Paper 2 The Family

Sociologists see the family as a major social institution, ie: it is an important feature of human
societies.
Families involve patterns of shared, stable behaviour that continue over time, from one generation to
the next.
But, there are other ways that people share their lives, such as households, in which the people are
not necessarily related to each other by family ties.
What is a Family?
a group consisting of parents and children living together in a household.

What is a Household?
people who dwell under the same roof and compose a family
or
a social unit composed of those living together in the same dwelling
or
residential unit consisting of unrelated individuals

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HOUSEHOLDS AND FAMILY

A household consists of one or more persons living in the same house or an apartment. They may or
may not be related.

A family has two or more members who live in the same home and are related by birth, marriage or
adoption.

Features of family
-Universal in nature
- Emotional basis
-Formative influence
-Nuclear position in the social structure
- Unlimited responsibilities
- Social regulations

Features of family according to Anthropologist George Murdock,

 Common residence
 Economic cooperation and reproduction
 Adults of both sexes, socially approved sexual relationship.
 One or more children, own or adopted

Marriage: Meaning

Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a socially or ritually recognized union between two
people, also called spouses, that establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as
between them and any resulting biological or adopted children and affinity (eg: in-laws).

TYPES OF FAMILIES BASED ON MARRIAGE

 Monogamy 1:1
 Polygamy 1: many
- Polygyny : (when wives are sisters) sororal polygyny / non-sororal polygyny
- Polyandry : (when husbands are brothers) fraternal polyandry / non- fraternal polyandry
Definitions of family

According to Murdock : EXCLUSIVE- based on functions of family and marriage bonds. It excludes
single-parent and homosexual families.

According to Giddens : INCLUSIVE- based on kinship (blood relations)

Every individual has relationships with other people around them. This is the basic system that takes
place in all human societies. It organizes people and groups and therefore it is known as the system
of kinship.

Types of kin
 Consanguineal kin- descended from same ancestor (blood line).
 Affinal kin- relation based on marriage.
Thus, Family based on Kinship relationships have the following characteristics
 Biology
 Affinity, such as two adults living together by Law, such as marriage.

The question of what constitutes a family is a prime area of debate.

We can define family as a socially recognized group joined by blood relations, marriage, or
adoption, that forms an emotional connection and serves as an economic unit of society.
Sociologists also identify different types of families based on how one enters into them.
-A family of orientation refers to the family into which a person is born.
-A family of procreation describes one that is formed through marriage.
These distinctions have cultural significance related to issues of lineage.

TYPES OF FAMILY BASED ON DESCENT

In partrilineal societies, (China and India), only males carry on the family surname. This gives males
the prestige of permanent family membership while females are seen as only temporary members.
North American society assumes some aspects of patrilineal decent.
For instance, most children assume their father’s last name even if the mother retains her birth
name.

In Matrilineal societies, inheritance and family ties are traced to women.

Matrilineal descent is common in Native American societies, notably the Crow and Cherokee tribes.
In these societies, children are seen as belonging to the women and, therefore, one’s kinship is
traced to one’s mother, grandmother, great grandmother, and so on.

In Ambilineal societies, which are most common in Southeast Asian countries

parents may choose to associate their children with the kinship of either the mother or the father.
This choice may be based on the desire to follow stronger or more prestigious kinship lines or on
cultural customs, such as men following their father’s side and women following their mother’s side
Nuclear family is not the norm of society. There are alternatives too.
According to studies on tribal societies, family structures different from the nuclear norm do exist.

KATHLEEN GOUGH’S (1959) – NAYAR OF MALABAR, KERALA.

Complex form of family and marriage type
2 practices
 Joint matrilineal family structure(tharavad),
 On reaching puberty a woman could have indefinite love relationships.
 women took responsibility for raising children within matrilineally constructed households,
focusing on mothers, daughters, and sisters. The domestic group also included the women’s
brother.

