The Sociological view on the Family - A Level Sociology
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Course
Sociology
Institution
ESO
Class notes Sociology Cambridge International AS and A Level Sociology Coursebook.
This document features in-depth and holistic notes regarding every area of the family in sociology. You get each perspective: Functionalism, Marxism, Feminism, and more. It provides you with the strengths and lim...
Functionalists believe that the nuclear family is a valuable institution in
ensuring that society functions accordingly.
Functionalists believe in a value consensus where all members of society
have agreed on the norms and values of the institution that is family.
Loss of functions debate
It’s function has now specialised onto (1) personality stabilisation and (2)
socialisation.
Functionalist Theorists
George Peter Murdock (1949)
Studied 250 families and concluded that the nuclear family was the
dominant structure
Family involves:
• Common residence
• Economic co-operation and reproduction
• Adults of both sexes
• One or more children
(Finch 1989) anaylzed if families had stronger bonds and cooperative
obligations in pre-industrial society.
Studies show that there was a variety of household types in pre-industrial
society and extended families were not the norm. Age expectancy was low,
hence less grandparents, etc.
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Instead, industrialisation could have occurred because nuclear families
already existed before and could adapt to skill and mobility flexibility.
Primogeniture, all the money went to first born son and other siblings moved
out to work in factories
Cultural globalisation has given us unlimited choices and a variety of things to
choose from, this has led to instability of identity and choice fatigue, family
helps us narrow our roles by the suggestive roles of ‘daughter’ etc
Moral commitment given by family members ensures social responsibility.
Becker 1991 people receive “physic income” which refers to psychological
pleasures.
(Anderson 1995) argued that no single family or household structure was
dominant
(Fletcher 1973) - childrearing, childbearing
Emotional support
(Horwitz 2005)
Rules passed on by an emotionally connected adult (more effective)
Emotional closeness (cooperative behavior)
Subconscious observation
Functionalism Limitations
(Tam and Findlay, 2017) Such terms limited to families outside of western
culture, since there may be boundary ambiguity. For example, multiple
caregivers, complex households, and different perceptions of the definition of
family.
(Eshleman and Bulcroft, 2006)
argue that the definition of family is limited to western culture, or groups that
adopt western values and norms due to globalization.
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Blocking of women’s aspirations and goals, put into the housewife role
Postmodernists focus on individual psychological stablisation, our identities
and who we are.
Limitation of mens part in the expressive role
The dominance of men in the decision making and the abuse of this
dominance, e.g domestic abuse and imposing punishments
Lack of support compared to extended families
Mental health
Assumes the family is distinct when primary socialisation involves peers and
the media
See children as “empty vessels” with no personality that can easily consume
norms and values in a one way process when in reality: parents influence
children and children influence parents
Marxist Perspective
Family teaches ruling class ideology (authority, importance to obey, rules)
Recreation means more workers
Women do the housework so that the man can go to work and capitalize.
As active participants, families are consumers and hence major sources of
profit
Politically, family focuses on private problems rather than social problems.
Men impose their aggression derived from the workplace onto the family,
political frustrations are redirected
Families take on the productive role (reproduction for the labour force) and
replace the elderly and inept
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