TOPIC 1 / Functionalist and New Right views of the family

WORKBOOK ANSWERS

AQA AS Sociology Unit 1

Families and Households

This Answers book provides some possible answers that might be given for the questions asked in the workbook. They are not exhaustive and other answers may well be acceptable, but they are intended as a guide to give teachers and students feedback.

The responses for the longer essay-style questions are intended to give some idea about how the exam questions might be answered. Again, these are not the only ways to answer such questions but they can be treated as one way of approaching questions of these types.

Topic 1 Functionalist and New Right views of
the family

How have functionalist and New Right thinkers explained family life and the relationship between families and social change?

1The organic analogy refers to the extended comparison made by functionalists between the human or other living body and society, with the organs of the body equivalent to institutions and structures in society.

2Primary socialisation refers to the first and most important stage of the socialisation process by which young children absorb the norms and values of their culture, mainly from their parents.

Note: make sure your answer explains both ‘primary’ and ‘socialisation’.

3One way in which the nuclear family is more suited than other types of family to modern industrial society is that it allows for geographical mobility; it is easier to move a nuclear family to a new area for, say, a new job than to move an extended family. A second way is that the division of roles by gender means that the male breadwinner can work long hours in a workplace while his wife cares for the children and home.

Note: the word ‘suggest’ in the question indicates that you do not have to provide evidence that your answers are correct. There will be more than two possible answers.

4One change that New Right thinkers would see as undermining the traditional nuclear family is the growth of cohabitation (living with a partner outside marriage) because the bond between the two adults is not as strong as it would be if they were married. A second change is the growth of lone parent families; they are seen by the New Right as less effective than the nuclear family in socialising children because the lone parent has to try to carry out both the instrumental and expressive roles. Finally, the New Right would see the increase in the number of mothers of young children in full-time work as threatening the nuclear family because they would doubt that these mothers could fulfil the expressive role well enough for the wellbeing of the children.

Note: there are many possible answers, including:

  • higher divorce and separation rates
  • increasing number of births outside marriage
  • number of children not being raised by their biological parents
  • same-sex couples raising children

It is not necessary to explain your answers (because the question doesn’t tell you to do this) but to do so can help you to be sure that your answer is right and to convince an examiner that your arguments are tenable. Be careful though not to write too much — you have other questions to answer.

5This is not an exam-style question; it is included here to get you to think about the theoretical perspectives, not only in terms of what they say but why they should do so. This helps you to practise the skill of analysis. Points you could make include:

  • Belief that the nuclear family is the type of family that provides greatest stability both to families and their members, and to society as a whole.
  • This can be used to show how the New Right share some of the assumptions of functionalists.
  • Belief that the instrumental and expressive roles suit the natures of males and females respectively.
  • Belief that the nuclear family is essential for socialisation and so for society’s survival.
  • Concern that changes in families and relationships are undermining the nuclear family.
  • Belief that society was more stable during the ‘golden age’ of the nuclear family and that social problems such as rising crime are associated with the decline of the nuclear family.
  • Research evidence supporting these claims.

Exam-style short essay questions

Note: there are two types of 24-mark questions in the exam. After the 2, 4 and 6-mark questions, the next question, carrying 24 marks, will normally use the word ‘examine’. For this type of question, there are 14 marks available for AO1 (knowledge and understanding) and 10 marks for AO2 (interpretation, application, analysis and evaluation). For the fifth and final question, also carrying 24 marks, you will be asked to ‘assess’. You will be able to draw on some material from the item for this question; it will contain wording such as ‘Using material from the item and elsewhere...’ For this type of question, there are only 10 marks available for AO1 (knowledge and understanding) with 14 marks for AO2 (interpretation, application, analysis and evaluation). Both questions require both AOs to be demonstrated, therefore, but the balance of marks is different.

It is good practice in both types of question to refer to a number of studies or research findings. For ‘assess’ questions it is essential to consider different points of view or explanations, which will almost always involve using the theoretical perspectives.

0114 marks for AO1, 10 for AO2

Good answers will show knowledge and understanding of both the functionalist and New Right approaches and will be able to explain several similarities and differences.