HERNDON(2004) – ASHANTI OF WEST AFRICA

 Matrifocal family system
 Children belong legally to the mother and her clan.
 After marriage men do take some family responsibilities, but family assets and property
are owned and controlled along female line.
 Two third of couples don’t share common residence
CARIBBEAN AND SOME PART OF UNITED STATES
 Matrifocal extended family consisting of a single women and her children.
 Some are supported by extended family network centered on the grandmother.
Reasons:
Slavery- males were separated from females,
Extreme levels of poverty(males were unable to provide for the family hence lived away)
Single mother could work n children were taken care by other female kin.
Some family types the father maintained emotional and economic relationship.

KEESING’S STUDY(1976) - THE LAKKER OF BURMA (MAYANMAR)

 They do not see children as having any blood relationship to the mother. Mothers role is just to
give birth.
 Polyandry as marriage form.
 Children of the same mother and different fathers are not considered to be related to each
other and sexual relations between them is not considered as incest.

Universality of nuclear family, According to Murdock

Survey of 250 representative societies

‘’The nuclear family is a universal human social grouping, either as a sole prevailing form of
the family or as the basic unit from which more complex forms are compounded’’.

- Murdock (1949)

 Family structures are historically moving towards ‘nuclear norm’, which will eventually become
the sole prevailing form.
 A ‘dominance thesis’, nuclear family is simply the main family structure in all societies

 According to Murdock, nuclear family is the universal social unit.

 Nuclear families consist of parents and their children (two generations).
 In the past and in traditional societies, other relatives may also be present, but Murdock argues
that the nuclear family is at the heart of extended families.
  In modern industrial societies, contact with wider kin, such as grandparents, tends to be
infrequent rather than meeting regularly in person.

 The nuclear family is a self –contained economic unit whose members are expected to support
each other socially and psychologically. It is sometimes called the isolated nuclear family to
emphasise its physical separation from wider kin and its economic separation from the rest of
society.
Nuclear families may not be the norm but they are dominant because the structure fits most
easily with the demand of modern industrial society.
Criticism:
The dominance of the nuclear family in industrial societies was not caused by industrialization but by
capitalism.
It came into dominance not because of a functional fit with economic production but because it was a
family structure that fitted more closely with the interests of powerful social groups.
Upper and middle classes(capitalist male owners) needed patrilineal descent.
To ensure wealth was passed down from generations through legitimate heirs.

Functionalist accounts of how the family benefits its members and society

MURDOCK (1949)- FUNCTIONAL PREREQUISITES

This is a traditional view of the family, which is basically seen as nuclear. From his analysis of 250
societies, Four basic needs/prerequisites the family must perform to fulfil its role in society.
1. Sexual control (married or cohabiting): stability through exclusivity.
2. Reproduction
3. Socialization
4. Economic provision to ensure the group survival.

MURDOCK EMPHASISES THE ‘SHEER PRACTICALITY’ OF THE NUCLEAR FAMILY.

 These functions were so essential that he argued they were universal.
 Considering ‘sex’ and ‘reproductive’ together, functionalists believe marriage and the nuclear
family provide the best opportunity for the ‘socially controlled expression of the sex drive.’
 The family is the most important institution for nurture (socialising) of children.
 With the nuclear family structure there is a clearly identifiable male and female role model.
 The basic economic function of the family in any society is to provide food and shelter for its
individual members.
 In modern industrial societies, individuals work for wages, hence the family is a ‘unit of
production’.
 The family also remains an important ‘unit of consumption’ of goods and services, thereby
contributing to the circular flow of income.
 Functionalists see each social institution in terms of its role within society as a whole.

CONSENSUS/ FUNCTIONALIST view on role of family

According to functionalist such as Emile Durkheim, Herbert spencer, Talcott parson.
Society consists of four sub-systems
- economic (work)
- political (government)
- cultural (education, religion, media)
- family
Each sub-system has a specific role, but the system as a whole functions because the connections
between the sub-systems depend on purpose and need.
Value consensus is a fundamental functionalist concept. Acc. to Durkheim, a society functions well
when there is broad agreement about values and this is achieved through socialisation (including
education). The absence of value consensus is anomie: a state of normlessness.
The family has the responsibility to pass on the values of society.
Economy needs the family to produce socialized individuals oriented towards work.
It is the purpose of the family to provide them.

