Functionalist views of family

• The universal functions of the family (Murdock)

  • Murdock analysed 250 societies and claimed that some form of the nuclear family exists in every known society.
  • Family=most important institution
  • Family fulfils 4 VITAL FUNCTIONS: SEXUAL, EDUCATIONAL, ECONOMIC AND REPRODUCTIVE.
  • e.g education, teach children norms and values of society, communicate skills etc.
• What’s Marxist Althussers evaluation?

  • Criticises Murdock ideas of the family in relation to the educational function.
  • Only benefits capitalism
  • Children are socialised into the idea that hierarchy and inequality are inevitable.
• The irreducible and basic functions of the family (Parsons)

  • As society has progressed, family has evolved to meet the changing needs of society.
  • Family has lost its wider functions due to geographical mobility and structural differentiation- new institutions take over roles, e.g welfare system
  • Family has retained 2 functions: irreducible and basic.
• What are the two functions?

  1. Primary socialisation of children- teach children shared norms and values, e.g manners and value of hard work. Nuclear Family = personality factories
  2. Stabilisation of the adult personality- Warm bath theory- couples provide emotional support and security to relieve stress from modern life. Promotes positive well-being and allows parents to fulfil their roles (instrumental and expressive)
• What‘s the evaluation of Parsons theory?

  Marxist Zaresty- criticise warm bath theory- he calls it a safety valve from oppression at work by Ruling class, allowing oppression to continue. Shows it promotes capitalism not wellbeing.
• Gender Roles (Parsons)

  • Men and women are naturally designed to carry out specific roles in the family.
  • Men- instrumental role- Working and competing in the world as a breadwinner.
  • Women- Expressive role- Relieving anxiety and stress of husband, providing care, love, emotional support and warmth.
  • If done like this, family functions to its highest potential.
• Evaluation of gender roles

  Radical Feminist Greer: Believes roles aren’t biological but determined by patriarchy and men who benefit from women’s unpaid domestic labour and sexual services.

  • Shows these roles are positive for men, oppressive for women.
• Multifunctional Family (Fletcher)

  • Argues that the family is multifunctional
  • says that functions of the family have increased but other institutions can fulfil them, e.g nhs
  • 3 essential functions, 6 non-essential functions of the family
  • Essential: Satisfaction of sexual needs, reproduction and raising children.
  • Non-essential: Welfare benefits, recreation…
• Evaluation of Fletchers theory

  NRR Murray- believes family should be totally self sufficient, decline of traditional family has led to government becoming a nanny state.

  • family should fulfil the roles themselves .