The impact of functionalism,conflict and interactionism on family - Essay Example

? The Impact of Functionalism, Conflict and Interactionism on Family [School] Number] May 30, The Impact of Functionalism, Conflict and Interactionism on Family “Sociology is the scientific study of human society and social interactions”(Tischler, 2010).Sociology basically targets the group or system and not the individuals. It tends to understand the forces that make any social system functional and their effects on individuals and thus determines the social occurrences. In this paper the impact of three major sociological perspectives on family which is considered as an institution in the field, is described separately. How these perspectives are interrelated to each other is also defined as well as their shortcomings. THE SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES OR PARADIGMS Sociology basically deals with the factors that drive people to do a particular work for examplecommitting crimes or suicide (Schaefer, 2006). Sociological theories are the fundamentals of the discipline.They provide a basic understanding of the larger social picture. A sociological theory is “A set of correlated statements which describe, explain and predict how society and its components a related to each other” (Cheney, 2009).An effective theory must be both explainable and predictable. That is it is able to explain the relationships and predict the changes which may lead to other changes.Theories also provide a proper frame-work for a research to be conducted. In sociology theories are divided into two levels: Macro Theories – These include population and societal-level theories. These theories are usually used to study a massive number of people. For example, Conflict and Functional theories. Micro Theories – These include theories on individual behaviors. These theories usually study small groups and the individuals within these groups. For example, Symbolic Interactionismor Social Exchange theories. All of the above described micro and macro theories are example of one distinct theory called “Grand Theory”which basically explains the social, historical or human aspects by using abstract ideas. It is contrary to the experimentation, positivism and the case-specific phenomena (Cheney, 2009).Let us describe the three main paradigms which are the basis of this paper: Functionalism Conflict Interactionism Functionalism Also called structural functionalism was the first theoretical orientation in sociology (Turner, 2006). It is mainly based on the works by Spencer, Durkheim, Parsons and Merton. Modern functionalism is based on the works of Talcott Parsons, a Harvard University scholar. Functionalism is a macro-level concept and according to it: “A society is a system of highly interrelated elements which operate in accordance with each other.” The society is investigated by the functionalists just like the human body. They analyze the organization and working of the elements or the individual systems of the society and improvising in order to attain balance. Normal and abnormal family, peace and war, friendship, romantic relationships, religion, healthcare etc. are just a few examples of the systems of the society. From the functionalist point of view the society seems to bequite harmonious and automated, that is it tends to achieve equilibrium most of the time. If any element of the society is not maintaining social homeostasis then it becomes dysfunctional. An element or process which causes instability of the societal system is referred to as dysfunctional element or process. A few examples of dysfunction are mass homicide or a collapse of a big organization for example Enron’s downfall caused 14,000 employees to lose their retirement fund, bereavement of millions of dollars in shareholder investments and the doubts it created in the minds of investors regarding the credibility of the stock market (Cheney, 2009). Robert K. Merton distinguished two forms of social functions, manifest and latent functions. “Social functions are elemental processes which contribute in the overall operation of the society.” Manifest functions –The effects of these functions are pre-planned and apparent. For example, in a family, caring for children, providing mutual support between spouses etc. Latent functions – The effects of these functions are not planned and not readily known. For example, in a family, strengthening of family ties, the sense of belonging to the family. The latent function has strong subjective elements so the same social process can possess different latent functions for individuals or groups. Conflict Where the functionalists suggest the world being in harmony other sociologists oppose the concept on the basis of conflict theory. It is especially useful in understanding the violence in the society like war, discrimination, divorces, domestic violence, slavery and other related phenomena. This theory is based on the views of Karl Marx and other social critics of 19th century. The theory claims that: The society changes constantly as a result of the struggles caused by the individuals or the groups in order to acquire maximum benefit, and that causes social inequality and conflict. The conflict perspective became popular in the U.S during the 1960s. The Vietnam War consequences, the feminist and gay liberation movements, the Watergate scandal and other riots provided support to the paradigm, that our social world is not at equilibrium and is in a continual struggle between competing groups (Schaefer, 2006). Conflict theorists believe that change is a normal process. They support the argument that the powerful rulers bring social order by force, constraint and controlling people against their wills. This sometimes results in the rebellion of the powerless and thus a change in the society. The Marxist view –Karl Marx observed the inequity of the society and believed that the whole human society was in a constant conflict since the beginning. The conflict was between the bourgeoisie, who owned and dominated the means of production(capitalists), and the proletariats, the working class, who were exploited by them. Marx believed that the capitalists dictated the society by making rules and laws fit for their own needs and against the interests of the