changes in family structure Flashcards
what did Parsons say changed family structure?
industrialisation
what are the 2 basic types of family structure?
extended and nuclear
what are the 2 basic types of society?
pre-industrial society and industrial society
what is pre-industrial society?
society before industrialisation. it is largely agricultural amd work centres on home, farm, village and market
what is industrial society?
society during and after industrialisation. work centres on factories and production of goods in cities
what does Parsons say becomes dominant in industrial society?
nuclear families
what family is most common in pre-industrial society?
the extended family
what family is most common in industrial society?
the nuclear family
what do functionalists say changed the function of the family?
industrialisation
why does Parsons think the dominant family structure changed?
because it was more useful for industrial society
what are functions of the family in pre-industrial society taken over by?
the state in industrial society e.g., policing, healthcare, education
what can the nuclear family focus on?
its functions of socialisation
what does the family socialise children into?
the roles, values and norms of industrialised society
what does Parsons describe the industrial nuclear family as?
isolated
what does it mean to be isolated?
it has few ties with local kinship and economic systems. this means the family can easily move to where the work is (geographical mobility)
what else do functionalists say industrialisation changed?
roles and status in the family
how was status given in pre-industrial society?
ascribed
what is an ascribed status?
status decided at birth by the family they were born into
how is status given in industrial society?
achieved
what is an achieved status?
status decided by their success outisde the family
how is greater social mobility achieved?
the nuclear family allows individuals to achieve status and position without conflict. it’s ok for an individual too achieve higher or lower status than previous generation
what role do men and women have according to Parsons?
instrumental and expressive
why do these roles come about according to Parsons?
they’re most effective for society
what are functionalists critised for?
seeing the modern nuclear family as superior
what are the 3 stages of family according to Willmott and Young?
- pre-industrial
- early industrial
- privatised nuclear
what is the pre-industrial stage?
family works together as an economic production unit. work and home are combine
what is the early industrial stage?
extended family is broken up as individuals leave home to work. women at home have strong extended kinship networks
what is the privatised nuclear stage?
family based on consumption, not production - buying things, not making things. nuclear family is focused on its personal relationships and lifestyle. called ‘the symmetrical family’ - husband and wife have joint roles
what is a key point of the symmetrical family?
the idea that both partners work either part-time or full-time. the econnomic contribution of men and women is equally important
what did Helen Wilkinson (1994) argue about the increasing numbers of women working?
an increasing number of women are working because the economy has moved away from the historically male-dominated industrial sector towards the traditionally female-dominated service sector
what has happened to women’s attitudes towards work and family?
they have undergone a ‘genderquake’
what did women between the ages of 16-35 see as more important than having children in the 90s?
work and education
what have women gained in the faimly through employment?
economic influence
how does women having economic influence change the structure of the family?
because the traditional gender roles within the family are broken down
in 2012, according to a survey of social attitudes what did 41% of women and 36% of men believe was the ideal way to structure a family with dependent children?
for men to work full-time and women to work part-time