Functionalism

• The organic analogy

  • Functionalists believe that society is like the human body; made up of different parts that function together to meet its needs and maintain it
  • (e.g. the education system, the government, religion etc.)
• Murdock


  the nuclear family performs four essential functions:

  • socialisation of the young
  • satisfaction of economic needs
  • reproduction of the next generation
  • stable satisfaction of the sex drive
• Parsons


  the functions that the family perform depend on the type of society in which they are found

  • pre-industrial society - extended family; had the function of production and consumption
  • modern society - nuclear family; have the function of social and geographical mobility
• the nuclear family has two main functions

  • primary socialisation of the young: equipping the next generation with basic skills and society's values
  • stabilisation of adult personalities: enabling adults to relax so they can return to the workplace and perform their roles effectively (Parsons)