Functionalist Perspective of the Family (AQA A Level Sociology): Revision Note

Murdock's four functions of the family

• Functionalists view the nuclear family as a universal and essential institution that benefits both society and its members

• Murdock (1949) identified four key functions of the family:

  • The sexual function

    • Regulates sexual behaviour to prevent social disruption caused by a “sexual free-for-all”

    • The nuclear family reinforces stable, monogamous relationships through the regulation of sexual activity

  • The reproductive function

    • Society depends on the reproduction of new members to continue over time

    • The nuclear family ensures the birth and upbringing of the next generation

  • The economic function

    • Provides food, shelter, and financial support for family members

    • Plays a vital role in the wider economy through production and consumption

  • The educational or socialisation function

    • Socialises children into society’s shared norms and values

      Parents act as role models, helping children internalise culture through primary socialisation

Evaluation of Murdock

Strengths

• Universality of the nuclear family

  • Most people are born into nuclear families, marry, and start their own, making it a common feature across cultures

• Attempts to abolish the nuclear family have failed

  • In Israel, many people lived in communes called kibbutzim, where children were raised in children's houses by carers

  • This failed, as children often ran away to be with their biological parents

Criticisms

• Too idealistic and outdated

  • Murdock ignores family diversity in modern society

  • Other family types (e.g., lone-parent or same-sex families) can perform the same functions effectively

  • Fails to reflect the growing number of women choosing not to have children

• Ethnocentric

  • Assumes the nuclear family is universal and ideal, ignoring alternatives

  • E.g., in the Nayar community in south-west India, girls were often married to several husbands, but these men rarely lived with their wives and children

• Ignores dysfunctions of the family

  • Murdock overlooks negative aspects of the family, like child abuse and anti-social behaviour in children

  • The nuclear family can increase stress between spouses and between parents and children, which leads to conflict

• Feminists view the nuclear family as a source of female oppression

  • The nuclear family reinforces traditional gender roles and confines women to domestic labour

  • Domestic violence and emotional strain reveal that family life is not always a safe or nurturing environment

Parsons' functions of the family

• Talcott Parsons (1955) developed the 'functional fit' theory, arguing that the role and structure of the family depend on the society in which it exists

Functional fit theory

• Parsons claimed that family structure has evolved to meet the needs of society at different stages

Traditional pre-industrial society

• Extended family was dominant

• Well-suited to agricultural life – worked the land together and shared resources

• Multifunctional: provided food, shelter, education, health, and welfare, as there were no formal institutions to do so

Modern industrial society

• Nuclear family became dominant

• Geographically mobile – easier for nuclear families to relocate for work

• Social mobility – individuals needed to be free from extended kin to achieve upward mobility, often the outcome of industrial society

• Structural differentiation occurred, leading to the loss of functions of the family – functions like education, healthcare and welfare were taken over by specialist institutions (e.g., schools, hospitals, businesses)

Two specialised functions of the nuclear family

• As society evolved, Parsons argued that the nuclear family was left with two essential functions:

Primary socialisation of children

• The nuclear family teaches children shared norms and values

• Ensures value consensus and social integration

• Prepares children to become cooperative and well-functioning adults in society

Stabilisation of adult personalities

• The family acts as a “warm bath” – a space to relieve the stress of work

• Provides emotional support and comfort, particularly for men

• Helps maintain psychological well-being and social stability, as the family is viewed as a safe haven

Evaluation of Parsons

Strengths

• Universality of the nuclear family

  • Chester (1985) (opens in a new tab) argues that the nuclear family is the most common family structure in the UK

  • Most people will live in a nuclear family at some stage in their lives

Criticisms

• Historical inaccuracy

  • Laslett (1965) studied British parish records and found nuclear families were already common before industrialisation, challenging Parsons’ historical accuracy

  • Anderson's (1973) study of Preston in 1851, an industrial town, found extended families were still dominant in 19th-century industrial towns – grandparents provided childcare while parents worked

• Loss of functions debate

  • Fletcher (1969) disagrees with structural differentiation causing the loss of functions in the family

  • He argues the family still performs vital functions (e.g., education, health, welfare), just with support from the state

• Interpretivist critique

  • Parsons ignores the diversity of family experiences and assumes all families function in the same way

  • He fails to see children as active participants in shaping family life, instead viewing them as passive recipients of socialisation

• Feminist critique

  • The warm bath theory reinforces traditional gender roles

  • It ignores the ways the nuclear family can oppress women, e.g., through the unequal burden of housework and emotional labour