Families and Households

Question 1

Murdock (1949)

Answer 1

4 functions of the family:

1. Sex
2. Reproduction
3. Socialisation
4. Meeting economic needs

Question 2

Parsons’ Functional Fit Theory (1955)

Answer 2

Industrialisation has seen a shift from Extended Family to Nuclear Family. Industrialisation created the need for families to be geographically mobile and socially mobile

Question 3

Parsons’ Irreducible Functions of the Family (1955)

Answer 3

Primary Socialisation and the Stabilisation of adult personalities (SOAP)

Question 4

Parsons: Biological Division of Labour (1955)

Answer 4

Segregated Roles: Instrumental Role taken on by male, Expressive Role taken on by Females

Question 5

Expressive role

Answer 5

Role of the wife according to Parsons - geared towards the primary socialisation of children and meeting the family’s emotional needs

Question 6

Instrumental role

Answer 6

The provider or breadwinner role which involves going out to work and earning money for the family - the traditional male role within the family.

Question 7

Warm Bath Theory (Parsons)

Answer 7

Parsons’ claims that family life provides adults with emotional security and support, and a ‘release from the strains and stresses of everyday life’, just like the benefits of a warm relaxing bath.

Question 8

Marxist view of family

Answer 8

The monogamous nuclear family comes from capitalism. It is the best way of guaranteeing that you are passing on your property to your son, because in a monogamous relationship you have a clear idea of who your own children are. Keeps the wealth in the family.

Question 9

Zaretsky (1986)

Answer 9

The family provides ‘a cushion’ from the effects of ‘Alienating Work’. The family allows the worker to relax, refresh and unwind after a days work.

Question 10

Unit of Consumption

Answer 10

The family consumes the products produced by the bourgeoisie (ruling class) to make profits for them.

Question 11

Poulantis

Answer 11

The family is part of the ideological state apparatus used to control and create values to support capitalism. Children learn to conform and become cooperative and exploited workers.

Question 12

The New Right View of the family

Answer 12

A traditional view of family life… they believe the stable, married, nuclear family is best for children and society.

Question 13

Murray (1984)

Answer 13

Growth of welfare has led to the rise in lone parent families, due to it being a ‘perverse incentive’ and creates a ‘dependency culture’

Question 14

Cashmore (1985)

Answer 14

Working class mothers with less earning power chose to live on welfare benefits without a partner, often due to history of abuse

Question 15

Butler (2010)

Answer 15

Broken families are more likely to produce children who break the law, be unemployed and/or depend on benefits. This is because of a lack of positive male role-models.

Question 16

Melanie Phillips (2011)

Answer 16

Argued that politicians had ceased to see the value of traditional families and had encouraged diversity as being preferable to tradition + state welfare policies encouraged girls to get pregnant (to access benefits and a council home).

Question 17

Nanny state

Answer 17

A government that tries to give too much advice or make too many laws about how people should live their lives, taking responsibility for looking after the people

Question 18

Smart (2011)

Answer 18

It could be that poverty is causing relationships to break up, not the other way around as the New Right suggest

Question 19

Postmodernism

Answer 19

The view that social changes (such as globalisation and more consumerism) since the 1950s have resulted in a world in which individuals have much more choice and freedom than is suggested by Modernists social theories such as Functionalism, Marxism and Feminism.

Question 20

Postmodern view on family

Answer 20

The nuclear family has long been in decline and that there is no ‘main type’ of family any more in postmodern society.

Question 21

Zombie family

Answer 21

The family is the living dead. The family is dead in the respect that biological families are declining as families are less based on blood and more based on choice, but the family is alive because it is still a concept that is employed by sociologists and governments in policy and discussion.

Question 22

Giddens (1992)

Answer 22

Choice & Equality: Couples can define their own relationships based upon romantic love due to the increase in contraception and independence for women

Question 23

The pure relationship

Answer 23

A relationship that is held together by choice and love, not tradition or social norms.

