Functionalist perspective of family Essay

Functionalists believe that nine is based on a set of shargond values and norms this is kn receive as a value consensus. These norms and values socialize its members, which enables them to collaborate with each an otherwise(prenominal) so callers needs atomic number 18 met, this creates social order. It offers a structural and macro side of the family which is top down.Functionalists see order of magnitude as being similar to a biological organism for example the human tree trunk. This is called the organic analogy. The human body is make up of various various parts that dish up together, each part is necessary for the normal functioning of the whole body. Society is made up of various institutions (for example education or family), Functionalists believe that these institutions rely on each other each other which helps maintain social order. If one institution is quickly modified or fails to proceeding with other institutions, society would be impaired and would end up in anarchy. Functionalists compargon this with the human body because if one component is unable to work, this often affects other components in the body, which could result in death. Functionalists believe that a family is a vital institution, which contributes to maintaining social order because it represents the needs of other institutions such as the education system, which enables society to function in a unified manner. Functionalists believes that the thermonuclear family contains societys needs, however several alternative theories such as Feminism contradict Functionalist ideology.Murdock believes that the nuclear family performs four essential functions for society and its members however he acknowledges that other institutions can perform these functions. He claims that he found evidence of a nuclear family in 250 different societies so he argues that a nuclear family is universal as it fulfills societies needs. The first function is knowledgeable, Murdock believes t hat sexual intercourse with the same marital partner can prevent social disruption and can arm the tie between husband and wife. The second function is re return this allows new members of society to be natural which is essential for society because if fosterage did not continue then society would cease to exist. The third function iseconomical so the family can provide for its members e.g food and shelter. The final function is the education system, this enables the young to be socialized and educated into societys norms and values, and this suggests the family is a coercive feature of society.However Murdocks look into is limited because he leave outs diversity. His research is based on a nuclear family, yet in redbrick society at that place are galore(postnominal) different family types, for example homosexual couples/lone parents. The post ultramodernist view believes that the nuclear family is no longer the norm and therefore the functionalist theory is not relevant to todays society. Another criticism would be that Functionalists do not consider the validity of other family structures such as the Nayar or the Kibbutz who can also perform the four functions. On the other hand, a strength of Murdocks work is it provides an insight of the families importance to society, because they examine how a family functions in society. Another positive to Murdocks interpretations of family aliveness would be that Murdock could generalize his research because he has studied 250 different societies, which demonstrates how a nuclear family can fit societal needs around the world.Another Functionalists explanation of the family comes from Parsons who believes that the functions a family has to perform, will affect its shape or structure. Parsons identifies two types of family structure the nuclear family, which fits the needs of modern industrial society and the extended family, which fits the needs of pre-industrial society. Parsons argues that the extended fam ily was multi-functional so it was a unit of consumption and production whilst the nuclear family fits the key needs of modern industrial society geographically mobile workforce and the socially mobile workforce.The geographical mobility industries often required people to move to where the jobs were, Parsons argued that a nuclear family (two generations) would find it more straightforward to move than an extended family (three generations) so the nuclear family is better fitted to the needs of modern industrial society. The social mobile workforce implied that modern society is constantly changing with technology and scholarship also individual status is often achieved (using their ownefforts) rather than ascribed (fixed from birth) e.g. the son may ascribe their own status and move away from home and create their own nuclear family in which they are structurally isolated from other members so Parsons argues that the nuclear family is better equipped that than the extended family to lose societies needs.Parsons argues that the nuclear family fits (fit thesis) modern society yet he also notices that the changing functions of the family are socially advanced so the family have to fulfill fewer functions for its members, Parsons argues that the nuclear family specializes in two functions the primary socialization of children which educates the neighboring generation with basic skills and societys values. The stabilization of heavy(p) personalities is the second function, this enables adults to release tensions so they can return to their place of work and perform their roles efficiently.Parsons identifies segregated conjugal roles between a husband and wife. The husband has the instrumental role so he is expected to provide for his family whilst the wife has the expressive role and is expected to nurture her children.There are many negatives with Parsons ideology for instance he idealizes the nuclear family and ignores diversity, as there is more than honou rable the nuclear and extended family in modern society. Another criticism would be that Peter Laslett studied the pre-industrial society and concluded that in this society, the common family was nuclear and not extended as Parson claimed. This was because many families discrete to have their children when they were older and short life expectancy conveyed that grandparents were not alive when their first grandchild was born. . However there are some positives about Parsons research, the first would be that Parsons identifies how families shift in society, another reason would be that Parsons research shows how families can adapt to meet societies needs so a more stable society is created and he argues that family life fits and benefits society e.g. reproduction allows new members of society to be created so societys norms and values are passed on to the next generation, which helps create a stable society and social order.More broadly, some feminists such as Oakley argues that Mur dock and other functionalists neglects conflict and exploitation in a family (e.g. domestic violence), many feminists also believe that within the family, women are serving the needs of men and they are oppressed, this suggest the family is not functional for women as argued by the functionalists. losss have a similar conflict point of view as they believe that Murdock ignore the negatives in a family life, as Murdock has an extremely positive view on family life. Marxists ( Engels and Zaretsky)however argue that the family meets the needs of capitalist economy and not those of family members or society in general, which conflicts with Murdocks ideology. Furthermore The radical psychiatrists such as Laing argues that the family is dysfunctional as it damages the individual and can lead to mental illness, they argue that the nuclear family is not oil-bearing to its members. The New right however supports the functionalists view of the nuclear family and suggests they help society to function, however they are an extreme view and have themselves been criticized.To conclude, Functionalists all agree that the nuclear family is the best to fit societies needs, it offers a positive consensus view, however it ignores womens positions and ignore how the family feeds capitalism, they also ignore family diversity. To understand the family unit, one must look at all theoretical views as functionalism on its own is too limited a view.