Assess the contribution of Functionalism to our understanding of Families and Households.

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Assess the Contribution of Functionalism to our understanding of Families and House holds

According to Functionalists the family is key to our society and is made up of different parts that all depend on each other, so it meets all the expectations of society. Functionalists believe that the nuclear family ‘fits’ and supports society because it is geographically mobile and allows people to move around the country to find work, This suits our current economy.

Murdock feels that the family provide, stable satisfaction of sex drive, reproduction of the next generation, Socialization of the young and finally Murdock thought meeting its member’s economic needs was crucial, such as food and shelter. Murdock strongly felt that the nuclear family performs these functions, although other sociologists agreed that most of these are important functions, they argued that they could be performed by other institutions not just nuclear families.
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Parsons believed in the ‘functional fit theory’. Parsons felt that apart from the functions identifies by Murdock, the family have other needs to meet. Parsons view was the functions family perform are depended on the kind of society the family is in. Furthermore, Parsons felt the functions that the family has to perform affected its shape or structure.0 Parsons distinguished between the two kinds of family structure; the nuclear family and the extended family. According to parsons, there are two basic types of society; modern industrial society and pre industrial society. He felt the nuclear family fitted better ...

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