...different ways. Parsons describes the division of labour in the traditional nuclear family in terms of an expressive role and an instrumental role. However, this traditional arrangement may have changed as families have changed, and many feminists use the term ‘dual burden’ to describe the woman’s role in the family today. Item 2B Government policies and laws include tax and benefit policies as well as legislation such as relating to divorce and marriage. Sociologists have different views on the impact of these policies and laws on families. For example, feminists argue that social policies assume that the ideal family is a patriarchal nuclear family, and that government policies and laws therefore favour this sort of family. On the other hand, the New Right argue that the benefit system undermines traditional nuclear families by actively encouraging lone parents. 0 6 Explain what is meant by the ‘dual burden’ (Item 2A). (2 marks) 0 7 Explain the difference between the expressive role and the instrumental role (Item 2A). (4 marks) 0 8 Suggest three ways in which the differences between children and adults are becoming less clear in society today. (6 marks) 0 9 Examine the reasons for, and the effects of, changes in family size over the past 100 years or so. (24 marks) 1 0 Using material from Item 2B and elsewhere, assess sociological views of the impact of government policies and laws on family life. Item 2A Over the past 40 years or so, there has been a decline in the...
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...SCLY1 (Old Specification) Past Exam Questions Although June 2016 will be a new specification and exam structure much of the material you have learnt in families and households applies to the new exam. Below are examples of questions taken from the old exam papers that you should practice writing plans for as they are still relevant. However there are a few key differences: * The question you will answer will be worth 20 marks not 24 marks. * You will have 30 minutes to write a 20 mark answer. * The essays will consist 4 paragraphs and a conclusion containing new information. How to use this document: * Use the extract from the mark scheme and examiners’ advice to create essay plans of the questions. * You may not have heard of all of the concepts in the mark scheme but there should be at least some that are familiar to you. * The examiner’s advice usually outlines bad, moderate and good answers to the question so pick out the ways in which you can achieve top band and incorporate this into your plan. June 2015 Examine the impact of government policies and laws on family life. [24 marks] From the mark scheme: Concepts and issues such as the following may appear: patriarchy; familism; surveillance; ideological control; gender regimes; marital breakdown; family structure; family diversity; welfare dependency; underclass; reserve army of labour Policies/laws on abortion; divorce; contraception; reproductive technology; marriage; adoption; pensions; benefits; taxes;...
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...“Assess the usefulness of consensus theories such as functionalism, to our understanding of contemporary society”. Functionalism is a structural consensus theory; it explains society in its totality, and assumes that the social world exists in a state of harmony. For functionalists such as Durkheim, society is a living, external organism, and its existence precedes its members; “society makes man (or woman)” in other words. Such a view of society has been massively useful for understanding the world we live in on a macro scale, and the fundamental propositions of the likes of Durkheim and Parsons constitute a huge area of contemporary sociological thought, specifically for the political and sociological right. However, it is clear that functionalism is no longer “in vogue”, and many actually see it as outdated and out of fashion, as its utility has been limited by a number of damaging criticisms and challenges from other sociological theories. Nevertheless, it has paved the way for much sociological research and continues to provide a useful explanation of society. In essence, functionalists see society as a “body”, which is composed of many different “organs” (institutions) which all functions together for the benefit of the whole. The social anthropologist Radcliffe-Brown for example, proposed that individuals are organised into society just as cells are organised into a body. Individual cells may die, but they are replaced and the body lives on, just as individual members...