proletariats.He supported the view that the working class would unite against this injustice and a change will take place. But, this change required violence because capitalists would not give up the rule voluntarily(Tischler, 2010). Many sociologists now see Marx’s work in view of every day’s life.They see different entities of social system in the light of conflict theory for example, in a family, who benefits the most from particular social arrangements and who suffers. Conflict theory is often the target of criticism as it focuses too much on the conflict and change. This emphasis makes the conflict theorists more radical and activist than the functionalists (Schaefer, 2006; Tischler, 2010). Interactionism In contrast to functionalism and conflict theories which can be designated as two sides of a same coin. These paradigms deal with the concepts that tell us about the stability and the changes within the societies. In sociology individuals of a society are also considered as separate institutions and are studied at a micro-level which is called Interactionism. The paradigm studies: “The relationship and the effect of individuals contributing to a society.” This theory is useful for understanding individual behaviors, improving communication and hence strengthening relationships. Interactionists believe in individuals and criticize functionalists and conflict theorists for considering social systems and not the individuals that create the systems. The theory supports the argument that all the social systems like family system, education system and political systems are constituted of individuals who interact with each other to maintain and change the systems.Interactionists used many modes to define the theory: Symbolic Interactionism - George Herbert Mead’s approach which uses symbols, gestures, written and spoken languages. Ethnomethodology –Harold Garfinkel’s approach which uses the methods people use to bring order in the society. Dramaturgy –Erving Goffman’s approach which depict people as theatrical performers. People seek different images in different environments. Symbolic interaction is considered the most important paradigm. Ernest Burgess used symbolic interactionism in family studies for the first time in 1920s. He defined family as the living, changing and growing institution. His view on marriage was that people in the modern days married for love and compatibility and not due to formal or legal contracts (Hill, 2011). According to Mead people do not react on impulse rather they consider the situation and act accordingly to the situation. What people do affects other people whether in a good or bad way. People give meaning even to the simplest of gestures for example saluting a high official in army or standing up in respect for an elder in the family. As these interactions take place in a society, therefore, the effects aren’t just confined to an individual,for example, abiding law, people follow the rules according to their own experiences (Schaefer, 2006; Tischler, 2010). Interactionism is criticized for ignoring the larger systems while paying too much attention to the individuals. However, the theorists respond that understanding interactionism is necessary to understand other macro-phenomenon like, functionalism and conflict because individuals are the basic units that make the societies and other systems. THE FAMILY Family derived from the Latin word familia,is a group of people related to each other by ancestry, marriage or adoption. Family is considered as an institution in sociology. Family can be divided into two separate groups: Family of Procreation–Family where an individual is born and initially experience socializing. Family of Orientation – The family created after marriage and having or adopting children (Long, 2010). Family: Sociological Perspectives Functionalism and Family As functionalists believe every institution contributes in the smooth functioning of the societal system. They view family as the center of the society. Family is one of those entities which have lost many of their traditional characteristics and have adopted modern ones. Since the advent of industrialization the family has evolved and there were no longer extended family networks as in older times andthis lead to the idea of nuclear family.Murdock (1949) believed in nuclear family as an inevitable and universal phenomenon.He defined family as a social group created by two adults of separate sexes via marriage. The group characteristics are universal because they fulfill the essential objectives of the society like economic support and cooperation, education and reproduction. Talcott Parsons supported the idea of isolated nuclear family, a centralized unit based on a breadwinner-homemaker division of labor. The idea further developed into sex role theory which theorized men as the “instrumental” functions, that is the bread earners and women were assigned the “expressive” functions, for example the household managers.The Children are a necessary part of the family and they need socialization. Parsons also supports the stabilizationof the adults which is necessary because of the continuous burden of earning, spending and saving on their shoulders. This model was occupational in meeting the objectives like economic and emotional needs of the members of family. Functionists assumed that family is beneficial institution and each member receives equal caring, nurturing and unconditional love. Some functionists even deduced romantic love as a functional perspective which served to preserve families and the hence the balance in the system. Although the benefits of the nuclear family are undeniable but the theory does not always fit the situation for example domestic violence, rape and child abuse. Estimates suggested that 15-71% women of the world suffer from domestic violencewhereas; 133-275 million children suffer from domestic violence. Divorcees and single parents are considered as dysfunctional entities in the functionalist perspective. Also it implicated those working-class and racial-ethnic minority families, many of whom were not stable enough in the economic sense were also dysfunctional. This raised a stir among the other theorists who criticized the paradigm. Feminists argued that the theory was very stereotypical