Sociology paper 1

• Family

  All the people who are related to you and to each other either through blood, marriage or adoption
• Household


  One person or any group of people who live together
• Families are a type of household
• Family types

  • Nuclear family
  • Extended family
  • Cohabitation
  • Reconstituted family
  • Lone parent family
  • Same sex family
• Nuclear family


  Traditionally made up of a mother, father and dependent children
• Extended family


  Has relatives other than the nuclear family living together or nearby
• Vertically extended family

  3 or more generations living together or nearby
• Horizontally extended family


  2 generations with relatives other than the immediate family living together or nearby
• Beanpole family


  Vertically extended family with up to 4 generations living together or nearby, but with few children
• Modified extended family


  Does not live together or close by but keeps in contact through visits and technology
• Cohabitation

  Living together without being married
• Reconstituted family


  After divorce, individuals remarry and have formed families with step parents and step children
• Lone parent family


  Has just one parent with their child or children
• Same-sex family

  Has a gay or lesbian couple who live together with their child or children
• Murdock's view of the family


  • Fulfils four key functions: sexual, reproductive, economic, and educational
• Parsons' view of the family

  • Has two functions: primary socialisation of children and stabilisation of adult personalities
• Parsons says the family acts like a warm bath for the man, relieving the pressure of everyday life and work
• The family benefits capitalism

  By producing the regeneration of obedient workers
• The family benefits men

  By oppressing and controlling females by expecting them to do the majority of housework and childcare
• Polygamy


  When one partner is legally allowed to marry several partners at the same time
• Polygyny


  Where a man has multiple wives
• Polyandry

  Where a woman has multiple husbands
• Monogamy


  Only having one marriage partner at a time
• Serial monogamy


  Where someone gets divorced and remarried multiple times over the course of their life
• Arranged marriage


  The couple's family and friends often match them up, and it is hoped love will develop over time
• Arranged marriage is not the same as a forced marriage, as in an arranged marriage either of the couple can say no at any time
• One-child policy

  Introduced by the Chinese Government in 1979 to try to slow population growth, ended in 2015 due to social problems
• Traditionally marriage was a vitally important step in someone's life, living with a partner without being married was seen as "living in sin"
• Cohabitation has become increasingly socially acceptable, by 2014 cohabiting couples accounted for 18.4% of all families
• The average age at marriage is going up, in 1972 the average was 24.9 years for men and 22.9 years for women, in 2012 it was 32.4 years for men and 30.3 years for women
• Reasons for people marrying later include increased social acceptability of cohabitation and being single, economic changes giving women greater independence and the high cost of weddings
• Historically being single was seen negatively, particularly for women who would be described as "left on the shelf"
• Contraception made it easier for men and women to have sexual relationships outside of marriage without the risk of pregnancy
• Women have more opportunities to be financially independent these days, so they no longer need to rely on a male relative to support them
• Traditionally children were an economic benefit to their family, bringing in more money through work than they cost
• Aries argued that there was no childhood and that historically children were just mini-adults
• As time has gone on, childhood has been "Socially constructed" (created by society)
• Families have gone from being Patriarchal (based around the father's needs) to child centric (based around the needs of the children)
• The Rapoports found that families in Britain were becoming more diverse (different)
• Chester disagrees, saying that most people still do get married, even people who get divorced often remarry, and the nuclear family is the family type most people aspire to