Family has always been an important institution of society. In fact, it has often been viewed as the most basic unit of social organisation, responsible for carrying out of vital tasks such as socializing children (Haralambos, et al. 2014, 509). One or the other type of family has always been part of most cultures around the world. However, there exist debates about structures and development of family. This essay aims to examine the changes in the Indian family using the functionalist approach on family by sociologist Talcott Parsons. Anthony Giddens defined family as “a group of persons directly linked by kin connections, the adult members of whom assume responsibility for caring for children” (Giddens 2009, 331). He defined kinship ties …show more content…
Parsons’s analysis was concentrated on America. However, its applications are found to have a more general application (Haralambos, et al. 2014, 512) Analysing the changing trends in divorce, birth rates and sex morality, Parsons concluded that there is a disorganisation that is linked to ‘a loss of function’ for the family. It basically means that many functions that were earlier performed by the family have now been outsourced to institution such as churches and schools. However, he states that there are two functions of the family which he identifies as ‘basic and irreducible’. These functions are the socialization of the child and the stabilisation of the adult personality of the population of the society. (Parsons and Bales 1955, 16) The socialization that happens during the early years of a child’s life is called primary socialization whereas the secondary socialization is during later years when agencies other than the family, such as schools, also become prominently involved. During primary socialization, the family must ensure the transmission of its culture to the child so the he or she can learn, absorb and internalise these values of the society. (Haralambos, et al. 2014, 512) By the time of secondary socialization families play a necessary role for the development of a child’s personality because personalities are, as Parsons states, not …show more content…
Shah meticulously studied the trends of the family and reported that Census and other data since about 1820 indicate that there has not been any change directed only towards a particular direction in the Indian household. The joint household is certainly now not the statistically predominant form of household, especially in the urban, educated and professional class. However, in spite of nuclear families being more numerous, the majority of persons of the population reside in joint families. This shows that the belief that the joint family is disintegrating into the nuclear family cannot be made a generalisation. (Shah 1998)In another essay he showed that contrary to popular belief of the prevalence of the large joint households in pre-British India, the average size of the Indian household was nearly the same as present times in the early 19th century. (Shah 1998) Using the figures of the census of 1951-1981, Shah stated, “If we go by the popular theory of the impact of industrialisation, urbanisation and modernisation on the family, the average size of household should have declined at least after the emergence of modern, independent India. On the contrary, it has steadily increased. What is the sociological meaning of this rising trend in the average size of household?” (Shah
There appears to be widespread agreement that family and home life have been changing dramatically over the last 40 years or so. According to Talcott Parsons, the change in family structure is due to industrialization. The concept that had emerged is a new version of the domestic ideal that encapsulates changed expectations of family relations and housing conditions. The family life in the postwar period was highly affected. The concept of companionate marriage emerged in the post war era just to build a better life and build a future in which marriage would be the foundation of better life. Equality of sexes came into being after...
In chronicling how the family structure has changed in America, it is important to understanding how family was actually defined. When referencing Leave it to Beaver (further referred to as LITB) times, family took on a substantive definition, or the idea that family was equivalent to relative, or related by blood or law. While this definition of family served the time period, it failed to evolve with society. For that reason, sociologists set out to determine a “more inclusive functionalist definition,” that focuses on what families do. “A functionalist definition of families focuses on how families provide for the physical, social, and emotional needs of individuals and of society as a whole” (Witt). With that, the functionalist perspective identifies six primary functions, which include reproduction, socialization, protection, regulation of sexual behavior, affection and companionship, and...
A family is a group of people consisting of the parents and their children who live together and they are blood related. The family is always perceived as the basic social units whether they are living together in the same compound or at far distance but are closely related especially by blood. Therefore, the family unit has had a great influence on the growth and the character traits possessed by the children as they grow up and how they perceive the society they live in. the family also shapes the children to be able to relate well with other people that are not part of their family and with a good relationship it impacts to the peace achieved in country. This paper addresses the reasons as to why the family is considered the most important agent of socialization. It’s evident that families have changed over time and they have adopted different ways of living. This paper also tackles on the causes of the dramatic changes to the American family and what the changes are. Different people with different race, gender and preferences make the family unit and this makes the difference in marriages. This will also be discussed in this paper.
Family / p. 442: Two or more people who consider themselves related by blood, marriage, or adoption.
