So it seems the nuclear family is not so universal – but it is true that it exists in majority in most developed countries. His second function of the family is reproduction, where the nuclear family unit is the best form for reproduction of future productions. This is because the husband can support his wife and their baby. Before the days of women in work, it was crucial to have a working husband to assure a stable household for the children to brought up in. But now it seems that many women are choosing to have a job instead of rearing children.
Murdock – argues that the family performs four essential functions to meet the needs of society and it members. 1) Stable satisfaction of the sex drive – with the same partner, which prevents a social disruption 2) Reproduction of the next generation – without which society wouldn’t continue 3) Socialisation of the young – into society’s shared norms and values 4) Meeting its members economic needs – such as food and shelter Murdock argues that these four factors explains why having a nuclear family is universal Criticisms of Murdock Other sociologists argue that other institutions or non nuclear family structures could equally performs these functions, not just nuclear families. Feminists argue that they see the family as serving the needs of men and oppressing women. Parsons functional fit theory Parsons distinguishes two family structures Nuclear family – just parents and dependent children Non Nuclear family – three generations living under the same roof Parsons argues that the particular structure and functions of a given type of family will ‘fit’ the needs of the society in which it is found. According to Murdock there are two basic types of society -Modern industrial family: nuclear family -Pre industrial family: extended family A geographically mobile workforce -Parsons argues that it is easier for the nuclear family to move.
Different groups of sociologists have devoted time in studying and analysing the family, however different types of sociologists share different views over the functions performed for individuals and society. Functionalist see society as an interrelated whole. To functionalists every institution in society performs one or more important functions or jobs and the sociologist has to determine what these functions are. Many functionalists look at the good things in family life, the two functionalists I am focusing on are Murdock and parsons, both of these share similar views on the family. Murdock believed that the nuclear family was a universal institution that was vital to the well being of all societies and stated that the family's primary purpose is for sexual, reproductive, economic, and educational.
Functionalists see society as a group of institutions. A social institution being a place where there is a set of rules for behaviour. For example, schools, churches and families. To Functionalists, each institution has its own place in sustaining society and maintaining order. The functionalist perspective recognises that families perform vital functions for their members and for their society, to ensure stability and harmony in order to achieve social order (Giddens, 2009).
Because they found each other a little later than the average couple does, they were older than most parents when they decided to have me. My father was 38 when I was born while my mother was 33. They are now 59 and 54 respectively and apart from our dog, who I sometimes consider to be my little sister, our nuclear household consists of three members. Being an only child has affected my upbringing in many ways and I find there to be many benefits but even more drawbacks. The first perspective I’m going to analyze my family of origin with is the structural-functional perspective.
Many people see the family as the normal way of life and watch television programs which revolve around family life. For many the nuclear family has always been viewed as the proper way to bring up children and to live life. However, the subject of families is much deeper than many think. But is the family beneficial to society? Different groups have different views on how beneficial the family is to society.
To make society work, it has to function in harmony, like a body; this is called the consensus theory. Parson’s developed the idea of roles in the collective called institutions such as family, religion, peer group, legal and economic systems that complement each other in fulfilling functions in society. Radcliffe Brown saw institutions as the key to maintaining the global social order. Institutions are the structures of social order and co-operation, governing the behaviour of individuals within human race collectively. Merton????
Functionalists see the family as an important sub-system. George Peter Murdock (1949) says that the family is universal, always has been and always will be. Murdock argues that the family has four functions that are needed in order to meet the needs of society and its members. Firstly, he believes that there is a function within the family that is called, Stable satisfaction of the sex drive – this is with the same partner and is the prevention of social disruption which is ultimately caused by a sexual ‘free-for-all’. Secondly, Reproduction of the next generation – without this essential function, society would seize to exist.
The idea of nuclear family was thought up by Functionalist Talcott Parsons, this family consisted of a married man and wife living together and raising children of their own. The father would naturally be seen to be the breadwinner while the mother had the nurturing, comforting and expressive role in the family. Watson (2011) stated that “Parsons claimed that marriage was essential for emotional security. Within marriage, men and women are filling their natural roles as human beings.” This did cause much controversy especially among feminists at the time as it took away from the concept of equality between men and women. Murdock (1949) said “The family is a social group characterized by common residence, economic co-operation and reproduction.
Infants, especially are totally dependent on others, and the responsibility to look after the young ones typically falls on parents. From then on, the parents begin to teach their child the norms and values of society. This often involves the child learning the stereotypical role of their gender. In addition to this, the class of the parents are conferred upon the child. George Peter Murdock found that nuclear families are universal.