Points that could be made in an answer to this question include:

  • Similarities: both approaches see the conventional nuclear family, and the gender division of roles associated with it, as desirable, and based on human nature.
  • The conventional nuclear family is seen as essential to the stable, ordered nature of society, particularly because it is where primary socialisation happens.
  • Moving away from this type of family runs risks of social breakdown and disorder.
  • Both approaches can be seen as ignoring or downplaying both the negative aspects of the conventional nuclear family and the evidence that other types of family can be successful.
  • Differences: the functionalist approach is from the early- to mid-twentieth century, when the nuclear family was assumed to be widespread; the New Right approach dates from the more recent period when the nuclear family was seen as under threat or in decline.
  • The New Right approach is therefore concerned with trying to return to a supposed ‘golden age’ of the conventional nuclear family around the 1950s; other approaches, such as feminism, would see the idea of a ‘golden age’ as a myth for which functionalism is partly responsible.
  • While functionalists were most interested in how the nuclear family carried out its functions, the New Right are more concerned with other types of family, such as lone parent families, and how these allegedly fail to carry out the necessary functions.

0210 marks for AO1, 14 marks for AO2

Suggested answer:

The functionalist approach to studying families was the dominant theoretical perspective for much of the twentieth century. Functionalism suggests that the family can be seen as one essential part of society that contributes to the overall wellbeing of the whole, rather as different organs of the body work together to keep a person healthy (the ‘organic analogy’). Different functionalist writers have suggested different functions; for example Talcott Parsons argued that the nuclear family in modern industrial society has two essential functions, primary socialisation of children and stabilisation of adult personalities. Each society in this view will have the type of family best suited to it; in the medieval period, extended families were more common because they could fulfil functions such as caring for the sick and elderly which the state had not then taken on.

One advantage of this approach is that it draws attention to the many positive aspects of family life, fitting in with many people’s experience and expectation of the family as a haven, where they are safe and cared for. There are, however, several problems with this approach. One is that it is very much focused on the conventional nuclear family, with its associated gender roles, as essential in modern industrial society. Sociology has since moved on, adapting to changes in society by focusing on families (a diverse range of families) rather than ‘the family’. The functionalist approach is also one that is based on structure — people seem to have to fit into a set role in a set type of family. More recently, interactionist and other approaches have been more interested in the ways in which people actively create and negotiate their own roles and identities within families.

Functionalism emphasised the positive aspects of nuclear families; from the 1960s onwards feminist and other approaches increasingly drew attention to the negative aspects or ‘dark side’ of the conventional nuclear family, domestic violence (researched by Dobash and Dobash), the ways that the ‘housewife’ role restricted women’s lives (Ann Oakley) and the ways in which tensions and emotions can build up when the family is privatised and isolated from neighbourhood and wider kin. Feminists particularly criticised the functionalist assumptions about the instrumental and expressive roles being necessary and being ideally suited to males and females respectively. Breaking free from these prescriptions enabled both men and women to live happier lives, without their families becoming dysfunctional, as functionalists would have it.

The functionalist view now looks like an idealised view, taking the most common form of family in the USA in the mid-twentieth century as the best form by ignoring its negative aspects. It is still, however, useful as a corrective to other approaches; the nuclear family remains part of most people’s life course, is what many people aspire to, and is able to carry out important functions.

AQA AS SociologyUnit 1 Families and Households1

Philip Allan, an imprint of Hodder Education© Jonathan Blundell

TOPIC 2 / Alternative views of family

Topic 2 Alternative views of family

How have feminists, Marxists and postmodernists explained family life and the relationship between families and social change?

1When feminists describe the nuclear family as patriarchal they mean that the father/husband is the dominant figure, in a position of power and authority over his wife and children.

2According to Marxists, the nuclear family supports capitalism by allowing men to work long hours in workplaces such as factories, because children and home are the responsibility of the woman carrying out the housewife role. A second way is that it provides for inheritance of private property, with the eldest son inheriting from his father.

3One problem in trying to accurately measure the extent of domestic violence is the identification of victims (and perhaps offenders); it is known that many cases are not reported and so there is no sampling frame that would allow researchers to identify potential respondents.

A second problem is that victims may be unwilling to take part in any research, either because they do not wish to talk about what has happened with a researcher or even possibly because they fear further violence if the offender finds out they have talked about what happened.

Note: questions about research methods are not asked on this paper, but points about the way in which research has been done can be relevant in some essay questions; being aware of methodological issues is an important sociological skill.

