Family
Basic Concepts




Family–A social institution found in all
societies that unites people into cooperative
groups to oversee the bearing and raising of
children
Kinship–A social bond based on common
ancestry, marriage, or adoption
Marriage–A legal relationship, usually
involving economic cooperation, sexual
activity, and childbearing
Families of affinity–People who think of
themselves as a family and wish others to see
them that way
Families: Global Variations

Extended family–A family consisting of
parents and children as well as other
kin
◦ Also called "consanguine families"

Nuclear family–A family composed of
one or two parents and their children
◦ Also called "conjugal family"
◦ The predominant family form
Marriage Patterns

Endogamy–Marriage between people of
the same social category

Exogamy–Marriage between people of
different social categories

Monogamy–Marriage that unites two
partners
Marriage Patterns

Polygamy–Marriage that unites a
person with two or more spouses
◦ Polygyny–Marriage that unites one man and
two or more women
◦ Polyandry–Marriage that unites one woman
and two or more men
Residential Patterns

Patrilocality
◦ With or near the husband’s family

Matrilocality
◦ With or near the wife’s family

Neolocality
◦ Setting up house apart from both families
Structural-Functional Analysis

The family performs many vital tasks
◦ Socialization–Creating well-integrated
members of society
◦ Regulation of sexual activity–Maintenance of
kinship order and property rights, incest
taboos
◦ Social placement–Births to married couples
are preferred.
◦ Material and emotional security–Home can be
a haven.
Structural-Functional Analysis

Critical evaluation
◦ Glosses over great diversity of family life,
how other institutions are taking over its
roles, and negative aspects like patriarchy
and family violence
Social-Conflict &
Feminist Analysis

The family perpetuates social inequality.
◦ Property and inheritance–Concentrates wealth
and reproduces class structure
◦ Patriarchy–To know their heirs, men must control
women’s sexuality.
◦ Racial and ethnic inequality–Racial and ethnic
categories persist over generations because
most people marry others like themselves.

Critical evaluation
◦ Ignores that families carry out functions not
easily accomplished by other means
Applying Theory
Family
Micro-Level Analysis

Symbolic-Interaction
◦ Opportunities for sharing activities helps
build emotional bonds.

Social-Exchange
◦ Courtship & marriage as a negotiation to
make the “best deal” on a partner.

Critical evaluation
◦ Misses the bigger picture; family life is
similar for people in similar social
backgrounds and varies in predictable ways
Stages of Family Life

Courtship
◦ Arranged marriages vs. romantic love
◦ Homogamy–Marriage between people with
same social characteristics

Settling in
◦ Ideal vs. real marriage

Child rearing
◦ Industrialization transformed children from
assets to liabilities.

Later life
◦ Empty nest
Class, Race, and Gender

Social class
◦ Social class determines both a family’s financial
security and its range of opportunities.

Ethnicity and race
◦
◦
◦
◦

American Indian Families
Latino Families
African American Families
Ethnically and racially mixed marriages
Gender
◦ Bernard: Marriage benefits men more than
women.
Figure 18.2
Divorce Rate for the United
States, 1890-2005
Divorce

In the US, nine out of 10 people will
marry. Four in 10 marriages end in
divorce. Why?
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
Individualism on the rise
Romantic love often subsides.
Women are less dependent upon men.
Many of today’s marriages are stressful.
Divorce is socially acceptable.
Legally, a divorce is easier to get.
Figure 18.3
Payment of Child
Support after
Divorce
.
Remarriage

Four out of five people who divorce
remarry, most within five years.

Remarriage often creates blended
families.

Offer both young and old the chance to
relax rigid family roles
Alternative Family Forms

One-parent families
◦ Single parenthood increases a woman’s risk
of poverty because it limits work and
education.
◦ Poverty raises the odds that a young woman
will be a single mother.

Cohabitation–The sharing of a
household by an unmarried couple
Alternative Family Forms

Gay and lesbian couples
◦ The trend in public opinion is toward greater
support for homosexual relationships.

Singlehood
◦ Increasing numbers of people are choosing
to live alone.
Looking Ahead

Divorce rates remain high.
◦ More equality between sexes
All kinds of units will be called families.
 Men will continue to play a limited role
in child rearing.

◦ Many will remain absent from household
scenes.
Looking Ahead

Economic changes will affect families
and reform marriage.
◦ Less quality time as work demands more
from parents

New reproductive technologies
◦ Ethical concerns about what can and what
should be done
Religion
Basic Concepts

Emile Durkheim
◦ Religion involves things that surpass the
limits of our knowledge.
Profane–Ordinary elements of everyday
life
 Sacred–Set apart as extraordinary,
inspiring awe and reverence
 Religion–The social institution involving
beliefs and practices based on
recognizing the sacred
 Ritual–Formal, ceremonial behavior

Religion and Sociology
Faith–Belief based conviction rather
than scientific evidence
 Sociology asks why religions take a
particular form in one society or
another.

