Families And Households

Murdock - Universal Institution

Family unit exists in all societies without exceptions

Universal Institution - Four Functions Of The Family

• Stable satisfaction of the sex drive

• Reproduction of the next generation

• Socialisation of the young into society’s norms and values

• Meeting its members economic needs

Universal Institution Evaluation

Murdock assumes all families are nuclear

Parsons Functional Fit Theory

The family evolves based upon wider changes in society

Functional Fit Theory - 2 Reasons Family Has Shrunk

• Industrial society needs a geographically mobile workforce

• Industrial society needs a socially mobile workforce

Functional Fit Theory Evaluation

Large extended families were likely uncommon due to shorter life expectancy

Working from home

Parsons Two Irreducible Functions

Family is smaller because it performs two necessary functions

Two Irreducible Functions

• Primary socialisation of children into societys norms and values

• Stabilisation of adult personalities (warm bath theory), being a safe haven from stressful outside world

Functionalism

Sees the family as benefitting wider society and individual members

Marxism

Sees the family as benefitting capitalism and the bourgeoisie

Inheritance Of Property

Bourgeoisie own the means of production and can develop property ownership, leading to the polarisation of wealth

Engles Inheritance Of Property

Suggests that patriarchal monogamous nuclear families ensure the inheritanve of property and wealth can be passed down through generations

Inheritance Of Property Evaluation

Only relevant to capitalist societies with private property ownership

Unit of Consumption

Family consumes capitalist through

• Keep up with the Joneses (neighbours)

• Persuasion power of children

Unit Of Consumption Evaluation

Reduces the family to only economic functions and ignore emotional support it gives

Ideological Function

Children are socialised into the beliefs that hierarchy and inequality are inevitable due to ‘parental power’, accepting someone in charge

Ideological Function Evaluation

Functionalists say children are socialises into the norms and values of wider society

Punchbag Theory

Zaretsky says male proletariat workers take frustration of work out on other family members

Punchbag Theory Example

90% of domestic violence victims are women

Punchbag Theory Evaluation

Parsons - warm bath theory