Theories of the Family part 1

Created by: ashleyraper33703
Created on: 13-02-18 10:49

View mindmap

THEORIES OF THE FAMILY
- POSITIVES OF THE FAMILY
  - primary socialisation
  - provides emotional and financial support
  - creates harmony and feeling of unity and belonging (social solidarity)
  - for wider society: creates a future workforce & teaches values of society
- NEGATIVES OF THE FAMILY
  - negative socialisation and teaching of dysfunctional behaviour and norms and values
  - reproduces inequality- stay trapped in same social class.
  - passes on conformity- brainwashed to be obedient and erases individuality
  - dysfunctional families leaad to dysfunctional youngsters who do bad at school and turned to school and turn to crime. social and economic cost.
- Functionalist theory
  - believe society is based on value consesus
    - a set of shared norms + values. if we have this then we can function effectively and meet societies goals and achieve its aims
  - GP Murdock (1949)
    - the traditional nuclear family of married mum and dad with kids performs 4 essential functions for society:
      - reproduction of the next generation
      - primary socialisation of the young
      - economic support for family members
      - stable satisfaction of the sex drive.
    - CRITICISMS OF MURDOCK
      - reductionist- reduces societies functions to just 4
      - omissive- leaves out other functions
      - deterministic- determines that a nuclear family will ALWAYS perform these 4 functions, which is not the case.
      - Feminists see society as opressive to women
      - marxists argue it meets the needs of capitalism and not society as a whole.
  - Talcott Parsons (1955)
    - Argues there is 2 types of family
      - The Nuclear Family- 2 parents with dependent children
      - extended family- three generations or more living in the same house.
      - Reductionist- omits every other family type e.g. same sex and cohabiting.
    - Functional Fit- the family has to functionally fit the type of society we live in
    - Described the fam as a Warm Bath
- Marxist views on the family
  - see capitalist society as based on an unequal conflict between two social classes:
    - the capitalist class/ bourgeoisie, who own the means of production.
    - the working class/ proletariat, whose labour the bourgeoisie exploit for profit.
  - believe that social institutions, such as school and media, help maintain class inequality
    - The functions of the family only benefit the capitalist system
  - The Marxist Functions of the Family
    - Inheritance of property
      - high class families are able to stay wealthy by passing down their wealth to their children.
        ENGELS argued that this made monogamy essential, as wealthy men had to be certain they were passing down their wealth to the right heir.
        
        Marxists believe women will only be liberated with the abolition of capitalism.
    - Ideological Function
      - Marxists believe that the family today performs key ideological functions for capitalism.
        the ideology is ideas and beliefs passed down to everyone and they are accepted as fair and unchangeble
        the family is socialised to believe that he hierarchy is factual.
        
        Zaretsky- idea that the family provides a nice escape from the harsh realities of society and the working world.
        'Haven in a harsh world'
  - argue parents are the 'mouthpiece to capitalism' because they ready us for work.
  - Inheritance of Property
    - capitalism turned women into a 'mere instrument for the reproduction of children'
      - bourgeoisie needed women to pass down wealth to their correct heirs legally.

Get Revising

Theories of the Family part 1

Comments

Similar Sociology resources: