal feminists argue that most of those battles for legal equality have been won, however there is clearly still inequality between the sexes
  • while families currently play a part in the oppression of women, they do not have to: it is possible to have family life and gender equality.
25
Q

what do radical feminists say about the family?

A
  • all societies have been founded by men and are ruled by them
  • men are the enemy
  • family and marriage are the key institutions in patriarchal society
  • the only way to abolish women’s oppression is through separatism
  • they have to live without men in political lesbianism and not ‘sleep with the enemy’
26
Q

what do marxist feminists say about the family?

A
  • the main source of women’s oppression is capitalism
  • capitalist system gets the benefit of unpaid female work as their workforce are fed, looked after and kept happy to ensure they keep working hard and making profits for the bosses.
27
Q

what do difference feminists say about the family?

A
  • we can’t generalise about women’s experiences
  • e.g. different races view the family differently, white women negatively view the family and black women see it positively
28
Q

what are 3 criticisms of feminist views on family?

A
  • a negative gloomy picture of the family is created and most families are equal now
  • it is outdated as now many women have paid work
  • it presents women as passive but they do have the capacity to make choices and live their lives freely
29
Q

what 2 weaknesses does the personal life perspective have on functionalist, marxist and feminist views on family?

A
  • they assume the nuclear family is the dominant family type
  • they are all structural theories- assuming families are manipulated by the structure of society to perform functions
30
Q

what approach does personal live perspective have towards family

A

bottom up

31
Q

name 4 relationships people have that they see as significant but not blood relatives

A
  • friends
  • fictive kin
  • gay and lesbian chosen families
  • relationships with pets
32
Q

what are 3 criticisms of personal life perspective?

A
  • can have a broad view and they ignore what is special about relationships
  • rejects the top down view taken by functionalists
33
Q
A

Chapter 4 Sociology (4 decks)

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