Topic 1-The functionalist view of the family

Topic 1-The functionalist view of the family

1. Functionalist theories of the family

   • Family exists as it has a function or purpose
   • Family seen to perform functions
     • benefits members and society as a whole

2. George Peter Murdock (1949)

   • 4 universal functions performed by family in every society
     • Sexual
       • Rules limiting/forbidding sexual relationships outside marriage
       • Helps establish the social system
       • Without them, conflict may occure
     • Economic
       • Unit of production
       • Now a unit of consumption
       • Contribution to wider society
     • Reproduction
       • Main unit for producing children
       • Without it, society would cease to exitst
     • Educational
       • Primary socialisation
       • Without it, there would be no culture
       • There would be no consensus
   • Nuclear Family
   • Criticisms
     • He argues, other institutions can do these functions too.
     • Marxist and Feminists reject "Rose Tinted" theory
       • Functionalists neglect conflict and exploitation within family
         • Feminists
           • See the family as serving the needs of men and oppressing women
         • Marxists
           • Believe that family meets the needs of capitalism

3. Talcot Parsons (1955)

   • Focused of Nuclear family in modern industrial society
   • His main argument - family has become specialised due to industrialisation
   • Institutions such as school and social services have taken over some family functions since the industrial revolution
   • 2 basic functions
     • 1) Primary Socialisation
       • Parsons agued that every individual must learn the norms and values of society, to preserve consensus and social life
       • These must be 'internalised as part of the personality structure'
       • children's personalities come from societies culture, so it becomes part of them
     • 2) The Stabilisation of Adult personalities
       • Unstable personalities can stop a smooth running of society
       • Families help to stabelise adult personalities
         • Marital partners - emotional support
         • Parent can indulge childish behaviour - playing with children
       • Results in release of strains and stresses and provides emotional security and support
       • Helps stabilise personality then society
       • Family has 'basic and irreducible' functions
       • Warm bath theory

4. Ronalf Fletcher (1966)

   • UK functionalist Sociologist
   • disagree with the notion that the family had lost its functions
   • Suggests that families can now concentrate on essential functions
     • Caring for family emotions and sexual needs
   • To him, it socialises the children by providing a stable home and 'warm bath' to soak away the stresses of the outside world
   • Nowadays, people have high expectations of personal relationships
     • No one tolerates empty shell marriages these days
     • Can be a reason why divorce has increased as people seek better
   • Worried that the family is becoming too enclosed a group
     • Privatised Nuclear Family

5. Criticisms of Functionalism

   • 1) Functionilists idea of family are a happy couple who always gets along
     • Many have criticised that this is not realistic and don't know the realities of the family
   • 2) Functionalists tend to focus on the positive side of life and barely acknowledge the negative side of families
     • Disfunctional families are payed very little attention on
   • 3) Most of the functionalists only payed attention to the Nuclear Family (husband, wife and kids)
     • Rarely referred to reconstituted families, cohabitated families and other variations of families
   • 4) Parson's theory is accused of being sexist.
     • He sees the wife/mother as having the main responsibility
       • Providing warmth and emotional support for husband
   • Cheal (2002)
     • Families are contexts of love and nurturance, but also contexts of violence and murder.
       • Functionalists tend to have a 'rose-tinted' view of family