FUNCTIONALIST

• Murdocks four essential functions of the nuclear family

  Stable satisfaction of the sex drive

  Reproduction of the next generation

  meeting economic needs

  socialisation of the young
• stable satisfaction of the sex drive

  benefit individual members: people get to have sex and are doing it in a respectful and proper way as they are married
• stable satisfaction of the sex drive

  benefit society as a whole:

  less people having pregnancy outside of marriage, fewer STDs, single parent families, adultery, less sex crime
• stable satisfaction of the sex drive

  husband and wife have sexual access to each other and there are norms concerning sexual activity outside of marriage
• reproduction of the next generation in the correct and socially approved way
• reproduction of the next generation

  benefit individual members of society:

  keeps the family going and gives people social support
• reproduction of the next generation

  benefit society as a whole:

  continues the next generation and keeps society going

  more workers to fill societal functions
• meeting economic needs such as food and shelter
• meeting economic needs

  benefits the individual:

  gives people a place to feel safe and make sure their needs are met. have someone to provide for them
• meeting economic needs

  benefits society:

  everyone is secure and has what they need economically

  people have family they can rely on in economic circumstances
• socialisation of the young

  process of learning the cultures, norms and values of society. important for creating value consensus
• socialisation of the young

  benefits the individual:

  they know what is expected and the correct way to behave in society. They understand the way society is run as a whole
• socialisation of the young

  benefits society

  everyone acts in a respected and normal way, everyone knows what is right and wrong and what is and isn't accepted. less crime
• Parsons functional fit theory

  the functions that the family performs depends on the kind of society in which it is found:

  modern industrial

  traditional pre industrial
• parsons functional fit

  when a society industrialises the family changes in structure from extended to nuclear.

  the family ceases to be a unit of production and loses functions to other institutions
• industrial society needs a workforce that is geographically mobile and socially mobile
• geographically mobile

  moving from place to place to work
• socially mobile

  moving up social classes through hard work
• parsons irreducible functions

  primary socialisation of children

  stabilisation of the adult personality
• Primary socialisation of children

  equips children with basic skills and society's values, to enable them to cooperate with others and begin to integrate them into society. Teaches them the value consensus of society
• stabilisation of the adult personality

  The nuclear family acts as a "warm bath".

  The family is a place where adults can relax and release tensions, enabling them to return to the workplace refreshed and ready to meet its demands
• functionalists believe that society is based on a value consensus, a set of shared norms and values. into which society socialises its members. this enables them to cooperate harmoniously to meet society's needs and achieve shared goals
• functionalists regard society as a system made up of different parts that depend on each other
• the family is a basic building block of society