In the 20th C Functionalist sociologists in their study of industrial societies have adopted this analogy. Basic Ideas Functionalists talk about society being like a human body. The organic analogy incorporates the ideas of a system to emphasize the inter-relatedness and mutual dependency of the major institutions of society. They therefore, see the family as changing and responding to the needs of society. Drawing on the example of Irish families in rural areas in the 1940's, they argue that most pre-industrial families existed in a patriarchal extended family structure.
Functionalists therefore argue that the nuclear family developed as a result of industrialization.
The following example explains this. A pebble thrown into a pond causes ripples that can affect the whole pond as a 'system'. Fish and marine life are disturbed, but after a time things settle down and the pond reverts back to its former self. Note that the pond in its new state has not been dramatically altered by the pebble, but it is a slightly different 'system' than previously. This point is relevant to the way that Functionalist sociologists explain change in society.