We usually define the word “family” with a group consisting of parents and children living together in a household but to many sociologists, this definition is narrow and is not a very accurate way of describing a family. According to Murdock (1949) the family is a “social group” which is identified by common “residence”, “economic” and “reproduction” whereas Giddens (1993) states that the family is directly linked by “kin connections” where the adult members take on the responsibility of caring for the children.
These definitions from various sociologists gives us a clearer understanding of what a family is but also, it could be argued that it does not address different family types and also the functions it has for society. To a certain extent, the family in todays society is in fact losing its functions. For instance, Murdock (1949) argues that the family performs four universal functions, one of these is “socialisation”, he believes that the family is responsible for providing the children with basic skills and habits that will allow them to conform to the norms and values of society and therefore giving them a sense of belonging.
However, in the case of a feral child called Genie (November 4, 1970), this was wrong as she was confined in a small room deprived of any human contact, this means the “socialisation” function of the family was never taught to her by her parents. She never knew how to talk which meant that she could not fit into society as a normal human being.
The Essay on Children raised with Wealthy Families versus Children raised in Poor Families
Children who are brought up in families that do not have large amounts of money are better prepared to deal with the problems of adult life than children brought up by wealthy parents. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion? Families have different financial levels and some people think that this variety of the family budgets have an impact on children skills. I believe that ...
Moreover, many children in todays society are not properly socialised by their family’s, therefore institutions such as schools teach them secondary or primary socialisation which means that the family is losing its “socialisation” function as it is being replaced by other institutions, this is known as structural differentiation according to Talcott Parsons. Furthermore, functionalists such as Murdock (1949) believe that the nuclear family is the ideal family type. He stated that the nuclear family consists of adults of both sexes, at least of whom maintain a socially approved sexual relationship and one or more children, own or adopted.
It could be argued that Murdock’s view about the nuclear family is not universal as some societies have very different domestic arrangements. For instance, in today’s society different family types are on the rise, this include single parents, gay couples and child free couples. This clearly goes against Murdock’s theory and the nuclear family, moreover this suggests that society in the UK is increasingly changing therefore we could criticise that Murdock’s theory is outdated and that the traditional family (nuclear) in today’s society is becoming dysfunctional and less relevant.
On the other hand, we could argue that the family in todays society still maintains it’s functions. Functionalists see society as like a “biological organism” such as the human body, they state that each part performs functions that contribute to the wellbeing of society as a whole. Parsons puts forward the idea of irreducible functions. One of these functions is called the stabilisation of the adult personality where the family acts as a form of emotional support for the adult members, this is known as the warm batch theory.
This theory is very relevant today as there are many problems such as the inflation and economic problems in the UK, therefore the family allows them to unwind and escape these harsh realities of society. In conclusion, i believe that the family in todays society is losing its functions. Many institutions today has replaced these traditional functions whereas in the past it was up to the family to perform these tasks.
The Term Paper on Family diversity in today’s society
Examine the extend,of and the reasons for family diversity in today’s society. Many sociologists argue that the nuclear family is a universal and dominate institution however there has been an increase in diverse family types for various reasons. Examples of these diverse families are lone parents, reconstitutions and cohabitation families. Although most people experience life in a nuclear family, ...
An example of this is the NHS in the UK where healthcare is free and the family does not have to worry about nurturing a sick relative to health unlike before where only wealthy families could afford such things. Furthermore, functionalists such as Murdock and Parsons created theories which were much more relevant during their time due to the fact that families such as the nuclear family were common before unlike today where different family types are increasing in society. This suggests that society is changing rapidly and therefore traditional functions of the family is slowly becoming replaced or has lost its relevance.
