...Asses the contribution of functionalism to our understanding of families and households. (24 marks) A family is hard to define but some of the characteristics of a family are: they live in the same accommodation (although not always), they share their wealth and resources, they socialise their children and prepare them for later life by teaching them skills and also they tend to reproduce children. There is many different types of families: nuclear families, lone parent families and even extended families. The nuclear family is based on two adults of the opposite sex and 1.8 children. Other relatives may be added to create an extended family. If grandparents and even greater grandparents so that there is three or four generations then the family is vertically extended. If the parents have adult brothers and sisters living with them then the family is horizontally extended. A household on the other hand is a group of people who live under the same roof and share certain actions, such as cooking/ eating together but these people are not necessarily related. Examples of households are care homes, foster homes and also student accommodation. Functionalists concern themselves with two main areas: the functions that the family provides its members and the functional relationship between the family and other social system for example the economic system. Functionalists argue society’s structure working together positively for the benefit of that society and this is known as...
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...view that, in today’s society, the family is loosing its functions. (24 marks) The family in most societies traditionally had a number of responsibilities to take care of, such as reproduction, socialisation, education and a unit of production. These are the functions they needed to perform in order to make sure they prepare children to fit into adult society. This essay will examine different sociologist views on whether the family has lost its traditional functions or has not. Murdock would argue that the family is no longer needed for reproduction, as there has been an increase in sexual relations before, alongside and out of marriage, whereas bringing up children was seen as the main reason for marriage. Also, in today’s society work has moved outside the home into different economic industries e.g. factories, and therefore skill required for adult life are no longer learnt in the family but at colleges or job training schemes. The family, also has fewer responsibilities as media, nurseries, play groups and the educational system as a whole now help to socialise children, however parents still have an important role in supporting children. Others, would argue that there is structural differentiation( the way new,more specialised social institutions emerge to take over a range of responsibilities that were once performed by a single institution i.e. the family) as state institutions take care of many responsibilities of the family, such as healthcare and financial...
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...Assess the view that the family has lost its functions Functionalism is the theory that all parts of a society serve a function which contributes to the survival of the society. Many sociologists argue that modern day nuclear families are becoming less common. Instead of just a couple and their independent children, extended, reconstituted and lone parent families are becoming increasingly more common. Leading, to the loss of traditional family functions in today’s society. Different sociologists have different theories on functionalism. One of the most famous sociologists who looked at family is G.P Murdock. He believed that families perform four main functions: Primary socialisation; to learn socially acceptable behaviours and values. Sexual; because in some societies/cultures there are rules that limit sexual relationships outside of marriage. Reproduction; a stable environment to raise children, and economics; as sometimes the family is seen as a source of production. These functions demonstrate the functions that each family demonstrated during the 1940s. Although Murdock’s ideas were very important for understanding the main functions traditional nuclear families play, it is vital to note that Murdock’s theory dates back to 1949. Therefore many things have changed since then and the family has developed. For example many women are now the ‘breadwinners’ for their family as well as or instead of the men. Murdock’s theory is outdated as it relies on an old fashioned...
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...Feminists’ argued that gender roles were created by men for their benefit, and they described this type of society as “patriarchal”.They argued the nuclear family performed two key functions which oppressed women a) the family socialised girls to accept subservient roles within the family, whilst socialising boys to believe they were superior – this happens through children witnessing then recreating the parental relationship; and b) it socialised women into accepting the “housewife” role as the only acceptable role for a women. Essentially, feminists viewed the function of the family as a breeding ground where patriarchal values were learned by an individual, which in turn created a patriarchal society. I will use different types of Feminism to explain their understanding of the family . The first type is Liberal Feminists. They believe in a “March of Progress” view of the family. This means that they believe that the family is gradually changing for the better over time by becoming more democratic and more equal. They also argue that men and females share democratic labour ( i.e childcare, cleaning the house). Liberal Feminist believe this happened thanks to new law reforms such as the Divorce Act 1969 and Equal Pay Act 1972. Jennifer Somerville believes that women are still disadvantaged in families . She criticises radical and marxist feminists for failing to accept that progress has been made in some ways. However Marxist Feminist criticise against this by saying...