◦ Asks how religious activity affects society as
a whole
Structural-functional Analysis

Durkheim: Religion has 3 major
functions.
◦ Social cohesion
 Totem–An object in the natural world
collectively defined as sacred
◦ Social control
◦ Provides meaning and purpose

Critical Evaluation
◦ Downplays religion’s dysfunctions such as
generating social conflict and violence
Symbolic-interaction Analysis
Religion is socially constructed.
 Berger: “Cosmic frame of reference” gives
us the appearance of “ultimate security and
permanence.”
 Critical Evaluation

◦ Downplays religion’s link to social inequality
Social-conflict Analysis

Religion serves the elites by legitimizing the
status quo and diverting attention from
social inequities.
◦ Disrupts cultures with attempts to “convert
heathens”
◦ Marx: “Opium of the people”

Critical Evaluation
◦ Downplays religion’s efforts to promote social
equality
Applying Theory
Religion
Religious Organizations
Church–A type of religious organization
that is well-integrated into the larger
society
 State church–Church formally allied
with the state
 Denomination–A church, independent of
the state, that recognizes religious
pluralism

Religious Organizations

Sect–A type of religious organization
that stands apart from the larger
society
◦ Charisma–Extraordinary personal qualities
that can turn people into followers

Cult–A religious organization that is
largely outside a society’s cultural
traditions
Religion in History

In pre-industrial societies
◦ Animism–Elements of the natural world are
conscious life forms that affect humanity
◦ Belief in a single divine power responsible
for creating the world began with pastoral
and horticultural societies.
Religion in History

In industrial societies
◦ The Industrial Revolution introduced a
growing emphasis on science.
◦ Science: How does the world work?
◦ Religion: Why are we here?
Figure 19.1
Religiosity in Global Perspective
Table 19.1
Religious Identification in the United States, 2004
Religion in the US

Religious affiliation
◦
◦
◦
◦
New England, Southwest: Mostly Catholic
South: Mostly Baptist
Northern plains: Mostly Lutheran
Utah: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day
Saints
Religiosity–The importance of religion in
a person’s life
 Religious affiliation is related to social
class, ethnicity, and race.

National Map 19.1
Religious Membership across the United States
National Map 19.2
Religious Diversity across the United States
Figure 19.2
Religious Nonaffiliation among
First-Year College Students,
1970-2006
Religion in a Changing Society
Secularization–Historical decline in the
importance of the supernatural and the
sacred
 Civil religion–A quasi-religious loyalty
binding people in a basically secular
society

Religion in a Changing Society

Religious revival
◦ New Age spirituality flourishes
◦ Interests increases in fundamentalism–A
conservative religious doctrine that opposes
intellectualism and worldly accommodation
in favor of restoring traditional, otherworldly
religion

The Electronic Church
◦ “Prime-time preachers” on television
Education
Education vs. Schooling
Education–The social institution
through which society provides its
members with important
knowledge, including basic facts,
job skills, and cultural norms and
values
Schooling–Formal instruction under
the direction of specially trained
teachers
Global Map 20.1
Illiteracy in Global Perspective
Functions of Schooling

Socialization
◦ Primary schooling: Basic language and
mathematical skills
◦ Secondary schooling: Expansion of basic
skills to include cultural values and norms

Cultural innovation
◦ Educational systems create as well as
transmit culture

Social integration
◦ Brings a diverse nation together

Social placement
◦ The enhancement of meritocracy
Table 20.1
Educational Achievement in the United States, 1910-2006
Latent Functions of Schooling
Schools as child-care providers
 Engages young people at a time in their
lives when jobs are not plentiful
 Sets the stage for establishing
relationships & networks
 Link between particular schools and
career opportunities

Critical Analysis
Functionalist approach overlooks that the
quality of schooling is far greater for some
than for others.
 US educational system reproduces the
class structure in each generation
 System transforms privilege into personal
worthiness and social disadvantage into
personal deficiency.

Schooling and Social Inequality

Social control
◦ Schooling reinforces the status quo.
◦ Bowles & Gintis: The 19th-century rise of
public education came when factory owners
needed obedient, disciplined workers.

Standardized testing
◦ Biased based on race, ethnicity, or class?
Schooling and Social Inequality

School tracking
◦ Tracking–Assigning students to different
types of educational programs
◦ Disadvantaged students typically end up in
lower tracks.

School inequality
◦ Public vs. private schools
◦ Even public schools are not all the same.
Critical Analysis

Social-conflict approach minimizes the
extent to which schooling enhances
upward social mobility for talented men
and women from all backgrounds.

