Families key words

Adolescence

The period of time between childhood and adulthood

Agency of socialisation

A social institution which socialises people, for example, the family, education, the mass media or religion.

Arranged marriage

A marriage in which the parents have a say in the choice of bride or groom for their son or daughter.

Attitude survey

A social survey that measures respondents’ views and thoughts on a particular issue/ issues

Bias

Being one-sided rather than neutral or open-minded. Bias can operate either in favour of or against an idea, group or point of view

Bigamy

The offence of getting married to someone whilst already married to someone else.

Blended / reconstituted / reconstructed family

A blended family has parents and children from more than one relationship in it.

Canalisation

The way in which parents can channel children into certain directions

Case study

A detailed study of a particular institution e.g. family

Census

A questionnaire survey conducted every 10 years to collect information in the UK on the whole population

Child rearing

Bringing up children

Childhood

The period of time in a person’s life between birth and becoming an adult

Class deal (in relation to working-class women)

A deal that offers women material rewards such as consumer goods in return for working for a wage

Closed question

A fixed choice question that requires the respondent to choose between a number of given answers

Cohabitation

partners living together without being married

commune

a group of people who live together and share possessions, wealth and property

a small community whose members share in the ownership of property and the division of labour

competition

striving to gain or win something by defeating or establishing superiority over others

confidentiality

an agreement to keep information about a participant private. it will only be accessed by the people who have authority to access it

conformity

behaviour that complies with or follows society’s norms and values

conjugal relationships

the relationship between a married or cohabiting couple

conjugal role

the domestic roles of married or cohabiting partners

consensus

a broad agreement of norms and values

content analysis

the analysis of documents and images (eg media products) by creating a set of categories, coding sections of the content according to those categories and then counting the number of times a theme appears

continuity

lack of social change; social structures, values, norms, attitudes, behaviours and so on keep the same over time

conventional family

a traditional nuclear family containing a married couple and their children who live together

covert observation

the researcher observes activities in order to study it but without informing its members that they are doing the research

crisis of masculinity

the idea that males see their traditional masculine identity as under threat today. eg they no longer have a clear cut role in society

data

information collected and analysed during a research process

data analysis

interpreting or making sense of the information collected during research and summarising the main findings or results

data protection

research participants who are identifiable within the data held by researchers have legal protection and can ask to see the data

dependent family members

family members who depend on others within the family due to their age or lack of money. dependent children = 0 to 15 years, or 16 to 18 if in full time education

discrimination

less favourable or unfair treatment based on an individual’s age, gender, ethnicity, or class

divorce

The legal end of a marriage

domestic division of labour

housework, or unpaid work in the home and how it is divided between men and women

double shift (women in marriage)

married or cohabiting women who work two shifts by doing a paid job and also most of the housework and caring for the family

double standards (as applied to the behaviour of men and women in society)

a rule or code of behaviour that is unfairly applied to one group (eg women) and not another (eg men). for example, the norms surrounding sexual behaviour allow men more freedom

dual career family

a family where two adults have careers

dysfunctional families

a family where the functions such as providing emotional support are not being carried out. they include social problems such as domestic violence or child abuse

economic function (of families)

from a functionalist approach, this is the function that the family carries out by providing its members with financial support, food and shelter.

from a marxist approach, the family has an economic function under capitalism because women, as housewives and mothers, carry out domestic labour (childrearing, cleaning) that benefits the capitalist society.

economy

a system by which goods and services are produced, distributed and consumed in a region or country. eg capitalism and socialism

egalitarian

based on the idea that people are equal

empty nest family

a family consisting of a mature couple who live together after the children have left home

empty shell marriage

when a couple are still married and live in the same house but lead separate lives

ethical considerations

issues such as informed consent and confidentiality that sociologists must consider in order to conduct morally acceptable researche

ethnic diversity

having a range of different ethnic groups in a society

ethnic group

a social group whose members share an identity based on their cultural traditions or cultural characteristics such as religion or language