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...functionalist believes that the family structure is like a sub system to society. He says that the family performs four essential functions to meet the needs of society and it's members. These functions are: successful socialisation of the young into society's shared norms and values, the members of the families economic needs are met regularly e.g food and shelter, stable satisfaction of the sex drive with the same partner and finally the reproduction of the next generation without which society would struggle to continue. However, there are many criticisms of Murdock's theory. Other sociologists have argued that his 'rose tinted' harmonious consensus view that the family meets the needs of both wider society and all members of the family is foolish and nieve. Feminists argue that the family was only created to serve the needs of men and oppress the women whilst marxists argue that although the structure of the family meets the needs of capitalism, it doesn't meet the needs of the family itself or society as a whole. Another functionalist known as Parsons, proposes the 'functional fit' theory. This theory states that the functions the family performs will depend on the kind of society in which it is found and that the functions the family is required to perform will effect its 'shape'. Parsons distinguishes between two kinds of family structure: The nuclear family consisting of just parents and dependant children and the extended family of three generations living together...
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... Name: Essay Title: Assess the view that, in today’s society, the family is losing its functions (24 marks) | Underline or highlight the key concepts, terms and instructions, by identifying these key elements it will allow you to focus on answering the question. It is important to use relevant sociological terminology within the context of you essay. List the key sociological terms that will be appropriate for this essay. Industrial family, pre-industrial family, unit of production, unit of consumption, nuclear family, lone parent family, social policies, state intervention, symmetrical family, privatised, joint and segregated conjugal roles, commercialisation of housework | IntroductionSignpost to the question and clearly explain the key concepts /terms of the question | Functionalists such as Murdock and Parsons say that the family is losing its functions; they, and other functionalists, see the family as a particularly important, basic building block within society. Murdock argues that the family only performs four essential functions to meet the needs of society, whereas Parsons states that the functions that a family performs depends upon the kind of society in which it is found. | Paragraph 1PointThe point must be appropriate in answering the question. | The traditional pre-industrial family is seen to be the extended family, where there are three generations of the family all living together, it was seen as a multi-functional unit, in that it was both...
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...A view that the family is a positive institution is the Functionalist view, they believe the family is extremely beneficial and necessary for not only the smooth running of society but also the personal development of individuals. They also believe that the family is crucial for bringing about consensus in society. However there are other theories that question this, such as the Marxists. They believe that the family are often exploited by capitalism, therefore benefiting society but by helping the wrong people. The family works in society to benefit the rich, the family are exploited by capitalism and are told the main route to happiness is through consumerism. This keeps people from rebelling which in turn keeps the working class oppressed. Parsons believes that the families are crucial in ensuring that people are well integrated into society, as it is part of the functionalist theory to believe that each member of society is important for it to run smoothly. Parsons thought there were three functions of the family: primary socialisation of children, gender-role socialisation, and stabilisation of adult personalities (warm bath theory). For example gender-role socialisation is when the parents teach their children gender appropriate behaviour and practices that conform to social expectations of how males and females should act, for example, young girls playing with dolls or having a toy kitchen. Marxist feminists, however, argue that this sort of behaviour reinforces the...
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...Topic4 DQ1 Using the family structural theory how can families created following second marriages learn to function as one? Any break up in the family such as divorce and remarriage is not always easy for children to go through which this transition needs a set of merged beliefs and values must require to happen. This depends on the levels of development of the children, such as their environment support and their frame of mind are components on how they responses. When combining into two separate families, there will be external and internal stressors. Thus, it’s important to the children to have a good support system to aid with the transition of going into two separate families therefore, the adults need to follow the limitations. As an adult, we must set the rules and directions that it’s expected and what we want but need to be accommodating as well and be very supportive to one another in the outcome. The dispensation of power with the adults require to be equal, and the rules need to be recognized by the family members. Study shows that the divorce rate in second marriages is greater at 70% in comparison to first marriages secondary to internal and external stressors so in order for an integrated family to function well and survive, there need to directions, and good support systems established, and anything is doable. T.D. Afifi, S. Keith: A risk and resiliency model of ambiguous loss in post-divorce stepfamilies. http://www.minuchincenter.org Edelman, C., Kudzma...
