Family : Parsons

• Parsons explained how the nuclear family became the 'best fit to provide the needs of society. He proposed his functional fit theory as he saw that the nuclear family was 'fit' to fulfil these functions. As society changed through industrialisation, the needs of society could no longer be met by the classic extended family.

  Society needed:

  • A geographically mobile workforce
  • A socially mobile workforce
• The privatised nuclear family could meet the needs of society by providing two functions:

  1. Socialisation of the young
  2. Stabilisation of the adult personality - Parsons suggests that the family acts like a ‘warm bath' providing comfort and reassurance to the adults whose personality is threatened by the mundane work life. By divided the labour (the sexual division of labour) and taking on the expressive role (female) and instrumental role (male) the adult's identity and personality is restored.
• 1/2

  Parsons said that for society to function, certain needs must be met : functional pre-requisites:

  • Goal attainment - providing each member of the family with a collective goal. This might include expectations or ambitions and aspirations.
  • Adaptation - the basic needs to survive: food, shelter, comfort, care when ill or unable to care for oneself.
• 2/2

  • Integration - a system of justice; a set of rules by which all family members abide; consequences for breaking rules and laws in both the family and the wider society.
  • Latency (pattern maintenance) - the members of the family need to see consistent patterns of how to behave; this might include social norms, values and unwritten rules.
• Parsons claims that the state took over many of the functions of the extended family which the nuclear family could no longer provide (structural differentiation).
• Parsons claimed that the most common family type in pre-industrial Britain was the extended family and this changed to the nuclear family following industrialisation.
• Both Murdock and Parsons claim that the family is a positive structure in society in its role as an agent of primary socialisation. Not all would agree that family life is harmonious and positive. Murdock claims that the family provides economic security for its members and Parsons compares the family to a warm bath, providing comfort and reassurance.
• Parsons Functional Fit Theory

  In Traditional Society, people would produce what they needed to survive and men and women did the same work: joint roles. The family was a unit of production as well as a unit of consumption. The family was more self-sufficient and roles were ascribed; passed down generations.
• Parsons Functional Fit Theory

  In Modern Society, it’s expected that the women do the housework and the men do paid work. The family is now purely a unit of consumption so they have to sell their labour for wages to buy what they used to produce. Functions are now mostly carried out by institutions such as schools. Joint roles became segregated roles. Roles are now achieved; a farmer could study to be a doctor.
• Parsons suggested the essential functions of the family

  Socialisation - this was divided into the Expressive and Instrumental roles

  Male- teaches discipline, provides economic support and is the ‘bad cop’

  Female - teaches care, love, affection, provides emotional support and is the ‘good cop’

  This provides children with the basic skills needed to function in society, instilling clear norms and value, preventing further conflict. It socialises female children into becoming homemaking, expressive wives and male children into becoming breadwinning instrumental husbands.
• Parsons suggested the essential functions of family

  Stabilisation of the Adult Personality

  Since the overall functioning of society is the most important, the worker (husband) needs to be able to function to the best of his ability when at work. The segregated nuclear family is best at providing this function as it provides workers with a place where they can relax and ease tensions. This enables them to return to the workplace refreshed and ready to meet its demands- this is functional for the efficiency of the economy.