Question 24

Beck (1995)

Answer 24

Risk Society & the Negotiated Family: More risk placed upon relationships because of uncertainty and need for romantic love rather than financial arrangements

Question 25

The individualisation thesis

Answer 25

The process where individuals have more freedom to make life-choices and shape their identities because of a weakening of traditional social structures, norms and values.

Question 26

Life course analysis

Answer 26

focuses on the meanings people give to their life events and choices.

Question 27

Hareven (1978)

Answer 27

Proposed the life cycle approach to studying families and life course analysis

Question 28

Personal Life Perspective

Answer 28

A sociological perspective which believes we should understand family life from the perspective of the individuals who make up the family, focusing on the diverse ways in which different individuals within the family define and perceive their own experiences of family life.

Question 29

Smart

Answer 29

Prioritised the bonds between people, the importance of memory and cultural heritage, the significance of emotions (both positive and negative), how family secrets work and change over time, and the underestimated importance of things such as shared possessions or homes in the maintenance and memory of relationships.

Question 30

Stacey (1998)

Answer 30

Divorce-Extended Family: Women are more likely to maintain relationships with ex-in-laws due to access to children - however divorced women are more likely to have fictive extended families to help support them

Question 31

Weeks (1999)

Answer 31

Growth in 'Fictive families' People are beginning to redefine what is meant by family and this can include friends, co-workers and even pets

Question 32

Fictive kin

Answer 32

Close friends who are treated as relatives, for example your mum's best friend who you call your 'auntie'

Question 33

The connectedness Thesis

Answer 33

Traditional structural inequalities still limit choices about relationships but we are not passive puppets and do make choices. Choices are made within our social contexts.

Question 34

Finch & Mason (1993)

Answer 34

Middle-class family members who took part in their survey felt a strong sense of duty and obligation to assist extended kin with practical, emotional and financial issues.

Question 35

Nordqvist and Smart (2014)

Answer 35

Donor-conceived children - Some parents emphasised the importance of social relationships over genetic ones in forming family bonds.

Question 36

Radical feminism

Answer 36

See the family as important in maintaining male power.

Question 37

Greer (2000) Radical feminist

Answer 37

The family continues to disadvantage women.

Question 38

liberal feminism

Answer 38

The increased choice for women and the rise of the dual-earner household (both partners in work) has helped create greater equality within relationships.

Question 39

Sommerville (2000) Liberal feminist

Answer 39

"The increased choice for women and the rise of the dual-earner household (both partners in work) has helped create greater equality within relationships.

Question 40

Marxist Feminist

Answer 40

Women reproduce the labour force, women absorb anger, women are a 'reserve army of cheap labour'

Question 41

Fran Ansley (1972) Marxist Feminist

Answer 41

Women absorb the anger that would otherwise be directed at capitalism. Takers of shit

Question 42

Difference feminism

Answer 42

It should be remembered that many women do not live in nuclear families and have different experiences.

Question 43

political lesbianism

Answer 43

Getting rid of sexual politics by only having sex with other women regardless of sexuality, so that men cannot oppress women.

Question 44

Oakley

Answer 44

Rejects the 'March of Progress' view. Men do 15% of housework, 25% childcare and cherry pick best bits

Question 45

Hakim (1996)

Answer 45

Feminists underestimate women's ability to make rational choices. She argues that women choose to give more commitment to family and children, and so have less commitment to work than men have.

Question 46

Cohabitation

Answer 46

Cohabitation is an unmarried couple that is in a sexual relationship and is living together

Question 47

Chester about cohabitation

Answer 47

He argues that is the process of getting married and supported evidence found is that 75% of cohabiting couples are expected to marry each other

Question 48

Same sex relationships increase reasons

Answer 48

1. 2002 - Equal rights for adoption 2. 2004 - civil partnership act 3. More socially acceptable

Question 49

Weeks on chosen families (same sex)

Answer 49

Argues that there has been a increase in socially acceptance therefore may explain the trend towards this family type

Question 50

Why has there been an increase in One-person households?

