Families and Relationships | OCR A-Level Sociology (H580)
Families and Relationships
- 103 questions
- 8 subtopics
- Component 01: Socialisation, culture and identity
- Component 01
Families and Relationships is examined on component 01 of OCR Sociology, Socialisation, culture and identity.
It is one of the three Section B options on that paper, of which a student sits one. 103 recall questions across 8 subtopics.
Sample questions from Families and Relationships
Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.
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Family types and trends in marriage, divorce and cohabitation
What is a reconstituted family?
Show the answer
A reconstituted or step family is formed when partners bring children from a previous relationship into a new household, so at least one adult is a step parent. -
Demographic change, family diversity and newer family types
What is meant by an ageing population?
Show the answer
It is a population in which the average age is rising and older people make up a growing share of the total, caused by increased life expectancy combined with a falling birth rate. -
Nuclear family ideology, functionalism and the New Right
State the two 'irreducible functions' Talcott Parsons attributed to the family.
Show the answer
Parsons argued the family exists to carry out the primary socialisation of children and the stabilisation of adult personalities. -
Marxist, feminist and postmodern views and the diversity debate
What is the radical feminist analysis of the family?
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Radical feminists such as Delphy and Leonard see the family as the key institution of patriarchy, in which men benefit from women's unpaid labour and emotional servicing; Germaine Greer argues women would be better served by female-centred households. -
Conjugal roles and the domestic division of labour
What did Young and Willmott mean by the symmetrical family?
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They argued the modern family had reached a stage in which the roles of husband and wife, while not identical, had become more similar: both did paid work, both shared housework and childcare, and leisure was spent together in the home. -
Power, the dark side of the family and theories of partner roles
Define coercive control.
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Coercive control is a pattern of intimidation, isolation, surveillance and financial restriction used to dominate a partner, and it is recognised as domestic abuse even where there is no physical violence. -
The child-centred family, views of childhood and its extension
What is the 'march of progress' view of childhood?
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It holds that the position of children has steadily improved: children today are better fed, better educated, legally protected and more valued than in the past, and family life is organised around them. -
Parent-child power, grandparents in an ageing population and feminist views
How has the ageing population changed the role of grandparents?
Show the answer
Grandparents now live longer and are more likely to be active in their grandchildren's lives, frequently providing regular unpaid childcare that allows parents, especially mothers, to work.
The 8 subtopics
One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.
| Subtopic | What it covers | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Family types and trends in marriage, divorce and cohabitation | Recall questions on the difference between a family and a household, nuclear, extended, lone parent, reconstituted and same-sex families and non-family households, and the trends in and reasons for marriage, divorce and cohabitation, including legal change and Fletcher's optimistic view of rising divorce. | 14 |
| Demographic change, family diversity and newer family types | Recall questions on demographic change in the birth rate, family size, age at first marriage, age of childbearing and the ageing population, how class and ethnicity shape family diversity with Ballard, Weeks's families of choice, living apart together, beanpole and boomerang families, and the reasons for growing family diversity. | 12 |
| Nuclear family ideology, functionalism and the New Right | Recall questions on the ideology of the nuclear family and Leach's cereal packet image, functionalist views of the family from Murdock and Parsons, including the warm bath, functional fit and loss of functions, the New Right view and Murray on welfare, and criticisms of both positions. | 11 |
| Marxist, feminist and postmodern views and the diversity debate | Recall questions on Marxist views of the family from Engels and Zaretsky, liberal, Marxist, radical and difference feminism, postmodern views of diversity with Stacey and Giddens's pure relationship, Chester's neo-conventional family, the Rapoports' five types of diversity, consensus and conflict views, and the family as social control. | 15 |
| Conjugal roles and the domestic division of labour | Recall questions on conjugal roles and Bott's segregated and joint roles, Parsons's instrumental and expressive roles, the domestic division of labour, Young and Willmott's symmetrical family and stratified diffusion, Oakley's challenge, the dual burden and triple shift, Gershuny's lagged adaptation, material and cultural explanations, and the commercialisation of housework. | 13 |
| Power, the dark side of the family and theories of partner roles | Recall questions on power between partners, including Edgell on decision-making and the allowance and pooling systems, the dark side of the family, coercive control, Dobash and Dobash and Marxist accounts of domestic violence, Leach and Laing and Cooper, and functionalist, Marxist and feminist approaches to roles between partners. | 13 |
| The child-centred family, views of childhood and its extension | Recall questions on the child-centred family and the reasons for its growth, Aries on the social construction of childhood, the march of progress view, Palmer's toxic childhood, child liberationists such as Firestone and Holt, the extension of childhood through law, policy and the labour market, and Postman's disappearance of childhood. | 10 |
| Parent-child power, grandparents in an ageing population and feminist views | Recall questions on power between parents and children, including Gittins's age patriarchy and Hockey and James on resisting adult control, how the ageing population changes grandparents' roles, beanpole families and the sandwich generation, and feminist views of caring, grandparenting, parenting, Oakley's gender socialisation and family policy. | 15 |
How the guide is worked
Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.
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Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
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Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
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Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.
Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.
Nearby topics
OCR A-Level Sociology Active Recall Guide
Every topic, not just this one. 859 questions with their answers.