TOPIC 3

• Functionalist perspective on the family

  Murdock argues the family provides 4 functions to meet the needs of society and its members:

  1. stable satisfaction of the sex drive - prevents social disruption
  2. reproduction of the next generation
  3. socialisation of the young
  4. meeting its members of economic needs
• Criticisms of Murdock

  • sociologists argue these 4 functions could be performed equally well by other institutions, by non- nuclear family structures
  • Feminists see the family as serving the needs of men and opposing women
  • Marxists argue it meets the needs of capitalism, not family members or society as a whole
• Parsons functional fit theory -

  • the nuclear family
  • the extended family

  Parsons argues that the particular structure & functions of a family type will fit the needs of the society in which its found
• Parsons functional fit:

  2 basic types of society -

  • modern industrial society - nuclear
  • traditional pre-industrial society - extended

  extended turned to nuclear when society began to industrialise, he sees industrial society as having two essential needs:

  1. A geographically mobile workforce
  2. A social mobile workforce
• Parsons society's two essential needs:

  1. A geographically mobile workforce: in a modern industrial society industries are dynamic so people have to move to where the jobs are. Parsons argues its easier for the nuclear family to move than the extended
• Parsons society sees two essential needs:

  2. A socially mobile workforce

  In a modern society an individuals status is achieved by their own effort, ability meaning socially mobility is available through hard work.

  Parsons argues the nuclear family meets the needs of industrial society - sons leave home, marry and have own nuclear family

  (If it was extended fathers would have a greater achieved status then sons living at home causing tension/conflict)
• Loss of functions: when society industrialises and family structure changes from extended to nuclear it loses many of its functions

  • e.g no longer a unit of production and now a unit of consumption, work in factories.
  • loses its functions to other institutions, schools.
• Parsons - as a result of this loss of functions, the nuclear family specialises in two functions

  • the primary socialisation of children - equip them with basic skills for society
  • The stabilisation of adult personalities - family is where adults can relax, release tensions so can return to workplace refreshed, functional for the efficiency of economy
• The marxist perspective on the family:

  • see institutions, family, religion as helping to maintain class inequality and capitalism