Answer 50

1. The increase in separation and divorce especially men under 65 2. The trend towards marrying later 3. Decline in people wanting to marry

Question 51

LAT family

Answer 51

Living Apart Together

Question 52

What did Duncan and Phillips find about LAT couples?

Answer 52

Found that 1 in 10 adults are living apart but together

Question 53

What has happened to Childbearing?

Answer 53

Women are having fewer children and the children that they do have they are having them later, some being born outside of marriage

Question 54

What are the reasons for the change in childbearing?

Answer 54

Have changed due to: 1. Decline in stigma and an increase in cohabitation 2. Women now have more options than just motherhood seeking opportunities for themselves rather than having children

Question 55

Why has there been an increase in Lone parent families?

Answer 55

This has risen due to: 1. An increase in divorce and separation 2. Decline in stigma of births outside of marriage 3. Single by choice

Question 56

Why are Lone parent families most likely headed by a female?

Answer 56

Due to the widespread belief of: 1. Women are better suited to an expressive role 2. Divorce courts grant custody to the woman 3. Men potentially less willing to give up work to care for the children than women

Question 57

What does Murray argue about Lone parent families?

Answer 57

Argues that this growth of lone parent families has created an over generous welfare state in terms of benefits for unmarried women - creating a 'perverse incentive' to reward irresponsible behaviour such as having a child without being able to provide for them increasing the 'dependency culture'

Question 58

What evidence has been found to support the argument that the extended family still plays an important role?

Answer 58

- The beanpole family ' long and thin' - More financial, domestic help and support - Maintain contact through phone calls etc

Question 59

What do functionalists think of family diversity?

Answer 59

Negative perspective - see the nuclear family as being the functional fit society needs whilst performing 2 irreducible functions relating back to parsons theory - soap and primary socialisation

Question 60

What do the New right think of family diversity?

Answer 60

Negative - agree with functionalists hold very traditional views of the family therefore oppose family diversity for example the bread winner and bread maker are essential

Question 61

What do the Rapoport's say about family diversity?

Answer 61

``` Say there are 5 types of family diversity: Organisational diversity Cultural diversity social class diversity life-stage diversity generational diversity ```

Question 62

Childhood

Answer 62

Sociologists see childhood as being socially constructed as something created and defined by society, it is not fixed but differs between cultures and times

Question 63

Pilcher

Answer 63

Argues that the most important feature of childhood is separateness

Question 64

Aries

Answer 64

He studied medieval paintings and draw on the concept that childhood did not exist in medieval time periods, children behaving and acting like little adults therefore were not treated any differently than real adults

Question 65

Punch

Answer 65

Argued by Punch that children as young as 5 years old in Bolivia were expected to take on adult responsibility and help around the home

Question 66

Postman

Answer 66

Argues that childhood is disappearing due to a rise in TV culture and therefore children are able to social the same way in which adults can, being informed of the same problems in the world as adults such as the news, therefore argues an adultification of children is happening

Question 67

Palmer

Answer 67

Argues childhood has became Toxic due to the rapid changes in technological changes children now spend more time looking at a screen rather than looking at books etc

Question 68

Furedi

Answer 68

Argues childhood is blighted by paranoid parenting the media blaming all parents for their children misbehaviour therefore constantly worrying they're doing something wrong in the teachings of their children - to prevent this from happening they wrap them in cotton wool too protected they cannot experience a childhood

Question 69

Jenks

Answer 69

Argues in postmodernity childhood is changing but not disappearing children are needed to be nurtured by a child-centred family, relationships with children become most stable and leads to strong protection of them

Question 70

Gittins

Answer 70

Argues the age patriarchy between children and adults leads to the oppression of children as well as women, therefore some children use strategies to resist their status - acting up and not behaving in a controllable way