The role of the family : 2 types of co-operation,

Ie: cooperation between institution (family and work) and cooperation within institutions( relation b/w
adult partners)

Society cannot survive without nuclear families.

Nuclear families are the building blocks for all family structures

Q) DESCRIBE TWO FUNCTIONS OF THE FAMILY [4 MARK]

Indicative content
• Socialisation/education – parents teach children the key rules of society.
• Stabilisation of adult personalities / emotional support – family members give and receive emotional
support.
• Reproduction – the family reproduce the next generation which is necessary for society to continue.
• Regulation of sexual relationships – in most societies there are rules forbidding sexual activity
outside of marriage.
• Work/production/economic – in some societies, families work together, with members specialising in
certain tasks.
• Consumption – families purchase and consume goods together which benefits the economy.
• Any other appropriate response.
For each function, up to 2 marks are available:
1 mark for identifying a function.
1 mark for describing how the family performs the function or how the function benefits society.
(2 × 2 marks)

TALCOTT PARSONS - PRIMARY SOCIALISATION

Parsons argues that the nuclear family is important for the primary socialisation of
children, ensuring that they learn the central value system of that society.
Parsons argues that families are ‘factories’ which produce ‘human personalities’.
Once produced, the personality must be kept stable. This is the second basic function of the family,
the ‘stabilisation of adult personalities’.
This refers to the marriage relationship and the emotional security that the couple provide for each
other. (This is a strong counterweight against the stresses and strains of everyday life).
This is particularly true in western industrial societies where the nuclear family is isolated from kin.
Such a unit is adaptive to the needs of modern society, as it geographically mobile. So it can easily
move to new jobs without causing the family too much disruption.
It also enables social mobility within society.
Eg, the son of a labourer can become a lawyer.
The notion of the structurally isolated family fits with Parsons’ ‘loss of functions’ thesis.

The family no longer performs the functions it once did.

eg, the family used to meet all of its members needs, such as health care, but now hospitals fulfil this
role.
 However, unlike other theorists, Parsons sees this in a positive light. He argues that a process
of specialization and differentiation has occurred.
Differentiation refers to the idea that different institutions perform specific functions for the family.
Hence, Parsons does not see the loss of functions as a family breakdown.

STABALISATION?
The family provides...
 Economic stability
 Emotional stability

Pre industrial families - economic relationships. hence, economic stability was significant.
People married because they had strong economic interest.
Eg: upper classes – family wealth is consolidated and enhanced through arranged marriages
between wealthy families
Lower classes economic marriage based on subsistence farming. More adult members to work.

In industrialized societies, Stabilization of adult personalities is a major family function.

Family members provide…
 physical,
 emotional,
 Psychological and economic comfort,
 security,
 support and companionship.
Family performs the above functions through the development of affective relationships based
on love, and a sense of belonging to a social group with strong kinship bonds.

FLETCHER(1973)
Acc. to fletcher, family performs two types of function:
1. Core function- (primary socialization), child bearing and child rearing.
- ensures the child’s physical and psychological survival.
- social development into adulthood.
2. Periphery functions – (secondary socialization) functions that are taken over by other agents.

NEO – FUNCTIONALISM (JEFFREY ALEXANDER, ANTHONY GIDDENS)

According to functionalist, economy needs the family to produce socialized individuals oriented
towards work. And It is the purpose of the family to provide them.
But, According to neo – functionalist what is important is the processes involved in linking the
individual to society.

Horwitz(2005), Family functions as a bridge connecting the ‘micro world’ of the individual with the
‘macro world’ of the wider economic society.
Families help us to learn the social rules necessary for functioning in the wider world.
The child learns and is prepared for rules and norms and relationships found in the workplace.

How do children learn from their family?

 Directly- through instructions
 Indirectly/unspoken ways- through examples how they should and should not behave in wider
world.
For Horwitz, the family is the best site for learning in this way.
because…
  Rules passed on and put in force by people who share a deep, emotional commitment are
more likely to be effectively taught and learnt
 Emotional closeness provides reasons to develop co-operative behaviour-eg: children want to
please their parents
 Role-learning can be taught subconsciously by children observing and copying adult
behaviour.

