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Parsons: Family Performs Two
Basic and Irreducible Functions
- Primary Socialisation
- Equips children with basic skills and society's values, enabling
them to cooperate with others and integrate into society.
- Without it, individuals would
have no understanding of norms
or values and become feral.
- Eg. Washing, eating, dressing.
- Equips children with basic skills and society's values, enabling
them to cooperate with others and integrate into society.
- Stabilisation of Adult Personalities
- Adults can relax and release tensions.
- Parsons believes a one-person family cannot do this adequately.
- Providing emotional support
and advice, financial support.
- Adults can relax and release tensions.
- As it performs these functions, the family has the same
comforting effects as a warm bath, so that children are happy
to integrate the norms and values into their personalities and
adults can return to work from home feeling relaxed and ready.
- Criticism: feminists argue that Parsons sees through
rose-tinted glasses - a distorted view of reality that focuses on
positive aspects of the family and ignores the rest.
- He ignores the dark side of the family, for example, neglect, addiction and debt.
- He ignores the dark side of the family, for example, neglect, addiction and debt.
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