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...‘Assess’ Essay Planning Sheet Name: Essay Title: Assess the view that, in today’s society, the family is losing its functions (24 marks) | Underline or highlight the key concepts, terms and instructions, by identifying these key elements it will allow you to focus on answering the question. It is important to use relevant sociological terminology within the context of you essay. List the key sociological terms that will be appropriate for this essay. Industrial family, pre-industrial family, unit of production, unit of consumption, nuclear family, lone parent family, social policies, state intervention, symmetrical family, privatised, joint and segregated conjugal roles, commercialisation of housework | IntroductionSignpost to the question and clearly explain the key concepts /terms of the question | Functionalists such as Murdock and Parsons say that the family is losing its functions; they, and other functionalists, see the family as a particularly important, basic building block within society. Murdock argues that the family only performs four essential functions to meet the needs of society, whereas Parsons states that the functions that a family performs depends upon the kind of society in which it is found. | Paragraph 1PointThe point must be appropriate in answering the question. | The traditional pre-industrial family is seen to be the extended family, where there are three generations of the family...
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...Introduction We all have our own views on what we believe to be family, whether it be the traditional mother, father and children form or the contrasting; two parents of the same sex and adopted children, we all probably would agree that a family consists of people that love each other and adults that rear and prepare children ready for adult life within society. As members of society we have our own individual views as to what constitutes as family, so do sociologists. In this report I will assess the functionalist's sociological theories of the family and introduce other perspectives on the family and show how they differ from the Functionalist perspective, I will concentrate on the conflicting theories of Feminists, Marxists and Postmodernists. Functionalist Perspective Functionalism theory suggests that there is a specific pattern of family organisation corresponding to different types of society. Therefore suggesting there is a particular family form that best suits the conditions of industrial society. Functionalist's believe that the nuclear family replaced the extended families because of industrialisation. Parson claim's the nuclear family is crucial in relation to the socialisation of the young and stabilisation of adult personalities. G P Murdock says: “The family is a social group characterised by common residence, economic co-operation and reproduction. It includes adults of both sexes, at least two of whom maintain a socially approved sexual relationship...
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...Assess the contribution of functionalism to our understanding of society. (33) Functionalism is a consensus theory. It sees society as based on agreement among people about values, goals and rules in society. The job of the family is primary socialization. The family introduces norms and values to children, who carry these on to later years, where they are reinforced by religion and education. These norms and values allow people to move up the social hierarchy. For example, children are taught to conform by the family and education, which allows them to conform to the rules of wider society and become aware of what, is socially acceptable. Education also trains by teaching the skills needed for later life, for example punctuality, and interview skills. Unlike conflict structuralism, functionalists believe that society is based on merit, and those who work the hardest will be the ones to make it to the top, ensuring jobs are filled by those most capable, with the required skills. Those who don't work, will stay at the bottom of the hierarchy, and carry out the more menial, but equally essential jobs. In sociological research, functional prerequisites are the basic needs (food, shelter, clothing, and money) that an individual requires to live above the poverty line. Functional prerequisites may also refer to the factors that allow a society to maintain social order. A key functionalist is Talcott Parsons; he saw society as working like a human body, arguing that institutions...
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...|Current Grade |Target Grade |Lates |Attendance | |September | | | | | |November | | | | | |January | | | | | |March | | | | | |May | | | | | | |Families |Education | |UMS | | | |Grade | | | | |Handed in on |Mark |Grade |What is the target for my next piece of work? |Above/ On/ Under Target | |Assessment/Homework |time? | | | |Grade...
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...Unit 7- sociological perspectives for health and social care P1 – Explain the principal sociological perspectives Sociological Perspectives | Main Points | Criticisms | Functionalism | Functionalist believe that just as the body functions through the efficient interrelationship of major organs and has disease, so the different institutions in society each have particular contributions to make. They work together and use methods of social control to deal with deviant members or groups, to ensure that society functions smoothly. Parsons (1902-1979) saw society as a system made up of interrelated institutions, which contributed to its smooth running and continuity. He thought that the main role of an institution is to socialise individuals and ensure that they understood the underlying values of their society and behave in acceptable ways. Murdock(1897-1985) did a study of the family, examined over 250 societies and concluded that in all societies the family performed 4 functions: * Sexual function which was allowed for the expression of sexuality in an approved context * Reproductive function which provided stability for the rearing children * Socialisation included the responsibility of teaching children the acceptable ways of behaving in society * Economic function meant that food, shelter, and financial security had to be provided for the family membersParsons(1951) argued that the family had only two basic functions which were: * The primary socialisation of children...
