Functionalists' Theories on Family Essay

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Funtionlaists belive that the family performs postive fucntions for society and the people in it. They are interested in the positive functions of the family. Functionalists have different theories done by Murdock and Talcott Parsons
Functionalists favour the nuclear family. According to functionalists children are provided with male and female role models and the socialisation of two parents. Which means single parent families or gay families are looked down upon by functionalists. George Peter Murdock studied 250 societies from small hunting and gathering societies to modern industrial countries like in America. Families in all of these societies were the most important aspect. From looking at these societies he was able to define the family ‘The family is social group characterised by common residence, economic cooperation and reproduction. It includes adults of both sexes, at least two of whom maintain a socially approved sexual relationship, and one or more children, own or adopted, of the sexually cohabiting adults.’ He believes that the family meets the needs of everyone in society. Murdock argues that the family exists everywhere and that it performs four major functions. The irst function is having sex with the same partner meaning married adults should enjoy a healthy sex life , which would be preventing affairs between the adults and ensures that children are rains by their natural parents not by step parents or by single mothers. The second function from Murdock

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