Theories on the Role of the Family (WJEC Eduqas GCSE Sociology): Flashcards
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How do functionalists view the family?
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Cards in this collection (46)
How do functionalists view the family?
Functionalists see the family as a positive institution and a cornerstone of society that teaches shared values and maintains social stability.
What are Murdock's (1949) four essential functions of the family?
Murdock's four essential functions are the sexual, reproductive, economic and educational functions.
How does the family fulfil Murdock's sexual function?
The family controls sexual relationships within marriage, which regulates sexual behaviour and helps preserve commitment between partners.
True or False?
Murdock's economic function means parents teaching children society's norms and values.
False.
Teaching norms and values is the educational function; the economic function means providing economic support such as food, shelter and clothing.
Through the ___________ function, the family ensures the next generation of workers and citizens.
Through the reproductive function, the family ensures the next generation of workers and citizens.
Why did Parsons (1956) argue the family has lost some functions?
Parsons argued that other institutions, such as schools, charities and the welfare state, now carry out many roles the family once performed.
Which two vital functions does the family still perform, according to Parsons?
Parsons argued that the family still performs the primary socialisation of children and the stabilisation of adult personalities.
Define warm bath theory.
The warm bath theory is Parsons' idea that the family is a haven where a man returning from work can relax and relieve his stress.
Which role do men perform in Parsons' functionalist model of the family?
In Parsons' model, men perform the instrumental role, providing financial support through paid work.
In Parsons' functionalist model, women perform the ___________ role of caring for children and managing domestic life.
In Parsons' functionalist model, women perform the expressive role of caring for children and managing domestic life.
How does the New Right support the functionalist view?
The New Right sees the nuclear family as the best environment for raising children and argues that traditional family values maintain social stability.
True or False?
New Right thinker Charles Murray (1990) argued that children do not need a male role model.
False.
Murray argued that families without a father figure can harm children's development by depriving them of a male role model.
Why do critics accuse Parsons' warm bath idea of idealisation?
Critics argue that Parsons ignores family dysfunction, such as child abuse, domestic violence and stress between family members.
How do Marxists criticise the functionalist view of the family?
Marxists argue that the family benefits capitalism, not society as a whole, e.g. by reproducing labour and passing on wealth.
True or False?
Parsons' work covered families across all classes, cultures and ethnic groups.
False.
Parsons focused mainly on American middle-class nuclear families, so critics argue that he ignored differences of class, culture, religion and ethnicity.
How do feminists criticise the functionalist view of the family?
Feminists see the nuclear family as a source of female oppression that confines women to domestic roles and makes them dependent on men.
What do Marxists argue the family socialises children into accepting?
Marxists argue that the family socialises children into accepting the values of capitalism.
How does the bourgeoisie use the family to maintain the class system?
Marxists argue that the bourgeoisie pass on their wealth to family members, which maintains the social class system.
___________ argue that families pass down educational advantages, e.g. only wealthy people can afford expensive private schools.
Marxists argue that families pass down educational advantages, e.g. only wealthy people can afford expensive private schools.
True or False?
Marxists argue that socialisation leads working-class people to see capitalism as unfair.
False.
Marxists argue that working-class people learn to accept their subordinate position and see the capitalist system as fair.
Define unit of production.
A unit of production is a family whose members produce goods together at home, as Zaretsky argues families did before the early 19th century.
What separated work and family life, according to Zaretsky (1976)?
Zaretsky argues that the rise of industrial capitalism and factory-based production separated work and family life.
Why can the family only act as a buffer, according to Zaretsky?
Zaretsky argues that the family is a private refuge from the harsh world of capitalist work, but it cannot fully meet people's needs.
How do women serve capitalism through domestic labour, according to Zaretsky?
Women do unpaid labour in the home, keeping workers fed and clothed for free, which benefits the capitalist system.
Zaretsky argues that the proletarian family reproduces the labour ________ by producing future generations of exploited workers.
Zaretsky argues that the proletarian family reproduces the labour force by producing future generations of exploited workers.
Define unit of consumption.
A unit of consumption is a family that buys the products of capitalism, which enables the bourgeoisie to make profits.
True or False?
Zaretsky believes that reforming capitalism can end the separation of family and public life.
False.
Zaretsky believes that only socialism can end this separation and allow people to be personally fulfilled.
How do postmodernists criticise the Marxist view of the family?
Postmodernists argue that family consumption can be enjoyable, offering choice, comfort and pleasure, so the family is not simply a tool of capitalism.
Why do feminists criticise the Marxist view of the family?
Feminists argue that Marxists use an outdated model of the nuclear family with a male breadwinner, which ignores family diversity.
Which institutions do critics say now serve capitalism more than the family?
Critics argue that the education system and the mass media now play a greater role in serving capitalism.
What impact do feminists argue families have on women?
Feminists argue that families have a negative impact on the lives of women.
Feminists argue that families construct gender roles through primary socialisation and ___________, e.g. giving girls dolls and boys toy cars.
Feminists argue that families construct gender roles through primary socialisation and canalisation, e.g. giving girls dolls and boys toy cars.
How do families reproduce gender inequalities, according to feminists?
Feminists argue that children learn gendered norms and values at home, e.g. a child who sees their mother cooking may assume domestic tasks are a woman's role.
What type of feminists are Delphy and Leonard?
Delphy and Leonard are radical feminists.
True or False?
Delphy and Leonard based their theory on their own interviews with families.
False.
Delphy and Leonard's work is largely theoretical, drawing on existing research rather than their own interviews or observations.
Why do Delphy and Leonard argue that wives are exploited?
Delphy and Leonard argue that wives' work is undervalued, husbands profit from their labour and wives remain financially dependent on them.
Define dual burden.
The dual burden is when women in paid employment still do most of the domestic work and childcare.
Who is at the top of the family hierarchy, according to Delphy and Leonard?
Delphy and Leonard argue that the husband is at the top of the family hierarchy.
Delphy and Leonard argue that time at home is leisure time for men, but also ______ time for women.
Delphy and Leonard argue that time at home is leisure time for men, but also work time for women.
What did Jan Pahl (1989) find about money in many marriages?
Pahl found that husbands controlled the finances, even when both partners were earning.
How do Marxists criticise the feminist view of the family?
Marxists argue that inequality in families stems from capitalism rather than patriarchy.
True or False?
Victim surveys show that men are more likely than women to experience domestic abuse.
False.
Women are more likely than men to experience domestic abuse: 9.1% of women and 6.5% of men aged 16 and over in England and Wales (year ending March 2025).
Which families do critics say Delphy and Leonard overlook?
Critics argue that Delphy and Leonard overlook modern egalitarian families, where partners share power, decision-making and domestic responsibilities.
Why do functionalists see the decline of the traditional nuclear family as a problem?
Functionalists see it as a threat to social stability and to the family's ability to perform its key functions.
Domestic violence and child abuse show the ___________ side of family life, where the family can be a place of harm and control rather than care.
Domestic violence and child abuse show the dark side of family life, where the family can be a place of harm and control rather than care.
How does isolation from extended relatives affect the nuclear family?
Isolation from extended relatives can reduce emotional and practical support for family members.
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