which is not true in all families and hence not universal. Other critics point out that there is no mention of the single parents or cohabited couples in the theory and the harmonious picture created by the functionists is not always true as families often experience breakups and minor conflicts (Hill, 2011). Conflict and Family The tendency toward conflict is a part of human nature as Machiavelli puts it. Before 1970s the conflict theory was missing from the streamline literature and most researchers studied role conflict which is an individual phenomenon rather than interpersonal conflict. The family was considered as a sacred institution and therefore, the research on family conflict was discouraged.However, Marx and Engels did not dismiss the paradigm and they criticized the rising bourgeoisie family which seemed to be repressive to the women. The gender inequality according to them was the elemental form of social inequality. The supremacy of men over women according to them was equal to supremacy of bourgeoisies over proletariats and hence based on exploitation. A critic Lasch provided another view in which he described women as the soothing companions with whom the workers seek refuge of their worries of the outside world. Karl Marx, however, dismissed the idea of family as in his view it was an institution to enslave women. This point of view was highly contradictory to the structural functionalism and symbolic interactionism (Hill, 2011). There are however, slight similarities in the functionalist and conflict paradigms, for example conflict theorists can agree to the point that nuclear family fits the need of the society. But they view society differently and hence would not accept the industrial definition as they see it as capitalist society. Conflict theorists see society in terms of base-superstructure model, where the base is the economy which shapes everything else and therefore, the family mirrors the capitalist society. These theorists also claim that families are not institutions which produce children rather they produce laborers which fuel capitalism (Abbott, 2010). Jetse Spray (1979) studied conflict theory in family terms and explained that since human beings of social system are in constant conflict with each other and therefore, the same occurs in the family. Because the marriage is a bond formed on the basis of love, choice and mutual interaction between two people of different sexes, therefore, it is highly vulnerable to conflict. Theorists on the basis of this theory assume that marriage leads to conflict and taking advantage of family members as well as inflicting violence (Hill, 2011). The family is seen as an institution where the pressure is on the bread earners to work harder and get an array of merchandize for theirfamily. The family thus becomes an entity of Marx’s “Commodity Fetishism” promoting unnecessary needs in order to maintain the satisfaction. Commodities like mobile phones, laptops, PlayStations, X-boxes etc. are common examples which are required by the modern day teenagers and children who make the most of the capitalist markets in the western world. And who pays for them? Of course the parents (Abbott, 2010). Critiques suggest that conflict theory describes family exclusively in terms of economic functions also known as economic determinism. However, this is a little too harsh because families also reflect a certain religion, culture, tradition and values. Interactionism and Family Interactionism describes family asa unit of interacting personalities. Interactionists claim that the theory is the most vital theory in family sociology and hence it also compliments the functionalist theory as both theories agree on the sex roles of men and women. Structure functionalism supports the distinguished sex roles whereas, symbolic interactionism supplies that communication has a key role in the marital life where both individuals interact with each other via different means (Hill, 2011). Interactionism basically focuses on the role analysis such as, the roles of husband and wife, the role of them as parents, how the birth of children change the scenario, how certain external crises like unemployment, natural calamities and accidents and internal crises like deaths and divorces affect the performance and thus the attitudes and self-perception of family members. Interactionist studies mostly deal with socialization, through which personalities and self-perceptions are created; certain values are transmitted from one generation to another. For example, socialization of the children is one of the most critical functions in modern day families. Research shows that positivism in parents results in positive attitudes in children. These days Interactionists are paying attention to cross-cultural interaction which was criticized in the past as one of the short coming of the theory. DISCUSSION In short all the above described perspectives describe the family in their own meanings and every paradigm has its own special impact on the institution. Structural functionalism, a macro-level concept compliments the micro-level concept of symbolic interaction whereas conflict, macro-level concept contradicts both; however slight commonalities can be seen. Each theory has certain flaws and therefore, improvement in their scopes is required. REFERENCES Abbott, D. (2010). Revision Notes - Family Perspectives - New Version. Retrieved from: http://tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/sociology/comments/revision-notes-family-perspectives-new-version Cheney, P. (2009). Chapter: Theories and the Family. Sociology of the Family. Retrieved from: http://freebooks.uvu.edu/SOC1200/index.php/ch03-theories-and-the-family.html Hill, S. (2012). Families: A Social Class Perspective. Los Angeles: SAGE/Pine Forge Press. Long, R. (2010). Chapter 15: Family and Children. Social Problems.Retrieved from: http://dmc122011.delmar.edu/socsci/rlong/problems/chap-15.htm Tischler, H. (2011). Introduction to Sociology. Belmont: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. Schaefer, R., T. (2006).Sociology: A Brief Introduction. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill. Turner, J. (2006). Handbook of Sociological Theory. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers. Read More