Sociological View On The Family

Outline and evaluate Functionalist views of the role of the family in society. [33 marks]

Structural functionalism is an important theory to consider when assessing Tracy’s situation. Tracy’s interacts among several different systems, one being her family. Structural-functionalism has historically been important in the study of families and continues to remain relevant (Kingsburry & Scanzoni, 1993, p. 195). Structural-functional focuses on the structures and effectiveness of systems, however

As a functionalist view, they believed that the family had to teach the norms and values so they believed that the ‘Traditional Nuclear Family’ was the best type of family. Functionalists believed that the husband and wife have segregated

Another concept views the Family as a Component of Society, this structural-functional theory addresses the family on a broader scale in terms of their contributions, needs and successes like other social systems (eg., educational and healthcare system (p.90, 2003).

In a sociological perspective, family is interpreted as a social group whose members are bound by legal, biological, or emotional ties or a combination of all three. The sociological theories the connect to this concept are functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionalism. First, functionalism states that the family socializes children, it provides emotional and practical support for its members, and it provides its members with a social identity. Secondly, conflict theory states that members create disagreements, and create emotional support and comfort. Finally, symbolic interactionism claims family members and intimate couples interact on a daily basis. "Families are defined as a relationship by blood, marriage, or affection" (Seccombe 5).

For functionalist, family is perceived as a positive or stable environment or institution for children and adult members. Functionalists believe every institution in society contributes to the smooth running of society such as the value consensus and the social control or socialization process. The role of the family has structured in which the husband acts as the breadwinner and the wife as the

‘The family performs important tasks that contribute to society’s basic needs and helps perpetuate social order.’ (Anthony Giddens 2006 - Page 238) Functionalists believe a family’s paramount purpose is to raise and support their children within society.

According to Taylor et al (2005), the sociology of the family was traditionally governed by functionalist theory which highlights the universal and functional role the family played in society. Furthermore, functionalists take a broad view of society and focus on macro aspect of

Discuss an additional sociological theory on the role of the family, e.g. feminist, Marxist or the New Right.

Family is a significant concept within the society and based on its significance various sociological perspectives have devoted their studies in order to examine family. Each of these perspectives has differing view of the nature and role of the family in society. Therefore, in this essay, it is my intention to compare the range of sociological perspectives of the family including functionalism, Marxist and feminist. I will also evaluate the conjugal relationships and its development by considering the factors that have caused these developments. According to functionalism, each aspect of the society education system, economy and family is inter-related and works together in order to the maintenance of stability of society as a whole.

The family was once described as a social group that shared common residence, consisted of at least two adults of each sex that maintained a socially approved sexual relationship and had one or more children, their own or adopted. This is a nuclear family, described by George Murdoch to be a universal family type. Although it is correct to say that nuclear families reside universally, family types now vary from single-parent families to gay headed families. Despite the variety, they contribute to the society, in ways that can be positive and negative too. Many sociologists differ in their views as to whether the family is positive to the society or not- functionalists believe that the family has positive functions that contribute

For most of us, the family is considered as a well-known and comfortable institution. The perfect model of the ‘ideal’ family is still mostly considered to be consisted from two different sexes’ parents, and one or more children. Until quite recently, the sociology of the family was mostly functionalist and just in the last few decades has been challenged from various directions.

Functionalist theory is one of the major theoretical perspectives in sociology. It can be argued that the functionalist theory has made a significant contribution to the study of society. It originates from the work of Emile Durkheim who suggests that social order is possible and society remains stable due to the functioning of several institutions. Everything has a specific function in society and society will always function in harmony. The main institutions studied by functionalism are the family, the education system, religion and crime and deviance.

The family has been described as the cornerstone of society. Denise Fyffe puts it as the birthplace of society and is the most basic economical, political, and social unit. In fact, anthropological studies have indicated that the family has existed in every known society. Based on evidence gathered by George Peter Murdock, he concluded that the family is universal. It is within the family that individuals first learn the value of work and the worth of their

In the study of sociology there are three major concepts that most socialists study. These three include Functionalism, the Conflict Theory, and Symbolic Interaction. The concept that this paper will be exploring is Functionalism and how it relates to the change in marriage from the 1950s through today. The concept of Functionalism steams from the work of Emile Durkheim who worked in establishing sociology as an independent and recognized academic discipline (Calhoun, 2002). Functionalism is defined as "a framework for building theory that sees society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote solidarity and stability" (Macionis and Gerber, 2010). The concept of Functionalism emphasizes order within society, and focuses stability and shared public values. When these are disrupted society changes in order reach that state of stability once again (Andersen and Taylor, 2015).