Different groups have different views on how beneficial the family is to society. Functionalists, who traditionally dominated the sociology of the family, feel that the family is necessary for the running and continuation of an integrated society. It is assumed by functionalists that if there is the existence of a social institution, then it must have a purpose or a function. Functionalists therefore see the family as beneficial for society. To functionalists, society is an 'organism' that contains different segments which come together to keep society running smoothly.
Assess the functionalist contributions to our understanding of the family Functionalists believe that parts of society exist for a function and are all part of the organic analogy. If these parts work together to pass on norms and values it creates a collective conscience, hereby creating social order. From the item we can see that Murdock saw the family as fulfilling the function of reproducing the next generation and socialising them into the shared culture. They believe the nuclear family is the most effective family for its function and is the most able to pass on the norms and values to create a collective conscience for the next generation. Murdock, a functionalist sociologist, says that the nuclear family is universal.
Functionalism is a consensus theory in which they believe that all members agree on the idea that society is a system of interdependant parts held together by a shared culture. Functionalist believe that society is made up of different parts or sub-systems; these are family, education and the economy. The functionalist view on the family is that it is a basic building block of society. They often compare society as to a human body because they see every different part of society contributing to the overall running of it, just like the heart, kidneys or lungs for example. For this reason, they see the family as being vital to the wellbeing of society as it meets some essential needs, such as socialising 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.
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.
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).
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. Many people say murdocks analyse suffers from a failure to consider how other instructions can or could take over the functions of the family for example welfare state providing shelter. Parsons said even though the family had lost some functions it retained two basic and irreducible functions, they were primary socialization and stabilisation of adult personalities, parsons argues that society cannot exist without shared values norms and roles which are passed on from generation to generation and claims family's are needed for this purpose. The functionalists view of the family has been heavily criticised for being outdated and for presenting an overly optimistic view of the family. Many people criticise functionalists because they ignore the fact that not all families are perfect, another weakness of functionalists is that not all families can carry out all four of the functions for example gay families can't carry out the reproductive function.
Further it contends that individual rights cannot remain intact without a communitarian perspective; that human dignity and the social dimension are recognized equally. How is this possible? Can a system exist in which an individual and society as a whole maintain a mutually acceptable symbiotic existence without infringing on opposing responsibilities? A democratic perspective by its very nature relies on a individuals view on how best to run his given society. A communitarian perspective insist that all members of a community act and react as one, each drawing the same conclusions as the next, and collectively moving towards a mutual goal.
Murdock saw the family, the nuclear family in particular, an absolute need for society and he considered the four basic functions of the family to be the sexual, the reproductive, the socialisation and the economic. He carried out a study all over the world and said that the family is a universal thing and these are universal functions that everyone else follows too. Without the family, we wouldn't have food and shelter otherwise life itself would cease. Parsons believes that without the family we would have primary socialisation and stabilisation of the adult personality, furthermore, without culture and the shared values passed on from generations to generations- society wouldn’t exist
From a multicultural psychological perspective individualism and collectivism are concepts that enclose essential differences in how the interactions between people and their roles in societies are build. Individualism "stands for a society in which the ties between individuals are loose: everyone is expected to look after himself or herself and his or her immediate family only" (Hofstede, 1994). Individualism, the fundamental unit is the individual and the society that promotes individualism supports people’s well- being