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...Name Professor Course Date Social and Economics Change in North during 1790 to 1860 Most of the historians and papers look at the United States after the Civil War in order to trace the impetus for economic growth, people imagine the Civil War as a major force to unite and to move forward to an economic expansion. But, in reality, the important era of the economic development was prior 1790 to 1860 or the era prior to the Civil War. The western expansion provided with natural resources to stabilize and fuel the industrial growth. The strictures, which were existed in the theocracy of New England, were extinguished by 1790 ("APUSH-Wiki-Marlborough-School - Life in the North from 1790 - 1860", 2016). North was not an agrarian economy , as less and less land available in those years more sons opted out of the forms and moved to the seaport cities which were then populated by the young generation of males working their ways out. American food was in high demand in the world. These export demands strengthen the industries, especially in the seaport cities. Wage labor was in high demand as the large scale manufacturing needed labor force. The first factory was built I n1791 but the industry as a whole was slow to spread in the U.S. owing to several reasons. Firstly, labor was not available to support the immediate wide scale expansion of the industry. The Government was not supportive in the industrial expansion and a tough competition with the foreign industries were...
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...nuclear family functions to benefit all its members and society as a whole.’ (24 marks) According to Item A the nuclear family is the “ideal family type.” According to Murdock the nuclear family consists of a heterosexual couple that have at least one child. Murdock is a functionalist. Functionalists argue society is based on consensus (agreed norms and values). Consensus is achieved in society through the process of socialisation, which involves individuals learning norms and values. Norms and values are transmitted to children through social institutions such as the nuclear family. This benefits all members of society as it prevents anomie (chaos) and because it encourages social integration and social solidarity. Murdock argues that the family benefits all members of society as it performs four essential functions (sexual, economic, reproduction and socialization). Similarly Parsons argues that the family has two irreducible functions (primary socialization and stabalising adult personalities). Another functionalist, Fletcher, argues that the family performs three essential functions (regulation of sexual behavior; reproduction and child-rearing and home provisions). However, Marxists (such as Marx and Engels) argue that individuals don’t benefit from society, only the bourgeoisie benefits. Feminists (such as Liberal and radical feminists) criticize the functionalist view of the nuclear family and argue that women are ignored. Murdock claimed that the nuclear family had four...
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...org/journal/jss http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/jss.2015.312014 Review of Family Functioning Liangtie Dai, Lingna Wang School of Management, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China Received 25 November 2015; accepted 19 December 2015; published 22 December 2015 Copyright © 2015 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Abstract This article introduces the theories of family functions, including two kind of theory. The first is result oriented, defining family functioning by specific features of family. The second is process oriented, describing family function from the tasks families need to complete. The authors review Olson annular mode theory and Beavers system theory as representatives of result oriented family function. Then, the authors introduce McMaster family functioning mode theory and Skinner’s Family process model theory as representatives of process oriented family function. At the end of this paper, the authors analyze some possible research directions in the future. Keywords Family Functioning, Result Oriented Family Function, Process Oriented Family Function, Measure 1. Introduction and Overview Family is not only the basic unit of society, but also an important place for individual physical and mental growth. A family is made up of every member in the family. At the same time, it affects the growth of every member, and plays...
