The Functionalist View of the Family

554 Words2 Pages

The Functionalist View of the Family

It is undoubted that functionalism has contributed to the general

understanding of the family, even if you don’t believe the

functionalist view-point to be correct, it still plays an essential

part in the topic of sociology by simply being there to conflict the

Marxist view of the family.

The functionalist view of society makes the assumption that every

society has a range of basic needs. Functionalists would say that if

these needs are being met then the society is functioning and it is

more likely to survive over a longer period of time.

Functionalist view is considered to be a consensus theory because it

tends to accentuate the “need” for shared norms and values.

Several functionalist sociologists have tried to explain the

relevance of families in society, and the reasons (other then the

obvious biological reason) as to why they exist. One such sociologist

is American Talcott Parsons (1955). Parsons based his views on a

sample of “modern North American” families, he...

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