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outdated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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