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...Assess the view that in today's society the family is loosing its functions (24 marks) there are many different sociologists who look in the families place in today's society and assess the level of function to family that family has today. The nuclear family provides functions for society, Murdock supports the theory that the family allows its members to express their sexuality in a socially approved way. This also allows for the reproduction of children needed for society. The family defines what is socially acceptable according to sex with controls, over dating, pre-marital sex and marital sex. Chaos would be resulted without these controls. However, some theorists argue that the nuclear family is loosing functions. This is because in Britain since the 1970s there has been an increase in the reproduction of children before, alongside and outside marriage with lone parent families and increased divorce as part of a greater choice in society. Post-modernism argue that changes in society with choice and greater individualism mean that traditional ideas on sexual relation are not carried out by nuclear families with many new family types and the rise of single parents. Another reason the nuclear family provides functions for society is through socialisation. The theorist Parsons argues that primary socialisation is still provided by the family who teach society's culture such as the language history and values,. Without this, society would cease to exist. On the other...
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...The family is a unique part of society, which is found in every country and culture in the world, however some sociologist may say it is impossible to define the family, as there many different forms of family across the world. According to the functionalist sociologist the family is key institution of society, as it performs vital functions for the maintenance of society as a whole and for the benefits of all the individual members, therefore the functionalist believe the society is a useful system made up of different part of sub system that depends on each other such as the family, the education system and the economy. Moreover Functionalists take a consensus view of the role of the family, as they see it as universal institution that performs essentials functions for the society as a whole. Functionalists see society as being like a living organism, made up of many different parts which all perform particular functions. In 1949, George Peter Murdock (functionalist) analysed societies across the world and came up with four basic functions, which he said all families in all societies performed. The first function is the sexual function, meaning that sex outside of marriage is limited in some way, which stabilises the society and can prevent conflict. Secondly, the family fulfils the reproductive function, as it is the main context for children to born and brought up. This is vital for society to continue. The family also fulfils an economic function, either as production or...
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...elsewhere, assess the functionalist contribution to our understanding of the family.(24 marks) Functionalism is a structural theory as it examines social institutions e.g. economy , education etc. It sees these institutions as a way of moulding and shaping the individual. Functionalism is also a consensus theory and tends to encourage sharing norms and values and promotes agreement rather than conflict , value consensus. Functionalists adopt and organic analogy. This is the idea of seeing society as a living system (human body) , e.g. the skin of our body is like our norms and values. Material from the item says that Murdock (1949) suggests the four main family functions are reproducing the next generation , then going onto to socialise the next generation they have reproduced into the shared culture , value consensus. The third family function Murdock suggests is the economic function , this function involves providing food , shelter and clothes in order for individuals to benefit. The final family function Murdock suggests is the sexual function , this involves adults' sexual needs being satisfied in a way that doesn’t disturb social order. However information from elsewhere has shown that Murdock assumes only the nuclear family can perform these functions. Parsons argued that as modern industrial societies have evolved and changed , the modern nuclear family has lost may of its former functions. Parsons argued that in modern societies , more and more specialised institutions...
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...FAMILIES AND HOUSEHOLDS Examine the different functions performed by the family for individuals and society? The family is a unit of people living together tied down by biological or legal bonds. Functionalists take the family to be an important part on the way society works and therefore emphasise the importance of the function of the family. Functions are the jobs and roles of a particular object. Functionalists and Marxists are social systems, also known as structural thinkers. Structural theories define individuals as being completely shaped by our society and the way it works and is organised. Functionalism visualises society as socialising individuals into the shared norms and values, which dictate the way they will behave. Marxism and a majority of feminist groups are also classed as structural thinkers. Both functionalists and Marxists take a macro approach and make generalisations towards the role the nuclear family plays in society as a whole. However functionalists take a positive view of the role of the nuclear family whereas traditional Marxists and feminists have criticised the view. George Peter Murdock was a functionalist sociologist. From his study of 250 diverse societies he concluded that the family actually performs 4 basic functions, which are essential for social life. The first were sexual and reproductive which are important, as they are the means of producing members of society. Without these two major functions society itself would seize to exist...
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