FUNCTIONALIST VIEW: ‘LOSS OF FUNCTION DEBATE’

SECONDARY AGENTS have taken over some functions of family
1. Hospitals
2. Schools
3. Welfare agencies
4. Media
5. Psychologists- child psychological development

Although primary socialization still remains important to family, but the nature and purpose have
changed. Eg: function of providing food- it’s no longer cooked by mother but a cook or ordered tiffin
service.

Social development has evolved through different stages

From primitive / pre- industrial to advanced/ industrial to post industrial

The driving force behind this has been institutional differentiation.

The institution of work / economy and education developed to meet the changing social needs.
They brought changes in institution of family.
Acc to Parson, Changes focused on institutional specialization. Family lost many of its functions.

‘FUNCTIONAL FIT’ - TALCOTT PARSONS

‘Functional Fit Theory’ states that as society changes, the type of family that ‘fits’ that society, and
the functions it performs change.
 Society has moved from pre-industrial to industrial .
 In pre Industrial times the family forms were likely to be extended family - parents, children,
grandparents and aunts and uncles living under one roof, or in a collection of houses very close to
each other.

How did the extended family fit the pre-industrial society?

1. Multi-functional
2. Kinship based
3. Economically productive?
 Labour intensive agricultural production
 The ability to move away from extended family members was limited by
poor communication (no railways or cars only basic transport)
 Elderly infirm and sick family members relied on their kin for care.

Q) As industrialization and urbanization took place nuclear families became the dominant
family structure.
Reasons?

1) People were mobile, moved away from rural areas to cities and towns.
2) Decline in favoritism/nepotism : preference for relatives.
New industrial society demanded specific skills and knowledge. People were promoted on the
basis of skills rather than family connections, hence more opportunity for social mobility.

Thus, according to Parson, the nuclear family was best suited for modern industrial societies.

ARGUMENTS AGAINST FUNCTIONALIST:

Many thinkers have argued against Parsons ‘fit thesis’. According to Finch,1989 study, there is little
evidence to support the view that before the industrial revolution family obligations were much
stronger and family members provided greater support for each other than the industrial and post-
industrial eras.

Historical studies have shown that there were wide range of household types in pre-industrial
period and there is no evidence to show that the extended family was the norm. Hence, the view
that extended families ‘fit’ the pre-industrial societies is not accepted by some sociologists.

These sociologists suggest that industrialization and urbanization too place in western Europe
because pre-industrial family structures were already nuclear rather than extended. As
a result they could respond to new economic opportunities requiring mobility and flexibility.

Thus, nuclear families are not the result of industrialization.

Pre-industrial family structures without unbreakable ties to extended kin, were a contributing cause of
industrial development.

Although extended families existed, they were not the dominant as ‘fit theorists’ suggest.
Reason:
 Because the average life expectancy was low (35-40 yrs), majority of adults did not
live enough to become grandparents, reducing the number of vertically extended families.
 In UK, the practice / inheritance system of primogeniture was followed. First-born inherited all
the family wealth. Hence younger siblings moved out to cities as factory workers.
 According to Anderson, 1995 no single family or household structure was dominant during the
industrialization process. Both re-constituted and lone-parent families existed in pre-industrial
societies, mainly because of high death rate among poor.
Anderson suggested that during industrialization, working class developed a strong extended family
structure. Due to urbanization, as towns developed around factories, pressure on living space (high
cost of apartments) resulted in extended families that provided a number of purposes:
 Lack of government help for sick or unemployed hence people depended on wider kin for
survival.
 Both parents worked, so extended family helped in child care
 Death rate was high, children without parents were absorbed into the extended families
 Children worked from a young age, so young relative were used to add to family income.

