For anyone studying Families and Households in Sociology at A or AS Level, this document provides a thorough companion to your classes and textbook. Lesson 1/8 focuses on Functionalism and the Family, and Family Diversity: views, reasons, case studies and evaluations, as well as all key terms and s...
Families and Households: Lesson 1
Functionalism and the Family
Key Terms: Functionalism is a consensus theory that emphasises the
Family- a group of people living integration and harmony between different parts of society.
together, related by blood or marriage,
who support each other Murdock (1949):
emotionally/economically. Murdock conducted a study entitled ‘social structure’ in 1949
Kin- a wider collection of related people
beyond the immediate family. He suggested that the nuclear family was a universal social unit.
Household- either one person living 4 functions of the family:
alone or a group of people living at the
same address. - Sex- able to express sexuality in an approved context.
Secular- decline of religious influence. - Reproduction- provides stability for the reproduction and
Sociologists: rearing of children.
Murdock - Economic- family provides food and shelter.
Parsons - Education- primary socialisation of children.
Willmott & Young Criticisms:
Laslett
The ‘sex’ function is outdated due to the increase of same-
sex couples.
The ‘reproduction’ function is outdated because not all couple can have children.
More women in work means a rise in childcare alternatives such as nannies.
Parsons (1902-1974):
Talcott Parsons was a functionalist who believed there were actually 2 main functions of the family:
Family is the primary agent of socialisation – families are ‘personality factories’.
Family functions to relieve the stress of modern day living and stabilise adult personalities.
Warm bath theory:
Parsons believed that adults could relieve the stress of modern society through returning to their family unit
– like sinking into a warm bath at the end of a stressful day.
Functional fit theory:
The functional fit theory explains how the family structure changes to meet the needs of society over time
(pre-industrial to post-industrial).
Pre-industrial:
- Agricultural economy
- Extended family
- Labour-intensive production
- Family as producers
Post-industrial:
- Manufacturing economy
- Nuclear family
- Machine-intensive production
- Family as consumers
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