Functionalism - AQA SOCIOLOGY A LEVEL

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  • FUNCTIONALISM
    • Talcott Parsons - Two functions
      • - PRIMARY SOCIALISATION OF CHILDREN - equiping the young with basic skills and values to enable them to integrate into society and cooperate with others.
      • - STABILISATION OF ADULT PERSONALITIES - family is a place in which adults can relax and release tensions and therefore return to the workplace refreshed and ready to meet its demands - functional for efficiency of the economy.
    • Talcott Parsons - Functional Fit
      • - The functional fit theory proposes that as society changes so does the type of family that fits it and the functions that it performs changes.
      • Large family unit suited the pre-industrial society as it was entirely responsible for child education, producing food and caring for the sick.
      • Nuclear - fits industrial societies because it requires a GEOGRAPHICALLY MOBILE WORKFORCE and the extended family was too difficult to move to a different place for work.
      • Less need for an extended family as the process of STRUCTURAL DIFFERENTIATION stripped the functions it once performed away
      • Criticsms
        • - Too neat - social change does not happen in such an ordely manner.
        • - Young & Wilmott (1973) pre industrial family wasn't entirely extended but was nuclear with parents and children co-operating together.
        • - Peter Laslett (1972) - Study of English households from 1564 - 1821 found that they were almost always nuclear as the shorter life expectancy and late childbearing culminated meant that grandparents were unlikely to be alive for long.
    • Murdock - Four Functions
      • Criticisms
        • - Too rose-tinted, neglects abuse within family. Family only performs 'positive' functions.
        • - Marxists argue that family benefits capitalism instead of the members or society.
        • -  Anthropologist research show that there are some cultures present which don't appear to have traditional families - NAYAR
        • - Feasible that other institutions could perform these functions
        • - Feminist sociologists argue that the argument for family being essential is IDEOLOGICAL because the structure of a traditional families typically disadvantage women.
      • STABLE SATISFACTION OF THE SEX DRIVE - prevents jealousy within monogamous relationships.
      • REPRODUCTION - reproduces next members of society to enable it to continue.
      • SOCIALISATION OF THE YOUNG - teaching basic norms and values to the children
        • CONOMIC - meeting it's members needs (eg. food and shelter)

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