Functionalist Perspective of Family

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Mind Map on Functionalist Perspective of Family, created by shannon.waller on 08/05/2015.
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Functionalist Perspective of Family
  1. Functionalist believe that society is based on a value consensus (a set of shared norms and values into which society socialises its members).
    1. Functionalist see the family as a particularly important sub-system - a basic building block of society.
      1. Murdock argues that the family performs four essential functions:
        1. Stable Satisfaction of the Sex Drive
          1. Reproduction of the Next Generation
            1. Socialisation of the Young
              1. Meeting its Members' Economic Needs
            2. Criticisms of Murdock
              1. Murdock accepts that other institutions could perform these functions. He argues that the steer practicality of the nuclear family as a way of meeting these four needs explains why it's universal.
                1. Sociologists have criticised Murdock's functionalist approach:
                  1. Feminists see the family as serving the needs of men and oppressing women
                    1. Marxists argue that it meets the needs of capitalism not those of family members or society as a whole
                2. Parsons' 'Functional fit' theory
                  1. In the view of Parsons, the functions the family performs will depend on the kind of society in which its found. Parsons distinguishes between two kinds of family structure
                    1. The nuclear family of just parents and dependent children
                      1. The extended family of three generations living under one roof
                      2. Parsons argues that the particular structure and functions of a given type of family will 'fit' the needs of the society in which its found.
                        1. He argues that the nuclear family fits the needs of industrial society and is the dominant family type in that society, while the extended family fits the needs of pre-industrial society - the family had to adapt to these
                      3. A Geographically Mobile Workforce
                        1. Parsons argues that it's easier for the compact two generation nuclear family, with just two dependent children, to move, than for the three generation extended family.
                          1. The nuclear family is better fitted to the need that modern industry has for a geographically mobile workforce.
                        2. Socially Mobile Workforce
                          1. In modern society, an individual's status is achieved by their own efforts and ability, not ascribed by their social and family background, and this makes social mobility possible
                            1. Parsons argues that the nuclear family is better equipped than the extended family to meet the needs of industrial society
                              1. The nuclear family encourages social mobility as well as geographically mobility
                          2. Loss of Functions
                            1. According to Parsons, when society industrialises, the family not only changes its structure from extended to nuclear, it also loses many of its function.
                              1. In Parsons view, as a result of this loss of functions, the modern nuclear family comes to specialise in performing just two essential or 'irreducible' functions:
                                1. The Primary Socialisation of Children - to equip them with basic skills and society's values
                                  1. The Stabilisation of Adult Personalities - the family is a place where adults can relax and release tensions
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