Using Material from Item 2b and Elsewhere Assess the View That, in Today’s Society, the Family Is Losing Its Functions.

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Using material from Item 2B and elsewhere assess the view that, in today’s society, the family is losing its functions. (24marks). Item 2B For functionalist sociologists, the family fulfils a number of important functions for individuals and for society, such as the socialisation of children and the stabilisation of adult personalities. However, some sociologists suggest that, in today’s society, these functions are being taken over by other institutions and the family is losing its importance. For example, nurseries and playgroups have an increasingly important role in the socialisation of young children whose parents are working full-time. Also, family life is much less stable than it was in the past and this undermines the traditional functions of the family. ________________________________________________________________________ From a functionalist opinion, they believe that the society we live in is based on an unwritten set of shared norms and values – a consensus. This is the consensus theory. This is primary socialisation which is taught mainly by families which teaches the young generation the norms and values. There are many different parts to the society, all of which rely on each other to make up the behaviour of society of which we expect; these include the family, economy and education. Most sociologists believe that family as a very important system, the foundations of which society is built on. Murdock strongly believes this and argues that the family “performs four essential functions to meet the needs of society and its members.” These four essential functions include stable satisfaction of the sex drive, reproduction of the next generation, socialisation of the young and meeting its member’s economic needs. The stable satisfaction of the sex drive means being faithful to one partner and thus stopping social destruction caused by being

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