functionalist perspective on the family
- Created by: chacha_68
- Created on: 28-03-15 16:31
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- FUNCTIONALIST PERSPECTIVE ON FAMILY
- society based on a value consensus- everything co-operates well together to meet society's needs.
- George Murdock (1949) says that the family provide 4 essential functions: reproduction, primary socialization, economic needs, sexual.
- criticisms of Murdock: other institutions can perform these functions
- Parsons- the structure and functions of a specific type of family will fit the needs of the society of which it is in.
- industrialized society and traditional pre-industrial society where the nuclear family fits the needs of the industrial society as it has evolved together because of..
- geographical mobility= in the industrialised society people were expectedto move to where the jobs are and so for a smaller nuclear family this was a lot easier than a big extended family moving
- Specialized agencies developed, which gradually took over many of the family’s functions. e.g factories took over economic function.
- Parsons says as a result of these changes the nuclear family is left with 2 essential functions which are: primary socialisation of children and the stabilisation of adult personalities (warm bath theory)
- industrialized society and traditional pre-industrial society where the nuclear family fits the needs of the industrial society as it has evolved together because of..
- Parsons says that the nuclear family provides men and women with clear social roles
- Male- instumental role and women= expressive role
- Fletcher- economic function not lost and previously families were a unit of production now instead they are a unit of consumption
- critcism- ignores the social inequalities regarding gender and social class as conflict theories would say
- criticism- ideas are too simplistic and ignore various other factors that do not make it all seem so 'ideal' and deterministic that every family provides the functions they say
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