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THE MANOR ACADEMY
As Level Sociology
Families and households
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THE MANOR ACADEMY
Its your turn!!!
• On your OWN think of a definition of
“Family”.
• Write it down, but think about it first, its
not as simple as you may think!
• Be prepared to share your definition with
the rest of the class!
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THE MANOR ACADEMY
What do sociologists think?
• Many sociologists assume that the family is a
universal social institution. They claim that
groups of kin living together as recognised
families occur in all human society.
• However other social scientists criticise this
view by showing that there are exceptions to
any definition to the family, except for those
which are extremely broad.
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THE MANOR ACADEMY
George Murdock: a Functionalist
perspective
• Murdock concluded from his research
that some form of family existed in every
society.
• He compared 250 societies and claimed
that although there were variations in the
kinship systems of these societies, they
all corresponded to what he defined as
the “family” Powerpoint Templates
THE MANOR ACADEMY
Murdock’s definition
• “The family is a 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.
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THE MANOR ACADEMY
What do you think of Murdock’s
view
• Make some notes on your paper of your
views of Murdock’s definition.
• What are its good points?
• How would you improve it?
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THE MANOR ACADEMY
Murdock continued
• Murdock see the nuclear family as the basic unit
around which all family systems are organised.
• However he notes that in many societies the nuclear
family may be part of a large kinship group.
• Firstly it may be part of a polygamous family where
individuals are allowed more than one wife (polyandry)
or more than one husband (polyandry)
• Secondly in many cultures the basic family unit is an
extended family e.g. 3 generations living together
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THE MANOR ACADEMY
Why does Murdock think the nuclear family unit is universally
present?
He says that it performs four essential
functions without which society could not
continue.
They are:
1) Economic
2) Reproductive
3) Sexual
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4) Educational
THE MANOR ACADEMY
In other words……
• The family regulates sexual behaviour.
• Produces the nest generation of society
• Acts as a basic economic unit,
cooperating in tasks and sharing in
resources
• It socialises children into the culture of
their society.
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THE MANOR ACADEMY
Is Murdock wrong?
• There Is evidence that organisations which Murdock
would NOT define as a family are capable of
performing the families functions.
• For example the Kibbutz in Israel. They share property
and work together.
• Although men and women marry and have children,
they do not look after them. Children are seen as the
responsibility of the tribe as a whole.
• They are brought up by specially trained foster parents
in a separate children’s house.
• They are only allowed to visit their parents for a very
short time each day.
• Some sociologistsPowerpoint
argue that
this is not a family
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because they do not all live together and share money
THE MANOR ACADEMY
Is there any point in arguing that
families are not universal?
• Many sociologists now argue that families are
pretty much universal.
• They say that rather than arguing about
whether or not the family is universal we
should look at what family actually means to
different cultures and in different countries.
• When we look at the family in this way it is a
socially constructed unit, it is not a natural unit
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created from biological
necessity.
Activity
THE MANOR ACADEMY
• 1) Do a brief survey among your friends or workmates and
find out how many live in nuclear families, how many live in
classic extended families and how many have modified
extended families. You will have to think of suitable ways
of measuring the features of these families, such as how
near relatives live, how often they see each other, what
relatives live in the household apart from parents and
children, and so on.
• 2) Ask them what it is like living in these different types of
family. On the basis of your findings and using also your
own experience of family life, make a list of the advantages
and disadvantages of living in each types of family
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THE MANOR ACADEMY
• George Murdock
• (1897-1985)
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THE MANOR ACADEMY
Talcott Parsons
(1902-1979)
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