FAMILIES AND HOUSEHOLDS (AQA
Alevel Sociology) UPDATED Actual Exam
Questions and CORRECT Answers
COUPLES (families and households) - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔
What is the *instrumental* role & who plays this? - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔The
instrumental role is geared towards achieving success at work in order to provide for the
family. This role is played by the husband
What is the *expressive* role & who plays this? - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔The expressive
role is geared towards primary socialisation of the children and meeting the emotional needs
of the family. This role is played by the wife
What does Parsons argue that his view of the division of labour is based on? - CORRECT
ANSWER- ✔✔Biological differences between men and women (women 'naturally' suited to
the nurturing role and men to the provider)
What are the *criticisms* of Parsons' view? - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔- Young and
Willmott (1962) argue that men are now taking greater responsibility for domestic tasks and
more women are becoming wage earners
- Feminists reject Parsons' view that the division of labour is natural & they argue that is only
benefits men
What is meant by *segregated* conjugal roles? - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔Where the
couple have separate roles: a male breadwinner and a female homemaker - as in Parsons'
view. Their leisure activities also tend to be separate
What is meant by *joint* conjugal roles? - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔Where the couple
share tasks such as housework and childcare and spend their leisure time together
What did Young and Willmott find in their study of families in Bethnal Green in the 1950s? -
CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔- That men were the breadwinners who played little part in home
life and spent their leisure time with workmates in pubs.
,- Women were full-time housewives with sole responsibility for housework and childcare,
helped by their female relatives.
- The limited leisure time women had was also spent with female kin
What view do Young and Willmott take of the family? - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔March of
Progress - they see the family as gradually improving for all its members, becoming more
equal and democratic. They argue that there has been a long-term trend away from segregated
conjugal roles and towards joint conjugal roles and the 'symmetrical family'
What are the features of a symmetrical family? - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔- Women go out
to work, although this may be part-time rather than full-time
- Men now help with housework and childcare
- Couples now spend their leisure time together
What do Young and Willmott see as reasons for the rise in the symmetrical family? -
CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔- Changing social position of women
- Geographical mobility (living away from where you grew up)
- New technology (labour-saving devices)
- Higher standards of living
What view to Feminist sociologists take on the family? - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔- They
reject the 'march of progress' view
- They argue that little has changed: men and women remain unequal within the family &
women still do most of the housework
What do Feminists blame for the segregated conjugal roles within the family? - CORRECT
ANSWER- ✔✔They see the inequality as stemming from the fact that the family and society
are patriarchal - women occupy a subordinate and dependent role within the family and wider
society
What did Ann Oakley (1974) find in her own study of the symmetry in families? -
CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔- Only 15% of husbands had a high level of participation in
housework
- Only 25% had a high level of participation in childcare
, What is happening within families for those who follow a *'march of progress'* view? -
CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔Men are becoming more involved in housework and childcare,
just as women are becoming more involved in paid work outside the home
What did the BSA survey in 2013 find in relation to changing attitudes regarding conjugal
roles? - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔- A fall in the number of people who think it is the man's
job to earn money
- A fall in the number of people who think it is the women's job to look after the home and the
family
What is the Feminist view of more women entering paid employment and the impact of this
on the division of labour? - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔- Reject that women going into paid
employment has led to greater equality
- Women now carry a dual burden
What does Arlie Russell Hochschild (2013) mean by *'emotion work'*? - CORRECT
ANSWER- ✔✔Being responsible for managing the emotions and feelings of family members
whilst also controlling their own
What is meant by *the cultural or ideological explanation of inequality* put forward by
Crompton and Lyonette with regards to the division of labour? - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔-
The division of labour is determined by patriarchal norms and values that shape the gender
roles in our culture.