According to the functionalist the following functions have been lost

 Education now handled by school
 Health and social care taken over by hospitals, professional practitioners, doctors, nurses,
social workers
 Recreation and leisure has become individualized or done outside the house. more
individualized ie: social media, shopping malls, theaters, game stations, food joints. Etc

Yet, critics argue that functions are not completely lost, they are modified.
 Many parents are actively involved in childen’s education
  Families play and important care role, non-critical illnesses are taken care of by family.
 Long term care of old is taken by family.
 Many families still share leisure and recreation together, though outside the house. Eg:
Movie, amusement theme parks

The above functions have not got completely lost, they have simply been modified.
 Functionalist account is considered out of date and not applying to all societies
 Parsons theory is based on white middle class American families, where the privatised nuclear
family may be the common or best type of family.
 Functionalist have not considered factors of class and ethnicity
 The focus of functionalists has been on the positive aspects of family life. Family contributes
positively to lives of individual and society. Especially children’s upbringing. But they have not
considered the negative aspects...

 The blocking of women’s aspirations and careers by being steered into housewives role
 The limitation of men’s involvement in the expressive and nurturing role because
of breadwinning role
 The dominance of men in decision making and abuse of male power
 Domestic violence and imposing punishment.

 The lack of support for family members in the privatised nuclear family from the wider kin
and communities.
 The possibilities of the nuclear family contributing to mental and other problems
 Functionalist have failed to involve other types of family structures.
 It assumed that family is distinct and can be separated from other institutions and aspects of
life. Eg: today function of primary socialisation is carried out by schools , media and peers. On
other hand, functions which the functionalist consider to be lost are still carried out by family eg:
health care and financial support.
 Functionalist see primary socialisation as a one way process. Children absorb the norms
and values of society from their close family.
 Most sociologist see socialisation as a two-way process of interaction. Children influence
parents as well as parents influence children.
 What happens in socialisation is far more complex than transferring norms and values
from parents to children.
 Functionalist see children as ‘empty vessels’ rather than individuals with their own
personalities already.
EXPLAIN TWO LIMITATIONS OF THE FUNCTIONALIST VIEW OF THE FAMILY. 6 MARKS
Indicative content
Limitations
• Out of date/old fashioned view of gendered roles.
• Assumes the family is always positive for members (e.g. ignores dark side of the family).
• Assumes everyone benefits from the family (e.g. Marxists would argue the family supports
capitalism).
• Ignores the exploitation of women / children.
• Ignores diversity / idealises the nuclear family.
• Criticisms of the evidence base for functionalist theory (e.g. Laslett / Anderson criticisms of
Parsons).
• Too deterministic e.g. assumes socialisation is a one way process.
• Any other appropriate limitation.
Reward a maximum of two limitations. For each limitation, up to 3 marks are available:
 1 mark for identifying a limitation of functionalism (e.g. it has an outdated view of the
gendered roles within the family).
 1 mark for describing why functionalism has this limitation (e.g. functionalism assumes
that biologically men are best suited to the instrumental role and women to the expressive).
 1 mark for explaining why it is a limitation (e.g. roles performed nowadays are seen more
as negotiated based upon the needs of the relationship and not from assumptions of biology).
(2 × 3 marks)

EXPLAIN TWO WAYS IN WHICH THE FAMILY BENEFITS SOCIETY, ACCORDING TO

FUNCTIONALISTS. 8 MARKS
Indicative content
• Socialisation of children into societies’ norms & values.
• Reproduction of the next generation.
• Stabilises adult personalities / emotional support.
• Regulates sexual behaviour.
• Contributes economically.
• Interrelates with other social institutions to ensure society runs smoothly.
• Any other appropriate way.

For this question, use of sociological material is likely to be demonstrated through references to
functionalist sociologists e.g. Murdock and Parsons
and concepts such as warm bath, primary socialisation, organic analogy etc.
Reward a maximum of two ways. Up to 4 marks are available for each way.
 1 mark for giving a way (e.g. the family socialises children).
 1 mark for explaining that way (e.g. children through the process of primary
socialisation learn society’s common norms and values).
 1 mark for selecting relevant sociological material (e.g. Parsons theory of
primary socialisation).
 1 mark for explaining how the material supports the way (e.g. Parsons
sees primary socialisation as children learning and internalising society’s commonly accepted
culture such as language, history and values).
(2 × 4 marks)