Family structure and stability have constantly evolved and been researched in aspects of sociology. Following World War II, the family ideology in the 1950’s was brought to the attention of Talcott Parsons and Robert Bales (1955) whom demonstrated how transitioning from an agricultural society to that of an industrialization one played an important role in altering family life and structure. Parsons and Bales further expressed how gender role specialization was vital in the continuous of family solidarity. The “instrumental” male father role as the leader of the family responsible for providing the income and support as the “expressive” role which is that of the female mother delivers her contribution to the family through house work and nurture
Since the 20th century, researchers have sought out solutions to help assist families and the individual components that make up family systems overcome the challenges and schisms that can inhibit individuation and stability. Two theoretical perspectives, the family-systems theory and the family-development theory, were conceived to gain as Balswick & Balswick (2014) noted, gain “a wide-angle view of family life” (p. 22). Though these two theories have merit, one I found to be more advantageous in gaining a better understanding of the family as an actively metastasizing organism, which needs to be approached more adaptively.
How different are families compared to the past? Lately there has been some major changes in relationships, weather female dominance, or even just having no relationships at all. We also see that relationships are based only on a basis of reproduction and sometimes the child of the relationship is rather irrelevant. In a Temporary matter by Jhumpa Lahiri, the reader can see how relationships have developed with the rest of the world into failing, no relationship, and feminist relationships.
"A family is a small social group of people related by ancestry or affection, who share common values and goals, who may live together in the same dwelling, and who may participate in the bearing and raising of children. They have a physical or emotional connection with each other that is ongoing" (Vissing, 2011) and is the foundation of all societies. They can be formed by a grouping of father-mother-children or even more complicated combination of relatives. In the primary stage of family life in the United States, everyone from every generation lived together in one house. Subsequently, the idea of traditional family evolved and a married couple with children is at present, often called the traditional family. There are many types of families; however, this paper will focus on the traditional family. It will describe how the functionalist perspective, conflict perspective, and the interactionism theory apply to the sociological institution known as a family. It will explain some of the similarities and differences between the sociological theories in regards to families and how they affect the family members.
These are the Functionalist, Conflict, and Interactionist Perspectives. Each perspective views society in different manners, with each being correct and relevant since social institutions are too complex to be defined by any one theory. Each perspective will be used to explain the perspectives’ relevance to the family. The sociological definition of the family is “a set of people related by blood, marriage or some other agreed-upon relationship, or adoption, who share the primary responsibility for reproduction and caring for members of society” (Schaeffer, 2009, p. 288). While the nuclear family (a man, a woman, and their children) was once the primary definition of family, now it refers to many familial configurations.
Family is an important part of every culture, and plays a major role in society. However, cultures within societies differ widely throughout the world. Due to this, it is important to study and define what a family is with a definition that is the same throughout the world and among different people. Family is a “social institution found in all societies that unites people in cooperative groups to care for one another, including any children” (Ch. 13 class notes). In this paper the common misconceptions of family, the structural-functional theory, and then the comparison between the misconceptions and the structural-functional theory will be discussed.
“The family is a social group characterised by common residence, economic co-operation 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 cohabitating adults.” MURDOCK (1949)
One of the most important and essential things that everyone must have in order to live a great and joyful life is family. One must follow values to be successful in life, and one must also support their family to keep that success advancing toward the future. In David W. McCurdy’s article, “Family and Kinship in Village India,” it discusses the significance of how a successful family is formed by tradition, preparation, and patience. The article describes how kinship has the power to arrange marriages successfully, make families unite and assist each other, and teach and help one another agriculturally or economically.
Family is defined by the text as “two or more persons living together and linked for financial or emotional support” (Barbour, Barbour & Scully, 2011). For my purposes family is defined as those with whom I maintain a close bond, whether or not they live with me. For example, I have a brother, who might be defined as :family” as we were raised in the same house, but I also have friends that I consider “family” based on emotional support I derive from their friendship.
Family by its nature is a social unit wherein children grow up and it acts like the socialization agent. Children receive their earliest and most consistent socialization here in the family. In a family it is very important as to how parents cater the needs of their children and how children take care of them in return. Parents as well as the child are very important part of the developmental process, as it is the parents who will shape the children as what they will become. The parent child relationship influences each other and together they shape the relationship they engage in it. Family is a social unit where in all the members living together is related to one another. Family is regarded
Family is arguably the most important social institution in an individual's life. A family is defined as a group of individuals that are related through blood ties, adoption or marriage, that form an economic unit, where the adult members are responsible