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...Assess the relationship between Social Policy and Sociology. (33 Marks) Sociology is a subject that wants to study and understand society. Social policy or otherwise known as the law comes from research completed by sociologists, which is then proposed to the government. Social policy can be seen to change social problems such as the economy. Peter Worsley describes a social problem as “some piece of social behaviour that causes public friction”. For example poverty, educational under-achievement, and divorce can be seen as social problems that the government may be forced to tackle with social policies. Worsley thinks that a sociological problem is “ any pattern of relationships that calls for explanation”, meaning any piece of behaviour that we want to make sense of. For example why some families are richer than others? , Why people commit crime? Or why couples remain happily married? George Simmel was intrigued about the characteristics present in all social relationships and their different settings, be it in an office, in the family home or on a busy street. However many sociologists are interested in solving social problems through their research. They will conduct their research so it is aimed at the social problem they are most interested about. Government departments such as home office employ many sociologists. They will often have a direct input into making social policies. However sometimes sociological research does not effect social polices, and there are a number...
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...Assess sociological explanations of the nature and extent of family diversity today. Family diversity is the theory that there are many different family types, rather than the nuclear family being the dominant type. However there are many different sociological explanations and two different conflicting views. The modernist view, and the postmodernist view. For example New Right sociologists believe that the nuclear family is the bedrock of society, and is the natural family, unlike lone-parent families which are consider unnatural and harmful as they believe that mothers cannot discipline children. This leads on to the theory that marriage is essential in the socialisation of children. They also believe that traditional roles have been undermined by divorce legislation and welfare benefits. New Right sociologist think that many social problems, such as high crime rates, are caused by the decline in nuclear families. However there are many criticisms of this, such as Oakley who believes that this view is a negative view against the feminist campaign for women's equality. New Right sociologists also fail to recognise unequal relationships in families. Another modernist view is that of Chester and his neo-conventional theory. Chester sees a shift from the conventional nuclear family to the neo-conventional family where both spouses play a bread winner role. A neo-conventional family is a dual-earner family. Chester also recognises that there has been an increase of family...
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...Assess the contribution of Functionalism theories. (33 marks) Functionalism, devised by Durkheim and Parsons, is a structural theory focusing on the needs of the whole social system and how these shape society’s main features, for example social institutions and humans’ behavioural patterns. The theory is a consensus theory in which views society as based on value consensus (agreement) between its inhabitants about their values, goals and rules. Durkheim saw modern industrial society as based on a complex division of labour which promotes differences between groups, weakening social solidarity. He argued that the resultant freedom to the individual must be regulated by society to prevent extreme egoism from destroying all social bonds. Essentially, he saw society as external and independent to individuals, being made up of ‘social facts’ that constrain and shape people’s behaviour to meet society’s functional prerequisites (needs). Durkheim further believed that if any one thing (‘social fact’) exists, it has a function which will help meet society’s needs, the key ones of which are goals (met through political institutions, e.g. parliament), adaptation (meeting members’ material needs, e.g. through the economy), integration (socialising members into the shared values and goals of society, e.g. through education and the media) and latency (maintaining society through reproduction of its members). Functionalists describe society using an organic analogy and compare it...
