Sunday, May 24, 2020

Functionalism and the Family - 637 Words

Took 45 minutes to complete about 659 words Using the material from the Item and elsewhere, assess the functionalist contribution to our understanding of the family.(24 marks) Functionalism is a structural theory as it examines social institutions e.g. economy , education etc. It sees these institutions as a way of moulding and shaping the individual. Functionalism is also a consensus theory and tends to encourage sharing norms and values and promotes agreement rather than conflict , value consensus. Functionalists adopt and organic analogy. This is the idea of seeing society as a living system (human body) , e.g. the skin of our body is like our norms and values. Material from the item says that Murdock (1949) suggests the four†¦show more content†¦Overall , Functionalists have a large contribution to our understanding of the family as they provide functions which most families , especially nuclear families still follow to a certain extent. However , Feminists and Marxists have had a large contribution to our contribution and understanding of the family as well as functionalists as they highlight the family darkShow MoreRelatedFunctionalism in Family1739 Words   |  7 PagesThe affects of Functionalism, Conflict and Interactionist Theory on Family SOC101 Emily Frydrych May 24, 2010 A social institution is â€Å"an organized pattern of beliefs and behaviors centered on basic social needs† (Schaefer, 2009). I believe that family is one of the most important social institutions. Family is a social institution that is always changing. My family has changed greatly over the past years. As a child I went from foster home to foster home. My birth mother was only 14 yearsRead More The Usefulness of Functionalism for an Understanding of the Family660 Words   |  3 PagesThe Usefulness of Functionalism for an Understanding of the Family Functionalists focus on the roles of the family as an institution and its interaction with other institutions, such as the ratio of functions the family has to perform compared to those that other institutions such as schools and the NHS perform. Functionalism sees the use of the family in society and how it can take pressure from the government by becoming an almost dependent institution that will help Read MoreThe Usefulness of Functionalism for an Understanding of the Family1289 Words   |  6 PagesThe Usefulness of Functionalism for an Understanding of the Family The Functionalists see the family as an important and vital institution in society. They take a MACRO view and look at interdependence between the family and other organisations. Functionalists look at the positive parts to society but overlook the negatives. They emphasise on the value consensus and see the family as being universal. Other people’s outlooks disagree with this view, such as the MarxistsRead MoreAssessment of the Usefulness of Functionalism in Understanding the Family1223 Words   |  5 PagesAssessment of the Usefulness of Functionalism in Understanding the Family Functionalism is a structuralist theory. This means it sees the individual as less important as the social structure of society. It is a ‘top down’ theory. The family can be defined as an intimate domestic group composed of people related to each other by blood, sexual relations and legal ties. When assessing how useful functionalism is when looking at the family, other views/perspectives needRead MoreEmergence Of Structural Functionalism. Structural Functionalist1402 Words   |  6 PagesStructural Functionalism Structural functionalist theories are grounded in the thought that society and family are congenial entities and, as such, the harmony between the two is the natural state of people, as found in Leeder (2004). Structural functionalism, and the viewing of the family as a social system, is at the core of the family process and other theories. To understand structural-functionalism, we must first understand the coalescing theories in which it is rooted, functionalism and structuralismRead MoreSociological Theories and Family Essay examples1662 Words   |  7 PagesSociological Theories and Family Sociological Theories and Family Sociological theories are important in understanding how the society operates. In addition, the theories help one understand how people in society relate with each other. The theories have helped understand various social issues in the society and made it easy to develop solutions to the problems. There are different theories that are used to explain how the society operates and how people interact with each other. Examples ofRead MoreAssess the Strengths and Weaknesses of the Functionalist Approach to Society1165 Words   |  5 Pagesmarks) Functionalism is seen as a macro-scale approach to society; it sees society as a whole rather than looking at parts of it. Due to this, functionalism sees society as a body (organic analogy), all the institutions work together to make society. This is particularly useful when observing society in order to understand the way in which it functions and the way in which all the institutions (organic analogy: organs within the body) work together to sustain society as a whole. Functionalism beingRead MoreStructural Functionalism1448 Words   |  6 PagesStructural functionalism, or simply functionalism, is a framework for building theory that sees society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote solidarity and stability.[1] This approach looks at society through a macro-level orientation, which is a broad focus on the social structures that shape society as a whole, and believes that society has evolved like organisms.[2] This approach looks at both social structure and s ocial functions. Functionalism addresses society as a wholeRead MoreDiscuss Marxism and Functuionalism and Compare1133 Words   |  5 Pages a French philosopher. For him, common sense and the obvious would not suffice; he wanted to build scientific theories based on critical awareness of society. The two main stems of sociological concepts are Positivism and Phenomenology. Both Functionalism and Marxism are Positivist theories. This means that philosophies are built by using scientific research methods to create structural perspectives. Positivism is called macro sociology because it looks at society holistically; it also emphasisesRead MoreSociological Perspectives On Life Chances Essay1343 Words   |  6 PagesTask 1 This essay is based on two main sociological perspectives such as Functionalism and Marxism. It will evaluate the view that differences in the life chances between social groups which are dependent on various social factors affecting the society and individuals. Furthermore, it will compare and contrast these two sociological perspectives. Life chances can have a positive or negative effect on individual’s lifetime in terms of their education, health, employment, income and housing. They

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.