Family and Households

Question 1

Who was Patrica Leighton?

Answer 1

Found when the male of the household becomes unemployed the working wife takes control over spending and regulating debt

Question 2

Nuclear Family

Answer 2

A pair of biological parents and their children

Question 3

Extended Family

Answer 3

A family that includes three or more generations. Usually grandparents, their children and their children

Question 4

Polygamy

Answer 4

A type of marriage where there is more than one spouse at a time

Question 5

Polygyny

Answer 5

A marriage structure where there is more than one wife at a time

Question 6

Polyandry

Answer 6

A rare marriage structure where a woman has more than one husband at a time

Question 7

What is the family?

Answer 7

George Murdock - A family is a social group characterized by common residence, economic cooperation and reproduction. It includes adults of both sexes, at least two of whom maintain a socially-approoved sexual relationship and one or more children own or adopted

Question 8

What is the organic analogy?

Answer 8

Different institutions in societies all working together like the organs in the human body

Question 9

Why do Functionalists believe the family plays an important role on the rest of society?

Answer 9

• Beneficial for both those who are members of of families and for the rest of society.
• Parsons argues that the family meets a number of societal and personal needs.
• March of Progress Theorists

Question 10

Talcott Parsons…family and social structure

Answer 10

According to Talcott Parsons the family is losing many of its trad functions. However its still important, its role becoming more specialised.

Question 11

What is Primary Socialization?

Answer 11

Occurs withing the family before school, two basic processes. The family needs to mould the childs personality to fit the needs of society, this is achieved by internalisation of the societies culture and the structuring of the personality.

Question 12

What is the stabilization of human adult personalities?

Answer 12

Once the personality is established, adults need emotional security and a source of release from the stresses and strains od modern life.
- Warm Bath Theory

Question 13

What is the economic function of society?

Answer 13

Provides eco support for its members particularly when they are young and paying expenses such as childcare.

Question 14

The Domestic Division of Labour - Talcott ParsonsThe Domestic Division of Labour - Talcott Parsons

Answer 14

n Parson’s functionalist view of family, there is clear division of labour between the **es.
Husband has an instrumental role - he is breadwinner, providing for family financially.
Wife has an expressive role - she is homemaker, full-time housewife meeting family’s emotional needs + socialising children.
Parson’s argues that such a division of labour is based on biological differences and that each ** is ‘naturally suited’ to their role.
Claims such roles are benificial to men, women, their children and wider society.

Question 15

The Domestic Division of Labour - Criticisms of Parsons

Answer 15

The Domestic Division of Labour

Criticisms of Parson’s view

Young and Willmott (1962)
Men are now taking greater responsibility for domestic tasks.
More wives are becoming wage earners

Feminist Sociologists
Reject Parson’s view that division is ‘natural’.
Argue that such a division only benefits men.

Question 16

What are Joint and Segregated Conjugal Roles

Answer 16

Elizabeth Bott (1957)

Bott identified two types of conjugal roles (roles within marriage)
Segregated Conjugal Roles - couple have seperate roles, man is breadwinner + woman homemaker. Leisure activities also seperate
Joint Conjugal Roles - couples share housework + childcare and spend leisure time together.

Question 17

4 of 51

The Symmetrical Family - Young + Willmott (1973)

Answer 17

Young + Willmott (1973)

Take a ‘march of progress’ view on family life.
Argue there has been a gradual move away from segregated conjugal roles and towards joint conjugal roles - The Symmetrical Family.
They claim that in a symmetrical family, the roles of husbands and wives are similar, though not identical.
Women go out to work, whether full of part-time.
Men assist with housework and childcare.
Couples spend leisure time together - more home-centered.
Found symmetrical family more common in younger couples, the affluent and the socially/geographically isolated.
See rise in symmetrical nuclear family as due to changes in the position of women, geographical mobility, higher standards of living + new technology making home nicer place.
Many such factors are interlinked, one leading onto another.

Question 18

Ann Oakley - view on housework

Answer 18

Criticises Young + Willmott’s claims of a symmetrical family. She argues their claims are exaggerated - men ‘helping’ could be making breakfast once.
In her own research, Oakley found some evidence of husbands helping but no trend towards symmetry.
She found that although husbands occupied the kids in the evenings and at weeknds, it could be argued that mothers lost the rewards of childcare, instead being left with more time for housework.

Question 19

What is the trend towards equality?

Answer 19

Jonathan Gershuny (1994)

Claims that more women working full-time has lead to more equal domestic division of labour.
Argues that social values are gradually adapting to the fact that women are working full-time.
Also found that although division of labour now more equal, men and women still take responsibility for different tasks.
Gershuny’s view is optimistic and similar to Young + Willmott’s march of progress view that conjugal roles are becoming more symmetrical.

Question 20

Duel burden

Answer 20

Increased employment of women outside the home has had little impact on the domestic division of labour.
Study of families, just 4% of fathers took main responsibility for the childcare.

Men who had lost their masculine role as a result of unemployment shied away form domestic work as it was seen as a ‘feminine role’.