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...Assess the contribution of functionalist sociologists to our understanding of the family (24 marks) Functionalists employ the idea of the nuclear family being the main universal family in society and most benefitting. The nuclear family functions to meet the pro dominant means of society (sexual reproduction, educational and economic functions). The family allows each member of the family to shine individually and enjoy success. The functionalist sociologist Murdock believed that the nuclear family is found in every society because it performs four main functions that are essential to the existence of society and no other institution can perform. The four are reproductive, sexual, educational and economic. He said that the reproductive function was vital because it was vital for society to survive; he saw the family as the best place for reproduction to take place. Similarly, he believed that the sexual function should take place within the family, because if sex is controlled by keeping it in the family it helps maintain stability and it binds the couple together rather than having a free for all. Murdock saw education as an important function for the family. The family socialises children into society’s values and norms. The final function that Murdock identified was the economic one. The family provides for its members’ basic needs such as food and shelter. There are other sociologists who have criticised Murdock’s views of the family. He sees the family as only nuclear...
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...Unit 7: Sociological perspectives for Health and Social Care Explain the principle sociological perspectives In this section of my assignment I will be discussing some sociological perspectives, which are: * Marxism * Functionalist * Internationalism * Postmodernism But firstly, what is social structure? Social structure is split into different institutions. Social institutions Social institutions Work Work The political system The political system The economy The economy The education system The education system Religious instruction Religious instruction Socialisation is a key sociological perspective. Primary socialisation is from what your parents learn you, we also learn our behaviours from others. Socialisation refers to learning the norms, values beliefs, roles, stats and more. Marxism perspective: Marxists believe that society is based on conflict between the upper class (bourgeoisie) and the working class (proletariat). Marxists also believe that to end this in society you need a revolution. We live in a capitalist society. A capitalist society is a society that is built upon a quest for maximum amount of money; people who have a lot of money will have the most power. Marxists sees this as an evil society and it must come to an end. Karl Marx’s perspective could be argued that his idea is outdated and was writing when workers had no power or right but nowadays workers have a lot of different legal rights and have more...
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...Crime and Deviance exam questions Crime questions – Qu. 1 & 2 – both worth 21 marks.You should spend 30 minutes on each question and each should have a traditional essay structure (include an introduction and a conclusion, at least two sides of the argument, two or more theories, relevant studies and as much evaluation as you can cram in!). You also need to show ‘conceptual confidence’ – this just means that you should make it clear to the examiner that you know and understand the important concepts, e.g. anomie, relative deprivation.Make sure you make reference to the item – both essay questions will have their own item. You can often use the information in the item as a springboard into the essay in the introduction. However, you will be penalised for ‘overuse of the item’, so don’t just copy it out. You can use short quotes or statistics from the item though. | Question: | What to include: | Assess the view that ethnic differences in crime rates are the result of the ways in which the criminal justice system operates. | This question is essentially about the presence (or not) of institutional racism in the police, courts and penal system. You will need to compare the importance of this as opposed to explanations that argue that ethnic minorities do commit more crime - either as a result of relative deprivation (left realism) or poor upbringing, absent fathers, etc (new right). * Try to include some stats, reference to patterns of offending, stop and search...
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...ed however that religion does in fact cause social change. Yet some believe that religion can be both a conservative force and a force for social change. Max Weber believed in the social action theory, where religious beliefs of Calvinists helped to bring about social change. This is supported in item A ‘religious ideas can be a powerful motivation for change, as Weber showed in his study of Calvinism.’ The emergence of modern capitalism in Northern Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries was due to Calvinist beliefs. Calvinists had several distinctive beliefs. Predestination, where god had predetermined whether a soul will be saved or not and there is nothing you can do to change this. Devine transcendence, no individual can claim to know god’s ill, which made people feel inner loneliness and ‘salvation panic’. Asceticism, abstinence, self-discipline and self-denial were required by Calvinist’s and prepared them for a life under capitalism. Vocation or calling, Calvinist’s introduced the idea of this worldly asceticism, which meant constant methodical work in occupation and was a religious duty. Again preparing people of life under capitalism as it requires hard work. Weber did not say that Calvinism was the cause of modern capitalism, but that it was one of the causes. Weber’s theory is often seen as a direct assault on Marx’s theory. Bruce was interested in the relationship between religion and social change he compaired two examples of religiously inspired protests...
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