theories of the family

Functionalism

Marxism

Feminists

Personal life perspective

Parsons

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Murdock study/ functions

Criticisms

Study

Irreductable functions

Their main ideas

They take a positive view on family

They see the family as an important sub system

Stabilisation of adult personalities

Primary socialization

Families are responsible for teaching children the norms,values and rules of society

Warm bath theory

Expressive role - nurturing children

instrumental rule - providing financial support

family provides emotional support and security

Studied 250 different societies, nuclear families are universal and argues that families perform 4 essential functions

Economic needs

Reproduction of the next generation

Socialisation

Satisfaction of the sex drive

These could be performed by other institutions

ignore the negative aspects like neglect and exploitation

Evaluation

Ignore conflict

outdated

feminists critical - assumption of woman taking the expressive role

Their main ideas

Family helps to maintain capitalism

Benefits capitalism but doesn't benefit members of the family

Inheritance of property

capitalist class owns the means of production

Engles

a patriarchal monogamous nuclear family became essential in capitalist society because of the inheritance of private property

Ideological functions

family is part of ideological state apparatus , helps pass on and justify the ideology of class differences through false class consciousness

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