functionalism

• Functionalism 

  Murdock - argued nuclear family is the basic family unit

  He conducted a survey of 250 societies
• Functionalism

  Murdock’s results were:

  1. sexual - the rules governing relationships inside + outside marriage help maintain social stability by preventing conflict
  2. economic - family supports each other economically - acts as a unit of consumption by purchasing goods + services for family benefits 
  3. education - parents are responsible for primary socialisation of their offspring, helping to get children integrated into the shared value system 
  4. reproduction - family is importantly for reproduction, without it society wouldn’t exist
• Functionalism

  Parsons - 

  • primary socialisation - is a necessity for all children, through this, a child learns the shared norms and values of a system, allowing for consensus (society would break down without)
  • stabilisation of adult personalities - 

  1. warm bath theory - family functions by enabling people to release their stresses, women nurture the man so he can go back to working in capitalism
  2. socialises children into believing they need behave the same as their parents
• nuclear family = functionally fit
• evaluation

  
  

  + 250 societies - legitimate, more reliable

  
  

  — rose tinted glasses - functionalists only focus on the bright side of the family