Britain has a wide range: Indian, African

ethnic minority

a group within a community which has different national or cultural traditions from the main population

ethnicity

cultural traditions, norms and values that distinguish the members of a particular social group from other cultures

ethnography

the study of people’s cultures and practices in everyday settings

expectations

hopes or beliefs about what something will be like

eg what marriage will be or should be like

expressive role

the caring, emotional and nurturing role in the family

Parsons sees this as the woman’s natural role in the family

extended family

a family composed of the nuclear family and other relatives

family

a group of people to whom you feel related by ties of blood or marriage

family diversity

the idea that there are many different types of family structure

feminism

a movement that fights for gender equality in society. feminists want equality in the power, status and rights of women and men in society

feminists

sociologists who explore how gender operates in society and wants gender equality

focus group

a type of group interview that focuses on one particular topic. it explores how people interact within the group and how they respond to each others views

functionalism

an approach that seeks to explain the existence of social structures (education, religion) in terms of the functions or by the roles they perform in or for society

functionalists

a person who believes in functionalism

functionally important roles

key positions in society that provide essential functions and services and ensures societies survival over time

gender

these are the social rules and ways of acting in all societies, which are based upon whether you are male or female.

sex is biological; gender depends on your society

gender deal (in relation to working class women)

a ‘deal’ that offers women emotional and material rewards in return for living with a male breadwinner in the family

gender roles

the behaviour of people expected for their gender and associated with masculinity and femininity

glass ceiling (in relation to women in employment)

an invisible barrier to promotion faced by some groups including women

hypothesis

a prediction that can be tested and either supported or refused

idealisation

the representation of the traditional nuclear family as the ideal type of family

image

a representation or picture of a particular social group as presented

for example in the mass media. media images of some groups are distorted

immigrant

a person who has migrated to another country in order to live and work there

immigration

the process of moving to another country in order to live and work there

income

the flow of resources that individuals and households receive over a specified period of time. income may be received in cash or in kind (eg petrol allowance)

informed consent

the research participant agrees to take part in the research once the sociologist has explained fully what the research is about and why it is being carried out

instrumental role

the breadwinner role in the family

Parsons sees this as the male’s role in the family

integrated conjugal roles

husband and wife perform similar tasks and have a number of common interests and activities

interactionism

theory that focuses on how people interact on a daily basis

interactionists describe social reality by interpreting the feelings and actions of the people involved

intergenerational

between generations

interview

a method used to collect data where an interviewer asks questions and the interviewee responds

isolation (social and family)

the idea that the nuclear family has become more isolated or separated from the wider family

kibbutz

a collective community in Israel

kin

relatives

kinship

our sense of family relationships and duties

life chances

the opportunities that present themselves to people. an individual’s chances of achieving positive or negative outcomes (eg health, education, housing) as they progress through life

life expectancy

the average number of years a new born baby may be expected to live

lifestyle

the way in which people live including their leisure and work patterns. lifestyle is influenced by factors such as religion, age, income and social class

lone parent family

person bringing up his or her children without a partner to support him or her

longitudinal study

a study of the same group of people conducted over a long period of time. after the initial survey or interview has taken place, follow up surveys or interviews are carried out at intervals over a number of years

male domination (of society)

the exercise of power and control by men over women in society

marriage

a legally recognised union of a man and woman by religious or civil ceremony

marxism

a form of sociology based on the idea that rich people dominate poorer people. they are able to do it in such a way that poor people do not recognise what is happening to them

marxist

someone who believes in marxism

mass media

forms of communication (media) that reach large mass audiences, including newspapers, magazines, books, TV, cinema and internet

matriarch

a woman who holds power and authority

matriarchal family

a family where the woman holds power and authority

middle class

a social class made up of people who work in non-manual, managerial and professional occupations

mixed methods research

the use of different methods within one project to generate both qualitative and quantitative data

monogamy

the practice of being married to only one person at a time

new man

a caring, sharing man who rejects sexist attitudes, believes in gender equality and puts this into practice by sharing domestic tasks and childcare

news value

media professionals ideas about what issues and personalities are seen as newsworthy, topical or important

new right

set of political views associated with extreme conservatism and the politics of Margaret Thatcher who was elected Prime Minister in 1979. it emphasised traditional values. it blames society’s problems on the breakdown of the nuclear family

neo-conventional family

the new nuclear family headed by a married or cohabiting couple who are both working

non-participant observation

a research method in which a sociologist observes the group being studied but does not take part