Functionalist perspective on family
- Created by: sydn3y14
- Created on: 15-09-17 18:33
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- Functionalist perspective on the family
- What do they believe?
- Society is like the human body
- Systems in the body work together for the benefit of the whole
- Each system is reliant on each other
- Each system has shared rules so they are always in harmony with the other systems
- There is 'consensus' between all systems
- This consensus is started with primary socialisation in the family and then reinforced by every system in the body
- How does their theory apply to the family?
- The family is a system within the 'body'
- Through socialisation children learn the 'rules' of their society
- This ensures that society continues in its harmonious state
- So the family is an important system within society - it is a building block for society
- What are the strengths of these views with regards of the family?
- Family performs essential functions for society and its members
- Murdock - 4 functions
- Parsons - 2 functions
- The family is 'functionally fit' - it fits the needs of the society its in
- Preindustrial - extended family
- Industrial society - nuclear family
- How has this view been criticised by other theory's/ writers?
- Assumes the family is harmonious and ignore conflict and exploitation like child abuse and women's oppression
- Assumes the nuclear family is universally the norm and ignores family diversity
- Criticised by Marxists who see the conflict in society
- Feminists criticised it for being oppressive to women - serves the needs of men
- Functionally fit idea of parsons has been disprovem as there is evidnece of nuclear families in preindustrial time - (Willmott and Young - Lasslett) - often did not live long enough to see grandchildren
- What do they believe?
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