Functionalism

• Murdock believes there are four functions the family must do: Sexual, Reproductive, Socialisation, and economic functions.
• Sexual functions of the family refer to stable satisfaction of the sexual drive of the parents, to prevent cheating.
• Reproductive functions refer to reproducing the next generations and maintain the population.
• The socialization function is where children are taught how to behave as members of society by their parents. This includes learning about gender roles and norms.
• Economic functions include providing food, shelter, clothing, education, etc. For its members.
• Parson’s believes that families have evolved over time to meet these needs. They argue that the nuclear family has become more common because it allows individuals to specialize in different tasks (e.g., one parent can work while the other takes care of the kids).
• Feminists critique functionalists as they don’t acknowledge the role that family takes in perpetuating gender inequality.
• Marxists disagree with functionalists as they argue that family meets the needs of capitalism not society.
• Parsons theory is called the ‘functional fit‘ theoy.
• Parsons argues there are two functions of the family: primary socioalisation and stability of adult personalities.
• Primary socialization refers to how children develop their personality traits through learning from parents/caregivers.
• Stabilization of adult personalities refers to the family allowing adults to relax and release tension at home, so they can return to work refreshed.
• Stabilizing adult personalities leads to economic benefits.