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Questions for Coffee Signatures

Given that:

AO1: Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of: sociological theories, concepts and evidence

AO2: Apply sociological theories, concepts, evidence and research methods to a range of issues

AO3: Analyse and evaluate sociological theories, concepts, evidence and research methods in order to:

• present arguments
• make judgements
• draw conclusions.
• 
  

(also, check out this information at the blue links...)

Slideshare        Have a look inside AQA AS Sociology Student Unit Guide

                               New Edition: Unit 1 Families and Households

Identify AO1 and AO2 in the following.  Copy and paste the text and highlight AO1 and AO2.


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.

Thank you to Hodder Sociology Workbook: Families and Households for this example.