Family - Topic 1 - Functionalism and New Right

• Name 3 functionalists - Parsons, Young and Wilmott, Murdock
• What were Murdock's 4 functions for the family?

  Sexual

  Economic

  Educational

  Reproductive
• What were Parsons's 2 functions?

  Primary socialisation

  Stabilisation of the adult personality
• What did Young and Wilmott find out?

  The symmetrical family
• Who is the New Right Thinker for family?

  Murray
• What does Murray say?

  He disapproves of lone parent families and their over reliance on welfare.
• What are Murdock's four functions of the family?

  Sexual, Economic, Reproductive, Educational
• Why is it important to regulate sexual urges within a marriage?

  To maintain stability and control in the relationship
• What is one purpose of promoting heterosexuality in a marriage?

  To ensure stability in family structures
• How does the family socialize children into gendered roles?

  By preparing them for adult life through norms
• What basic necessities does the family provide for children?

  Food, shelter, clothing, and care
• What role do women typically play in the economic function of the family?

  Unpaid labor in the home
• What role do men typically play in the economic function of the family?

  Providing for the family financially
• What is the reproductive function of the family?

  Producing children for the next generation
• How does the family contribute to education in society?

  By passing on norms and values through socialization
• What is the significance of primary socialization in the family?

  It helps children fit into society through norms
• How do gendered norms contribute to society according to Murdock?

  They help maintain a harmonious society
• A03 - Murdock

  • Outdated and old fashioned (only focused on the American middle class family)
  • Marxists and feminists believe that it paints a too rosy and idealistic picture of the family
  • Family life can be stressful
  • The mother role is the core of the family unit
• Parson - Primary socialisation

  • The family learn children the norms and values of society that turn into culture
  • This helps them integrate into their gendered roles for the adult life
  • Helps them 'fit into' society and follow the social behaviours that are expected of them
• Parson - Stabilisation of adult Personalities

  • Everyday life can be stressful outside the home
  • Adults are in need of emotional support
  • Families are there to support adults in dysfunctional families
  • 'Warm Bath Theory' - when a man has had a long day at work, he comes home and relaxes, this takes his stress away and refreshes him for the next day's work
• A03 - Parson

  • Outdated and old fashioned - displays the traditional nuclear family where only men go work and women stay with their domestic chores
  • Downplays the 'darker side of the family'
  • Marxist feminist (Fran Ansley) - for the warm bath theory, she believes that women are 'takers of shit' where men come home from work and dump all their stress onto their wives, this is how it is relieved
• What are the 2 roles in the family? (Parson's idea)

  • Expressive - Women are seen as the nurturing, caring mother who takes care of the family and the household, focusing on their emotional needs
  • Instrumental - Men are seen as the breadwinners who take and provide for the family by working and focusing on the financial needs of the family
• What were the 4 stages of family development relating to the process of industrialisation?

  • Stage 1 - Pre-industrial family
  • Stage 2 - Early industrial family
  • Stage 3 - Symmetrical family
  • Stage 4 - Asymmetrical family (Did not work)
• Pre - Industrial family

  • Close kinships together
  • Unit of production
  • No separation between the home and the workplace
• Early industrial family

  • Kinship networks still remain
  • Men would go to work, women would stay in the home
  • Move to rural areas to urban (cities)
• Symmetrical family

  • Men and women now are in full employment
  • Unit of consumption
  • Relative isolation
  • Family sizes have become more smaller
• Asymmetrical family

  • Young and Wilmott suggested that men will spend more time outside the home without their partners (this is not occur)
• Fletcher

  • Parson was wrong, the family has lost its function in a modern day society
  • Institutions have replaced some of the functions of the family, parents are constantly watched and judged by other parents, teachers an the public
  • They have to work harder and maintain high standards - consuming and keeping up with high living standards