- Women perform more domestic labour simply because that is what society expects them to
do and has socialised them to
What is meant by *the material or economic explanation of inequality* put forward by
Crompton and Lyonette with regards to the division of labour? - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔-
The fact that women generally earn less than men means it is economically rational for
women to do more of the housework and childcare while men spend more of their time
earning money
What must happen from the perspective of the cultural explanation of inequality in order to
achieve equality in the division of labour? - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔A change in the
norms about gender roles - this would involve changes in men and women's attitudes, values
and expectations, role models and socialisation
Alevel Sociology) UPDATED Actual Exam
Questions and CORRECT Answers
COUPLES (families and households) - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔
What is the *instrumental* role & who plays this? - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔The
instrumental role is geared towards achieving success at work in order to provide for the
family. This role is played by the husband
What is the *expressive* role & who plays this? - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔The expressive
role is geared towards primary socialisation of the children and meeting the emotional needs
of the family. This role is played by the wife
What does Parsons argue that his view of the division of labour is based on? - CORRECT
ANSWER- ✔✔Biological differences between men and women (women 'naturally' suited to
the nurturing role and men to the provider)
What are the *criticisms* of Parsons' view? - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔- Young and
Willmott (1962) argue that men are now taking greater responsibility for domestic tasks and
more women are becoming wage earners
- Feminists reject Parsons' view that the division of labour is natural & they argue that is only
benefits men
What is meant by *segregated* conjugal roles? - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔Where the
couple have separate roles: a male breadwinner and a female homemaker - as in Parsons'
view. Their leisure activities also tend to be separate
What is meant by *joint* conjugal roles? - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔Where the couple
share tasks such as housework and childcare and spend their leisure time together
What did Young and Willmott find in their study of families in Bethnal Green in the 1950s? -
CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔- That men were the breadwinners who played little part in home
life and spent their leisure time with workmates in pubs.
,- Women were full-time housewives with sole responsibility for housework and childcare,
helped by their female relatives.
- The limited leisure time women had was also spent with female kin
What view do Young and Willmott take of the family? - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔March of
Progress - they see the family as gradually improving for all its members, becoming more
equal and democratic. They argue that there has been a long-term trend away from segregated
conjugal roles and towards joint conjugal roles and the 'symmetrical family'
What are the features of a symmetrical family? - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔- Women go out
to work, although this may be part-time rather than full-time
- Men now help with housework and childcare
- Couples now spend their leisure time together
What do Young and Willmott see as reasons for the rise in the symmetrical family? -
CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔- Changing social position of women
- Geographical mobility (living away from where you grew up)
- New technology (labour-saving devices)
- Higher standards of living
What view to Feminist sociologists take on the family? - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔- They
reject the 'march of progress' view
- They argue that little has changed: men and women remain unequal within the family &
women still do most of the housework
What do Feminists blame for the segregated conjugal roles within the family? - CORRECT
ANSWER- ✔✔They see the inequality as stemming from the fact that the family and society
are patriarchal - women occupy a subordinate and dependent role within the family and wider
society
What did Ann Oakley (1974) find in her own study of the symmetry in families? -
CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔- Only 15% of husbands had a high level of participation in
housework
- Only 25% had a high level of participation in childcare
, What is happening within families for those who follow a *'march of progress'* view? -
CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔Men are becoming more involved in housework and childcare,
just as women are becoming more involved in paid work outside the home
What did the BSA survey in 2013 find in relation to changing attitudes regarding conjugal
roles? - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔- A fall in the number of people who think it is the man's
job to earn money
- A fall in the number of people who think it is the women's job to look after the home and the
family
What is the Feminist view of more women entering paid employment and the impact of this
on the division of labour? - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔- Reject that women going into paid
employment has led to greater equality
- Women now carry a dual burden
What does Arlie Russell Hochschild (2013) mean by *'emotion work'*? - CORRECT
ANSWER- ✔✔Being responsible for managing the emotions and feelings of family members
whilst also controlling their own
What is meant by *the cultural or ideological explanation of inequality* put forward by
Crompton and Lyonette with regards to the division of labour? - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔-
The division of labour is determined by patriarchal norms and values that shape the gender
roles in our culture.
- Women perform more domestic labour simply because that is what society expects them to
do and has socialised them to
What is meant by *the material or economic explanation of inequality* put forward by
Crompton and Lyonette with regards to the division of labour? - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔-
The fact that women generally earn less than men means it is economically rational for
women to do more of the housework and childcare while men spend more of their time
earning money
What must happen from the perspective of the cultural explanation of inequality in order to
achieve equality in the division of labour? - CORRECT ANSWER- ✔✔A change in the
norms about gender roles - this would involve changes in men and women's attitudes, values
and expectations, role models and socialisation
