Sociological View On The Family

Talcott Parsons (1965) was a functionalist sociologist who attempted to trace the historical development of the family and explain why the nuclear family had become so dominant. Parsons argued that there are two basic irreducible functions of the family. These are Primary socialisation and the stabilisation of the adult personalities, Primary socialisation is the process through which the children are taught and learn to accept the norms and values of society. Primary socialisation is important as it teaches us how to relate to others, language and customs and it is the foundation upon which all later learning rests. Secondly, the stabilisation of the adult personalities is all about the family giving the adult offspring emotional support necessary

‘According to the American sociologist Talcott Parsons, the family’s two main functions are primary socialization and personality stabilization. Primary socialization is the process by which children lean the cultural norms of the society into which they are born. Because this happens during the early years of childhood, the family is the most important arena for the development of the human personality. Personality stabilization refers to

Family is a very vital social group for any individual as well as society. It is the focal point around which life of every individual revolves. The day usually starts with family and also ends with family but in between we used to discharge our professional, social commitment. The desire to be with the family reflects the strong emotional bond individual share with family. Family is the basic unit of society and in its most simplest form it may consist of a husband, wife and children .In a broader sense it may refers to all relatives of several generations may be connected to each other by blood, marriage or adoption .The married couple not only lives under one roof but also stay connected physically, mentally, emotionally, socially moreover financially. They are supposed to complement each other by meeting need and aspirations of each other. A family basically based on the institution of marriage. So it is very much significant on the part of both husband and wife primarily about the need to have a healthy functional behavior for a life time to meet the commitment they are extending to each other.

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).

Family is a religious, moral and legal institution with various degrees of kinship even covering generation of ancestors in certain cases. It is no doubt that family is seen as an important institution for individuals to provide emotional needs and to make a better society. Three major theories had contributed a better and more deeper understanding on family. Moreover, this essay will discuss the functionalist, Marxist and feminist views to the family.

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

Moreover, functionalists believe that social order is not possible unless there are shared norms and values, which can only be widely accepted through socialisation (Ingelby and Oliver 2008). Furthermore, Murdock (1949) sees the nuclear family as a basic unit around which all family systems are organised and that it [the nuclear family] has four essential functions to perform in order for society to continue (Taylor et al 2005). These four functions are;

The sociological perspective is the comprehension of human conduct by placing it within its broader social contexts (pg. 3). This perspective is developed by using three core sociological perspectives that were developed over time. Although, these perspectives all provide a unique vantage point of society, no single perspective is the core belief of sociologists. Therefore, together the three perspectives are analyzed, giving a better understanding of society. These three theoretical perspectives are known as functionalism, symbolic interaction, and the conflict theory. Functionalism views society as having multiple functions, all in which contribute to society in a different way. The contribution of all of these functions is said to create

(Earlhamsociologypages). The first function is known as sexual refers that within the family there is a "stable satisfaction of the sex drive with the same partner. " This means that the regulation of sexual activity prevent the society from social disruptions and provide stability. The reproductive is the second function of family is related to producing next generation for society, it is apparent that society without children cannot survive. Next, functionalists see family as an economic unit as it provides its members the economic needs such as food and

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).

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

Murdock argues that the family performs four basic functions in all societies – sexual, reproductive,

Structural-functionalism is quite important to our understanding of how families in other parts of the world have been explained and the lens through which families have been viewed. However, it is a way of seeing that is now being challenged by other theorists and might not hold true in a transnational twenty-first-century (Leeder, 2004).

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).

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