Functions of Families and Family Diversity: Parsons, Rapoport and Rapoport
What does the family do for society, and why do families come in so many forms? Learn the functions of the family, the two irreducible functions named by Parsons, and the five aspects of family diversity named by Rapoport and Rapoport.
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What is a family for?
Sociologists ask two big questions about the family. What does it DO for society and for its members, and why do families come in so many different forms? This module looks at the functions of the family, the ideas of Parsons, and the five aspects of family diversity named by Rapoport and Rapoport.
Kinds of family
Families take many forms. Learn four of the main ones first.
Two ways to study the family
The two sociologists in this module look at the family in different ways.
Match the function
- Sexual function
- Reproductive function
- Economic function
- Educational function
- Gives adults a stable and approved relationship
- Produces the next generation of children
- Provides food, shelter and money for members
- Teaches children the norms and values of society
Two functions from Parsons
Which of these is one of the two irreducible functions that Parsons described?
- Primary socialisation of children
- Producing money for the government
- Creating family diversity
- Making the laws of the country
Five kinds of diversity
Rapoport and Rapoport (1982) said families are diverse in five ways: organisational, how the household divides its roles; cultural, different beliefs and values; class, how wealth and class shape family life; life course, the stage a family has reached; and cohort, the historical period a family grows up in. This challenges the functionalist view, which critics say gives an idealised, middle-class picture.
Which kind of diversity?
- Organisational
- Cultural
- Class
- Cohort
- One partner works nights and the other does the school run
- A household that keeps the language and festivals of its grandparents
- Private tutors on one street and free school meals on the next
- Grandparents who married at twenty, grandchildren who cohabit at thirty
Aspects of diversity
Which THREE of these are aspects of family diversity named by Rapoport and Rapoport? Choose all that apply.
- Cultural
- Class
- Cohort
- Economic
- Nuclear
The family life course
Put the stages of a common family life course in order.
- A couple form a household with no children
- They have young children to raise
- The children grow up and leave home
- The couple grow older on their own again
Complete the sociology
When a toddler learns to say please and to wait their turn, that is primary _____. Two parents raising their children under one roof form a _____ family. When two divorced parents move in together with children from both marriages, that is a _____ family. Rapoport and Rapoport named five aspects of family _____. A family raised through rationing and a family raised with smartphones differ by _____.
Family types and functions
Tap the TWO statements that are TRUE.
- Primary socialisation means teaching children norms and values.
- A reconstituted family is a step-family.
- A nuclear family always includes grandparents and cousins.
- Rapoport and Rapoport said all families are the same.
A common criticism
What is a common criticism of the functionalist view of the family?
- It gives an idealised, middle-class picture
- It says the family has no functions at all
- It only describes lone-parent families
- It ignores children completely
Which aspect of diversity?
For each situation, choose the aspect of family diversity it shows.
- Two families follow very different beliefs, values and traditions. Which aspect is this?
- A wealthy family can afford things a poorer family cannot, shaping daily life. Which aspect is this?
- In one home the housework is shared equally, in another one partner does it all. Which aspect is this?
Explain functions and diversity
Explain what functions families perform and how families are diverse. Use the ideas of Parsons and of Rapoport and Rapoport.
- Name two functions of the family and explain what each does
- Explain the two irreducible functions that Parsons described
- Describe two aspects of family diversity named by Rapoport and Rapoport