4Sociologists tend to refer to ‘feminisms’ rather than ‘feminism’ to show that they recognise that the label ‘feminist’ is very broad and covers a wide range of different emphases and interests. It is conventional to classify feminists as liberal, socialist/Marxist and radical, and other types such as black feminism and post-feminism can also be identified.

Note: this is not an exam-style question, but the answer is important for all areas of sociology, not just families and households. Within other theoretical perspectives also there are significant differences of opinion and emphasis.

Exam-style short essay questions

0114 marks for AO1, 10 for AO2

Points that could be made in an answer to this question include:

  • Feminist concepts such as patriarchy, age patriarchy, the triple burden.
  • Drawing attention to some of the negative aspects of the conventional nuclear family, such as domination by the male, housework as unpaid drudgery, unequal power relationships, abusive and violent relationships, the concept of familial ideology.
  • Correcting the functionalist and New Right approaches which emphasise positive aspects of the nuclear family.
  • Drawing attention to the importance of the female role and to the experiences of women.
  • Recognition of different types of feminism: liberal, Marxist/socialist, radical.
  • Use of more qualitative research methods which draw out personal experiences (e.g. through unstructured interviews) and give more valid data about experiences of family life.

0210 marks for AO1, 14 marks for AO2

Points that could be made in an answer to this question include:

  • Feminist views of the family — including different types of feminism, and using concepts such as patriarchy and the triple burden.
  • Links between families and wider society, including Marxist/socialist feminist views.
  • The housewife role and the ways in which it ‘fitted’ capitalist work practices.
  • The dominance of men within families — power relationships, domestic division of labour, age patriarchy — linked to the dominance of men in society.
  • Alternative views of the main role of families, such as functionalist views on the importance of primary socialisation and the stabilisation of adult personalities.

AQA AS SociologyUnit 1 Families and Households1

Philip Allan, an imprint of Hodder Education© Jonathan Blundell

TOPIC 3 / Families and social policies

Topic 3 Families and social policies

What is the relationship between families and social policies?

1One way in which social policies might affect roles within families is that they might make it easier for women to break away from the expressive role. For example, state-subsidised nursery places have made it possible for women to work while their children are at a nursery.

A second way is that men might be encouraged to take a greater role in the upbringing of their children, for example improved paternity leave provisions give the message that the father’s place is at home as well as at work.

Note: the inclusion of specific examples can help make it clear what you mean.

2The Labour government introduced civil partnerships, giving much greater rights and recognition to homosexual couples who chose to enter a partnership. This recognised that more same-sex couples were choosing to live together but did not until then have rights similar to those of heterosexual couples.

A second Labour policy was that parents were able to ask for flexible working hours; this recognised that in many families both father and mother were sharing the roles and were sometimes finding it difficult to balance work and childcare commitments.

3One policy that can be seen as promoting the traditional nuclear family is the Child Support Agency’s role in ensuring that absent fathers contribute financially to their children’s upbringing, thus fulfilling part of their instrumental role even when not physically present.

Another policy is the setting of school opening hours which do not recognise that both parents may be working full time and are unable to take their children to school or pick them up.

A third policy is tax allowances, which make it financially advantageous for a couple to be married rather than unmarried.

Note: for this question, your answers do not have to be current policies, and you do not need to know details (for example how much the tax allowance might be), although these can be helpful in demonstrating your sociological knowledge. It might be tempting to add a sentence that makes an opposing point (e.g. for the second point, ‘However, more schools now offer breakfast clubs and after-school care...’) but this does not help you answer the question and so will not gain you marks.

4Note: this is not an exam-style question. Use it to test your knowledge of the origins of ‘moral panics’ and related family social policy, and your understanding and correct use of relevant terms.

Points that you could make include:

  • Examples of moral panics: teenage mothers, lone parent families being unable to socialise male children adequately.
  • Make sure that for your examples you have included the resulting social policies as well as the focus of the moral panic.
  • Include and explain the terms ‘folk devil’, ‘deviancy amplification’ and ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’ if appropriate.
  • Explain that moral panics involve media reporting that is exaggerated and predicts growing problems.
  • Show how media reporting influences politicians and others in authority, putting them under pressure to be seen to be doing something.
  • Show how moral panics can often be related to ideological concerns, such as those of the New Right.

Exam-style short essay questions

0114 marks for AO1, 10 for AO2