1. Mind map the words you associate or identify with FAMILY
Functionalist Family
Today’s Lesson: To investigate the view functionalist sociologists take of the family and to evaluate this viewpoint.
Starter…
Mind map the words you associate or identify with FAMILY

2. Lesson Objectives
To gain an understanding of the functionalist viewpoint of the family.
To be able to use examples of functionalists to back up the views they hold of the family.
To be able to critically assess the functionalist viewpoint and its views of the family.

3. A Household or A Family? What is a household?
A household is an individual or group of people who live together, they may or may not be related through blood or marriage.
What is a family?
A family is a form of household where all the people who live together are related through either kinship ties or marriage.

4. Differences between a family and a household
A household can consist of one person
A household can consist of people who are not related
A household exists at one address
A family can live apart and still be a family
A family is related by blood or law whereas households may not be

5. Functionalism
Functionalism is a theory which views society as being a system of interconnected parts and they compare society to the human body.
The Body – Society
Body Parts – Institutions within society, the family being one of these!

6. Functionalism
Functionalists see both humans and societies to have certain basic needs which must be met in order for society and humans to survive.
Social institutions meet these basic needs and therefore for a social institution to be functional it needs to contribute to the survival of the whole society.

7. Think…
What needs do individuals and societies have which the family as an institution could contribute to in order to help meet these needs?
Task
What functions you think the family may provide to the individual and society in order to help them meet their needs.

8. Some functions of the family…
Emotional Support
Educational
Functions of
the
Family
Guidance
Economic
Security
Nurture

9. Family – Institution in Society
Functionalism
Family – Institution in Society
For Functionalist’s the institutions in society are important as they help maintain social order and social cohesion.

10. Functionalism Murdock (1949)
Studied 250 societies of different cultures.
Murdock saw that in each of these societies the nuclear family existed.
Below are the four functions Murdock saw the family to provide.
In conclusion, Murdock claimed the family is nuclear or
“universal” and it is inevitable and that
families exist in every society.
Sexual
Stable sexual relationship for adults
Reproductive
Continuing to create society members
Economic
Pools resources to provide for each other
Educational
Teaches norms and values of society

11. Functionalism Parsons (1950’s)
- Compared to Murdock, Parsons only provides two vital functions of the family.
Parsons saw the family as being a factory that produces the next batch of citizens.
Primary Socialisation
Teaches children the norms and values of society.
Stabilization
Stabilizes personalities and emotional relationships. Parents also provide security to help individuals cope in wider society.

12. Think…
Is the family all hunky dory as the functionalists seem to assume it is?

13. Ensure you put at the top strength or weakness!
Evaluation
On your post-it-notes write down one strength and one weakness of the functionalist viewpoint of the family. (You may wish to use other sociological perspectives to critique functionalism)
Ensure you put at the top strength or weakness!
Strength
Weakness

14. Criticisms
Functionalists are criticised for ignoring the negative aspects the family can bring such as child abuse, neglect and violence.

15. Criticisms
Marxist Feminists would argue that women end up staying at home being a housewife and not getting paid for this.

16. Criticisms
Some parents fail to bring up their children to make them socially acceptable and they may be bad role models for the young.

17. Task
Return to the worksheet and in the last box draw how you now see the family through the functionalist perspective.