AS - Theories of the Family
Identify with examples from the textbook scans how and why theories help us understand
the family.
Functionalist Theory – Identify / explain from pages 189 to 191 10 /12 reasons how and why
this theory is useful / what insight does it show in helping us understand families and
households.
It’s a consensus theory functionalists believe that society is based on a value consensus - a
set of shared norms and values - into which society socializes its members. Theory is useful
because it enables them to cooperate harmoniously to meet society’s needs and achieve
shared goals. Functionalism is very impactful because it looks at every aspect of society, how
it functions, and how that helps society function. Functionalists often compare society to a
biological organism like the human body - just like the organs such as the heart or lungs as
they perform functions vital to the wellbeing of the body as a whole. They argue family
meets some of society’s essential needs, such as the need to socialise children.
Functionalists see the family as a particularly important sub-system - a basic building block
of society. George Peter Murdock (1949) argues that the family performs 4 essential
functions to meet the needs of society and its members: Stable satisfaction of the sex drive
sex with the same person, preveneting the social disruption caused by a sexual ‘free-for-all’,
Reproduction of the next generation, without which society could not continue,
socialisation of the young into societies shared norms and values, meeting its members’
economic needs such as food and shelter. The theory is based on the premise that all
aspects of a society-institutions, roles, norms, etc serve a purpose and that all are
indispensable for the long term survival of society. Origin from Emilie Durkheim who was
interested in how social order is possible or how society remains relatively stable. The
theory focuses on the macro level of social structure, rather than the micro level of
everyday life. Parsons’ ‘functional fit’ theory (Talcott Parsons 1995) says that the functions
that the family performs will depend on the kind of society in which it is found. The
functions that the family has to perform will affect its ‘shape’ or structure, Parsons
distinguishes between 2 types of family structure: The nuclear family of just parents and
their dependent children, the extended family of three generations living under one roof.
Parsons argues that the particular structure and functions of a given type of family will ‘fit’
the needs of the society in which it is found. Parsons mentions 2 basic types of society -
modern industrial society and traditional pre-industrial, he argues that the nuclear family
fits the needs of the industrial society and is the dominant family type in that society, while
the extended family fits the needs of pre-industrial society. Parsons' view is that when
Britain began to industrialise from the late 18th century onwards the extended family began
to give way to the nuclear. Because the emerging industrial society had different needs from
the pre-industrial, the family had to adapt to meet these needs - ties in with the fact that
society socializes its members. Industrial society has 2 essential needs according to Parsons:
a geographically mobile workforce, industries constantly spring up and decline in different
parts of the country or world and this requires people to move to where the jobs are.
Highlights that the family type was socialized into industrial society needing to travel and
have a mobile workforce couldn’t do that with a large family. He argues that it's easier for
the compact two generation nuclear family to move, than for three generation extended
family. Secondly, a socially mobile workforce in modern society science and tech is always
, evolving and it requires skilled workers. People gain their status through their own efforts
and ability, not their background. In extended families sons live at home in fathers house
where the father has a higher ascribed status as head of the household, whereas if at work
the son may achieve status - a more important job than his father, this would give tension if
they lived under the same roof. Therefore the solution is for adult sons to leave home when
they marry and form their own nuclear family which encourages social mobility as well as
geographical mobility. According to Parsons when society industrialises the family not only
changes its structure from extended to nuclear, it also loses many of its functions. As a
result of these loss of functions the modern nuclear family comes to specialise in performing
just two essential or ‘irreducible’ functions: The primary socialisation of children to equip
them with basic skills and society's values so they can cooperate with others and begin to
integrate them into society. The stabilisation of adult personalities the family becomes a
place where adults can relax and release tensions enabling them to return to the workforce
relaxed ready to meet its demands. This is functional for the efficiency of the economy.
Parsons claims that society is the way it is as social structures are interconnected and
dependent on each other. Functionalists therefore see change as evolutionary – change in
one part of society will eventually occur in another. An important part of socialisation
according to Functionalists is ‘gender role socialisation. Functionalists argue for the
necessity of segregated conjugal roles based on biological differences between the sexes. If
primary socialisation is done correctly then boys learn to adopt the ‘instrumental role’ (also
known as the ‘breadwinner role) – they go on to go out to work and earn money. Girls learn
to adopt the ‘expressive role’ – doing all the ‘caring work’, housework and bringing up the
children. The reproduction of the next generation – Functionalists see the nuclear family as
the ‘fundamental unit of society’ responsible for carrying that society on by biological
reproduction
1. Related to the above point one of the main functions is primary socialisation –
teaching children the basic norms and values of society.
2. This kind of overlaps with the above, but even during secondary socialisation, the
family is expected to help educated children alongside the school.
3. The family provides psychological security and security, especially for men one might
say (as with the ‘warm bath theory’.)
4. A further positive function is elderly care, with many families still taking on this
responsibility.
5. Murdock argued that monogamous relationships provide for a stable satisfaction of
the sex drive – most people today still see committed sexual relationships as best.
Functionalist Theory – Explain 5/7 reasons how and why functionalists are not useful / does
not show insight of families and households.
