Functionalism & the family

• What are Murdochs view of the family?

  -Murdoch looked at 250 societies and different cultures And concluded that some form of the nuclear family existed in all of them.

  -This highlighted that family is so important that that it is inevitable and universal.
• What were Murdoch’s four essential functions of the family?

  • Educational - Children are taught the norms & values of society - primary socialisation
  • Economic - The family provides an economic function to all its members by pooling resources and ensuring all have what they need.
  • Reproductive - Produce the next generation of society
  • Sexual - Ensures that adults’ sexual relationships are controlled and stable.
• What are criticisms of Murdoch’s view of the family?

  • Not all families are economically secure
  • Children can grow up well in single parent households
  • Not all families are nuclear
  • There can be child neglect
• What is parsons view of the family?

  -Parsons argues that the family has two basic and irreducible functions.

  • Primary socialisation- children learn and accept the values and norms of society,
  • Stabilisation of adult personality- The family helps to stabilise personalities through emotional relationship between the parents, the emotional relationship gives support and security needed to cope in the wider society.
• How did Parsons describe the family?

  • Parsons described the family as ‘factories where the next citizens are produced.
• What is ‘The Warm Bath‘ theory?

  • We feel ourselves when we are at home, like we are relaxing in a ‘warm bath’. It is also Connected to Stabilisation of adult personality
• What is the functional fit theory?

  The family having to adapt from pre-industrial society (extended families) to industrial societies (nuclear families).
• what are the reasons for the change in family types between pre-industrial and industrial society?

  -Industrial society requires:

  -A geographically mobile workforce - in pre-industrial society people spent their lives on farms however with industrialisation, many people move to towns for work, which is easier with a smaller nuclear family.

  -A socially mobile workforce- in pre-industrial society, status in the extended-family was ascribed with the oldest being the most important however with industrialisation a skilled workforce was needed and nuclear families allowed all to gain status
• What are evaluations for the functionalist view of families & households

  • Conflict theorists eg Marxists & feminists believe functionalists paint an idealistic picture of family life families are certainly not like that for everyone and many have negative experiences of family life.
  • Conflict theorists also argue if the family is really for the function of all of society or just the powerful groups of society e.g feminists think the family favours men.
  • Ansley takes another view of Parsons warm bath theory as she describes the home as not relaxing for women as they are takers of shit.
• What are the evaluations for Parson’s functional fit theory?

  • The extended family was not dominant before the industrial revolution. E.g:

  -(Laslett) Short life expectancy resulted in few extended families.

  • Not all families became nuclear after the industrial revolution?

  -(Anderson) W.C turned to extended familes for support due to illness cost & childcare

  • (Willmott & Young)- the nuclear family has come about due to better living standards, geographical mobility, better housing, women working & the welfare state.