If all goes well, the parts of society produce order, stability, and productivity. If all does not go well, the parts of society then must adapt to recapture a new order, stability, and productivity. For example, during a financial recession with its high rates of unemployment and inflation, social programs are trimmed or cut. Schools offer fewer programs. Families tighten their budgets. And a new social order, stability, and productivity occur. Show Functionalists believe that society is held together by social consensus, in which members of the society agree upon, and work together to achieve, what is best for society as a whole. This stands apart from the other two main sociological perspectives: symbolic interactionalism, which focuses on how people act according to their interpretations of the meaning of their world, and conflict theory, which focuses on the negative, conflicted, ever-changing nature of society. Functionalism has received criticism for neglecting the negative functions of an event, such as divorce. Critics also claim that the perspective justifies the status quo and complacency on the part of society's members. Functionalism does not encourage people to take an active role in changing their social environment, even when such change may benefit them. Instead, functionalism sees active social change as undesirable because the various parts of society will compensate naturally for any problems that may arise. The structural-functionalist perspective, marriage and family are a basic building block of society. Marriage and family, are necessities for a stable society. Marriage and family perform a number of necessary functions, which provide a structure that children can be produced and raised. They also provide a way in which sexual relations can be in some way regulated so that people can fulfill their sexual desires without causing conflict. Finally, they give people a way
to feel loved and to feel a sense of belonging. This makes people more likely to be good and productive members of society: To the conflict perspective, things are much less rosy. Marriage is the outgrowth of conflict between men and women. Marriage and family, is practiced in our society, that tend to control women to some degree. Although this is changing, marriage and family
have, traditionally been a way for men to maintain their dominance. From the symbolic interactionist perspective, every marriage is different. Marriage is, what couples make of it. There can be marriages in which one of the partners feels they are in control of the other, however, there can also be marriages in which the partners fulfill and complete one another. Symbolic interactionism sees marriage as something that differs from relationship to relationship. The closer a husband’s and wife’s earnings, the more likely they are to share housework. Most husbands who get laid off, however, decrease their housework, while husbands who earn less than their wives do the least housework. To explain why laid off husbands with more time on their hands and working husbands who earn less than their wives would do less housework rather than more, symbolic interactionists turn to gender roles. If a husband is laid off and/or makes less than his wife, it undercuts his traditional role as provider and, thus, threatens his What are criticisms of functionalist view on family?A standard criticism of functionalist views of the role of the family comes from conflict theorists like Marxists and feminists who argue that this paints too rosy and idealistic a picture of family life. Families are certainly not like that for everyone.
What are the criticisms of the functionalist perspective?Functionalism has been criticized for its failure to account for social change and individual agency; some consider it conservatively biased. Functionalism has been criticized for attributing human-like needs to society. Emile Durkheim 's work is considered the foundation of functionalist theory in sociology.
What is the functionalist theory perspective on marriage and family?In addition, the functionalist perspective views families as groups that perform vital roles for society—both internally (for the family itself) and externally (for society as a whole). Families provide for one another's physical, emotional, and social well-being. Parents care for and socialize children.
What is the functionalist perspective on the family?Functionalists see the family as a particularly important institution as they see it as the 'basic building block' of society which performs the crucial functions of socialising the young and meeting the emotional needs of its members. Stable families underpin social order and economic stability.
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