Question 21

Triple shift

Answer 21

Dunscombe and Marsden

Emotion work & House work & Paid work

Question 22

Husband controlled pooling

Answer 22

Jahn Pahl - men control money, then will spend extra on themselves, should be wife controlled pooling

Question 23

Dunne 1999

Answer 23

Lesbian households, the roles were shared equally, with no person taking primary responsibility. Thinks the inequality of splitting roles comes out of the boundaries between masculinity and femininity. Feminine tasks should be given greater value. EQUAL ROLES CAN BE ACHIEVED.

Question 24

Gershuny 1992:

Answer 24

changes in the domestic division of labour. time-budget analysis - he found a clear trend that men are carrying out more routine domestic tasks. a more symmetrical family, however women still work more hours than men.

Question 25

Mirrlees-Black and Dobash

Answer 25

Catriona Mirrlees-Black (1999)

found from her study that domestic violence follows social patterns which have social causes.
most victims are women, offenders men
Russell + Rebecca Dobash (1979)

Found that violent incidents could be set off by what a husband saw as a challenge to his authority, or ‘triggers’, e.g. wife asking why he was home late.
Argue that marriage legitimates violence against women by conferring power and authority on husbands and dependency on wives.
Children, the working class, alcoholics, drug addicts, etc. all at higher risk.
Radical Feminists

Interpret above findings as evidence of patriarchy. Argue that, within the family, men dominate women through domestic violence, or the threat of it.

Question 26

Inequality and Stress - Wilkins

Answer 26

Explains such patterns as result of stress on family members caused by social inequality, e.g. some families better off than others.
Argues that those on better incomes live in nicer houses, etc. and so experience lower levels of stress.
Says money worries and job angst may spill over into domestic conflict as tempers become frayed.
Lack of money and time restricts people’s social circle and so the support they receive when under stress.
Wilkinson’s theory helps explain the class differences in domestic violence.
However, does not explain why women are the main victims.

Question 27

Industrialisation and the Nuclear Family - Parsons

Answer 27

• Argues that industrialisation brought about rise of nuclear family.
• Two types of society; industrial and pre-industrial. Says each type contains corresponding family structure that fits its needs - there is ‘functional fit’.
• He says in pre-industrial society, dominant family structure was three generation extended family living together.
• It was unit of economic production, work and home not seperate - family members worked together.
• Strong obligation to help other family members.
• Extended family met members and society’s needs - employment, protection, welfare, health, etc.
• In industrial society, dominant family structure is two-generation nuclear family.
• Nuclear family no longer unit of production - work and home separate.
• Nuclear family ‘structurally isolated’ from wider family.
• Family has lost functions. Now, two main functions; primary socialisation of children and stabilisation of adult personalities.

Question 28

The Family - Murdock

Answer 28

Functionalist; family is universal institution that performs 4 major functions:

Stable Satisfaction of the Sex Drive - prevents social disruption caused by sexual ‘free-for-all’.
Reproduction of Next Generation - means society able to continue.
Socialisation of the Young - spreading society’s norms and values.
Meeting Member’s Economic Needs - providing food, shelter, etc.
Criticisms of Murdock

Marxists - reject consensus view, argue that Murdock neglects dark side of family. Claim meets needs of capitalists, not family.
Feminists - reject consensus, ‘rose-tinted’ view, argue that Murdock ignores women’s oppression and inequality. See family as serving needs of men and exploiting women.

Question 29

The Family - Parsons

Answer 29

2 main funtions
Primary Socialisation of Children - happens in early stages of child’s life; child learns norms, values, etc of culture they are born into.
Stabilisation of Adult Personalities - family provides place for adults to relax, escape stresses of working life and feel emotionally secure.
Criticisms of Parsons

Too deterministic - children are moulded by all-powerful adults. Also ignores possibility of socialisation being 2-way process where by socialisation can be resisted by children.
Zaretsky - family only provides such emotional support so members can spend another day under harsh capitalist oppression. Family is servant to capitalist state - looks after exploited workers for free.

Question 30

The Family - Engels

Answer 30

Marxist; need for the family arose when societies began to value private property:

Private Property - when introduced, an inheritance system became neccessary - fathers needed to know who their offspring were in order to pass down thier property.
Need For Monogamy - so, monogamy was needed, and the family was created.
Family Serves Economy - by creating ownership of private property.
Criticisms of Engels

Modern research suggests Engel’s interpretation to be historically inaccurate - monogomous marriage and nuclear family found amoung hunter-gatherers, where there is no private property.
Functionalists - claim family is not a vehicle for inheritence but instead plays important role in socialising children and stabilising adult personalities, etc. Also claim division of labour reflects natural expressive and instrumental roles.

Question 31

The Family - Zaretsky

Answer 31

Zaretsky

Marxist; family serves capitalism by offering emotional haven from oppressive world of work:

Family serves capitalism by providing emotional security from oppressive world of work - thus allowing such oppression to continue.
In reality, only provides emotional security in order to encourage workers to keep working under capitalist oppression.
Criticisms of Zaretsky

Feminists - Somerville argues that Zaretsky exaggerates importance of the family as a refuge from capitalist society. She claims he ignores cruelty, violence and ****** within families.
He also overlooks the fact that during early stages of capitalism, many working class women had to take paid work in order to survive - not many stayed at home as full-time housewives.