Family, FamilyStructure, And Structural Functionalism

In order to understand the entirety of a society, we must first understand each part and how it contributes to the stability of the society. According to the functionalist

Functionalist’s sees that society is made up of a range of different sub-systems which depend on each other, and that society needs these functions or order for survival and is vital towards society. Functionalists see the family as a very important sub-system, as it raises and teaches children norms and values. According to Peter Murdock, he argues that the family performs four main functions to meet the needs of society and the members of society. One of the

to of have ignored that in a number of families (this tends to be a

Question One: Choose two theories outlined in your readings and class discussions and compare/contrast them in their usefulness for considering the development of the individual within the context of the family.

Other people’s outlooks disagree with this view, such as the Marxists, the Marxist Feminists and the Radical Feminists. Item B describes the way in which functionalists view the functional pre-requisites or the essentials of societies if they are to survive. Functionalists’ writers such as

Comparing Bowen’s family systems theory and Minuchin’s structural family theory we will outline several fundamental categories for analysis with Goldenberg & Goldenberg (2012) as our guide. We also contrast the history and theoretical orientation of both men to garner a deeper understanding of their theories. Finally we will consider integrating elements of both theories and how this makes us more effective practitioners.

This essay will assess how functionalists view point of the family by exploring Murdock, Comte, Parsons and Durkheim, the founder of functionalism, ideas and evaluating them.

The use of mezzo-perspective is to focus on the group or family unit as a whole. Although the mezzo-perspective mainly focuses on a group or family unit, this type of perspective can also benefit an individual because it affects many different individuals at once. Research has shown that family units that are dysfunctional can benefit from structural family therapy. This type of therapy breaks down the family dynamics into subsystems. Each of these subsystems work within groups forming alliances, triangulations and boundaries with one another and others outside of the family. Furthermore, this type of subsystem analysis will be visible in the case study of the Clark family. Bob and Marie are parents of three children that appear to have a breakdown of boundaries both enmeshed and disengaged. Additionally, the parental alliance has fallen apart due to the discord around discipline of the children, over-bearing actions by Marie with her children, and intimacy issues. Lastly, triangulations appear to be repeating through generations, Bob and Marie actions display similarly to their own parents, that they wanted to avoid when having their own family.

Murdock (1949) studied 250 different societies, he concluded that society could not survive without the family as it was so functional. He argued there were four essential functions, without these society would not survive: sexual, reproductive, economic and education. Without sex and reproduction there would be no new members, without economic and education, the family providing for its members, the young socialised to norms and values, cultures would not exist. In the absence of this human society would cease (Haralambos and Holborn, 2008). 83

In her book The Unfinished Revolution, Kathleen Gerson argues that today, family pathways are more important than family structure. In this context, family structure refers to the organization of a family, and the way that it has been changing as a result of the gender revolution. For example, some nontraditional family structures that are explored in the book include double parent families with both parents earning, single parent families (mostly single mothers), and families with same-sex parents. Gerson argues that while family structures are not negligible, it is family pathways that are more important for the children of the gender revolution. That is to say, the children value the dynamics of their family more than the structure. They are more concerned about how well their parents are able to provide them with the necessary emotional and financial support than they are about how well their families follow a norm. For them, it is more about feeling like they’re part of a family rather than just physically being in one. Gerson emphasizes this when she explains that the people she interviewed “focused on the long-term consequences of parental choices, not on the specific form or type of home these choices produced at any one moment in time.” One important implication of this argument is the way in which the children of the gender revolution imagine their own romantic relationships unfolding. Even there, they prioritize a feeling rather than a format. For example, one

According to Herbert Spencer, the family performs functions which are necessary for the society, as a whole, to operate smoothly with little or no

There are certain functional requirements that must be satisfied if a society is to survive. Within any society there are functional subsystems (institutions) that meet those requirements. Each institution is similarly structured to provide for the requirements of all the others. Individuals are socialized to wants and needs that are socially appropriate. Balance of power between institutions is always maintained, and if social needs are met, individual needs are also met. Therefore, each part of society is interdependent with all the others. Every individual, if properly socialized, is an integrated functionary of the larger society. It is a very tidy picture of cooperative social life.

First emerging in the nineteenth-century Europe, the Functionalist approach is a variant of Structuralism and was heavily influenced by Emile Durkheim (Haralambos & Holborn, 2008, pp. 8-9). Functionalism takes a macro perspective and argues that society contains a ‘Social System’ in other words, society is an organised structure of a number of indispensable inter-related parts called institutions such as, education; each of these institutions have a useful function and purpose within society (Livesey, 2014). A change in production, disruption or co-ordination will force the others to adapt to maintain a stable society. Due to functionalists believing that everyone is socialised into the value consensus , everyone shares the same norms and values. This helps the institutions of society to run together harmoniously, smoothly and creates a social structure (CGP Books, 2016). Proposed by Herbert Spencer, functionalists often use the ‘Organic Analogy’ to describe their approach. In which, the human body metaphorically represent society as a whole, while the organs represent the institutions within it. If one organ fails the whole human body fails, much as if one

Structural functionalist theories are grounded in the thought that society and family are congenial entities and, as such, the harmony between the two is the natural state of people, as found in Leeder (2004). Structural functionalism, and the viewing of the family as a social system, is at the core of the family process and other theories. To understand structural-functionalism, we must first understand the coalescing theories in which it is rooted, functionalism and structuralism. Both approaches gained momentum in the 1920’s, during the time in which diffusionism also emerged.

Most people have family whether it’s huge or small. Families include relationships such as marriages, which sometimes falls under exogamy and endogamy. Which is the difference between marring someone of a different social category from you or from the same social category. These types of relationships can fall under two different theories. Which include Structural-Functional and Social Conflict/ Feminist theories. Each family is differently structured and defined by these theories including my family.