Identify with examples from the textbook scans how and why theories help us understand
the family.
Functionalist Theory – Identify / explain from pages 189 to 191 10 /12 reasons how and why
this theory is useful / what insight does it show in helping us understand families and
households.
It’s a consensus theory functionalists believe that society is based on a value consensus - a
set of shared norms and values - into which society socializes its members. Theory is useful
because it enables them to cooperate harmoniously to meet society’s needs and achieve
shared goals. Functionalism is very impactful because it looks at every aspect of society, how
it functions, and how that helps society function. Functionalists often compare society to a
biological organism like the human body - just like the organs such as the heart or lungs as
they perform functions vital to the wellbeing of the body as a whole. They argue family
meets some of society’s essential needs, such as the need to socialise children.
Functionalists see the family as a particularly important sub-system - a basic building block
of society. George Peter Murdock (1949) argues that the family performs 4 essential
functions to meet the needs of society and its members: Stable satisfaction of the sex drive
sex with the same person, preveneting the social disruption caused by a sexual ‘free-for-all’,
Reproduction of the next generation, without which society could not continue,
socialisation of the young into societies shared norms and values, meeting its members’
economic needs such as food and shelter. The theory is based on the premise that all
aspects of a society-institutions, roles, norms, etc serve a purpose and that all are
indispensable for the long term survival of society. Origin from Emilie Durkheim who was
interested in how social order is possible or how society remains relatively stable. The
theory focuses on the macro level of social structure, rather than the micro level of
everyday life. Parsons’ ‘functional fit’ theory (Talcott Parsons 1995) says that the functions
that the family performs will depend on the kind of society in which it is found. The
functions that the family has to perform will affect its ‘shape’ or structure, Parsons
distinguishes between 2 types of family structure: The nuclear family of just parents and
their dependent children, the extended family of three generations living under one roof.
Parsons argues that the particular structure and functions of a given type of family will ‘fit’
the needs of the society in which it is found. Parsons mentions 2 basic types of society -
modern industrial society and traditional pre-industrial, he argues that the nuclear family
fits the needs of the industrial society and is the dominant family type in that society, while
the extended family fits the needs of pre-industrial society. Parsons' view is that when
Britain began to industrialise from the late 18th century onwards the extended family began
to give way to the nuclear. Because the emerging industrial society had different needs from
the pre-industrial, the family had to adapt to meet these needs - ties in with the fact that
society socializes its members. Industrial society has 2 essential needs according to Parsons:
a geographically mobile workforce, industries constantly spring up and decline in different
parts of the country or world and this requires people to move to where the jobs are.
Highlights that the family type was socialized into industrial society needing to travel and
have a mobile workforce couldn’t do that with a large family. He argues that it's easier for
the compact two generation nuclear family to move, than for three generation extended
family. Secondly, a socially mobile workforce in modern society science and tech is always
, evolving and it requires skilled workers. People gain their status through their own efforts
and ability, not their background. In extended families sons live at home in fathers house
where the father has a higher ascribed status as head of the household, whereas if at work
the son may achieve status - a more important job than his father, this would give tension if
they lived under the same roof. Therefore the solution is for adult sons to leave home when
they marry and form their own nuclear family which encourages social mobility as well as
geographical mobility. According to Parsons when society industrialises the family not only
changes its structure from extended to nuclear, it also loses many of its functions. As a
result of these loss of functions the modern nuclear family comes to specialise in performing
just two essential or ‘irreducible’ functions: The primary socialisation of children to equip
them with basic skills and society's values so they can cooperate with others and begin to
integrate them into society. The stabilisation of adult personalities the family becomes a
place where adults can relax and release tensions enabling them to return to the workforce
relaxed ready to meet its demands. This is functional for the efficiency of the economy.
Parsons claims that society is the way it is as social structures are interconnected and
dependent on each other. Functionalists therefore see change as evolutionary – change in
one part of society will eventually occur in another. An important part of socialisation
according to Functionalists is ‘gender role socialisation. Functionalists argue for the
necessity of segregated conjugal roles based on biological differences between the sexes. If
primary socialisation is done correctly then boys learn to adopt the ‘instrumental role’ (also
known as the ‘breadwinner role) – they go on to go out to work and earn money. Girls learn
to adopt the ‘expressive role’ – doing all the ‘caring work’, housework and bringing up the
children. The reproduction of the next generation – Functionalists see the nuclear family as
the ‘fundamental unit of society’ responsible for carrying that society on by biological
reproduction
1. Related to the above point one of the main functions is primary socialisation –
teaching children the basic norms and values of society.
2. This kind of overlaps with the above, but even during secondary socialisation, the
family is expected to help educated children alongside the school.
3. The family provides psychological security and security, especially for men one might
say (as with the ‘warm bath theory’.)
4. A further positive function is elderly care, with many families still taking on this
responsibility.
5. Murdock argued that monogamous relationships provide for a stable satisfaction of
the sex drive – most people today still see committed sexual relationships as best.
Functionalist Theory – Explain 5/7 reasons how and why functionalists are not useful / does
not show insight of families and households.