Today’s college curricula (including
sociology courses) challenges social
inequity on many fronts.
Access to Higher Education

Money is largest stumbling block to
higher education.

Family income is still best predictor for
college attendance.

Those with the most schooling are likely
to come from relatively well-off families
to begin with.
National Map 20.1
Teachers’ Salaries across the United States
Figure 20.1
College Attendance and Family
Income, 2005
Figure 20.2
Educational
Achievement for
Various
Categories of
People, Aged 25
Years and Over,
2006
Expanding Higher Education
The government makes money
available to help certain categories of
people pay for college.
 Community colleges

◦
◦
◦
◦
Low tuition
Special importance for minorities
Attract students from abroad
Faculty focuses on teaching.
Applying Theory
Education
Problems in Schools

Discipline and violence
◦ Many believe schools need to teach
discipline because it isn’t addressed within
the home setting.
◦ Students and teachers are assaulted.
◦ Weapons are brought to school.
◦ Society’s problems spill into schools.

Student passivity
◦ Many students are bored.
Bureaucracy

Rigid uniformity

Numerical ratings

Rigid expectations

Specialization

Little individual responsibility
◦ Insensitive to cultural character of community
◦ Success defined in terms of numbers on test
scores
◦ Age and grade-level expectations
◦ Many courses, many teachers; no one teacher
knows a student
◦ Students not encouraged to learn on their own
College: The Silent Classroom

Passivity is also common among college
and university students.

Karp and Yoels: Most students think
classroom passivity is their fault.

Students find little value in classroom
discussion.
Dropping Out
The dropout rate has declined slightly in
recent decades.
 Dropping out is least pronounced
among non-Hispanic whites
 Researchers: Actual dropout rates are
probably at least twice the
government's numbers.
 Some reasons for dropping out:

◦ Problems with the English language
◦ Pregnancy
◦ Must work to help support their family
Academic Standards
• Functional illiteracy–A lack of reading and
writing skills needed for everyday living
• The US spends more on schooling than
almost any other country, but teens still show
low science and math skills.
• US students generally are less motivated and
do less homework than Japanese students.
• Japanese students spend 60 more days in
school each year than US students.
Figure 20.3
Grade Inflation
in U.S. High
Schools
School Choice


Pro: School choice creates a market for
schooling so parents and students can shop
for the best value.
Con: Such programs erode national
commitment to public education, especially in
urban schools.
◦ Magnet schools–Schools that offer special
facilities and programs to promote
educational excellence in a particular area.
◦ Charter schools–Public schools with more
freedom to try new policies and programs
◦ Schooling for profit–School systems
operated by private, for-profit companies
Home Schooling
• Gaining popularity
• Involves more school-age children than
magnet schools, charter schools, and forprofit schools combined
• Pro: Better results
• Con: “Takes some of the most affluent
and articulate parents out of the system”
Schooling People
with Disabilities
About half of all children with disabilities
are schooled in special facilities; the rest
attend public schools.
 Mainstreaming–Integrating students with
disabilities or special needs into the overall
educational program

◦ Works best for physically impaired students who
can keep up academically
The Teacher Shortage

Schools have adopted new recruitment
strategies.

Incentives: Higher salaries and signing
bonuses

States could make certification easier.

School districts are actively recruiting in
such countries as Spain, India, and the
Philippines.
Schooling: Looking Ahead
The last decade has seen many new ideas
about schooling.
 Significant changes in mass education are
likely.
 New information technology will reshape
schools
 But it won’t solve all the problems,
including violence and rigid bureaucracy

Health and Medicine
Health
A state of complete physical, mental, and social
well-being

Health is as much a social as a biological
issue.

Patterns of well-being and illness are
rooted in social organization.
Health and Society
1.
2.
3.
4.
Cultural patterns define health.
Cultural standards of health change over
time.
A society’s technology affects people’s
health.
Social inequality affects people’s health.
Health: A Global Survey

Health in low-income countries
◦ Relatively short life expectancy
◦ Most die before reaching their teens.
◦ Poor sanitation is a killer.

Health in high-income countries
◦ By the early 20th century, death rates from
infectious diseases had fallen sharply.
◦ Now chronic illnesses cause most deaths,
usually in old age.
Table 21.1
Leading
Causes of
Death in the
United States,
1900 and 2004
National
Map 21.1
Health across
the United
States
Figure 21.1
Life Expectancy of U.S.
Children Born in 2004
Who Is Healthy?

Social epidemiology–The study of how
health and disease are distributed
throughout a society’s population

Factors include:
◦
◦
◦
◦
Age
Gender
Social class
Race
Age & Gender

Death is now rare among young people.

Across the life course, women fare better
than men.

Our cultural conception of masculinity
pressures men.
Social Class and Race

Higher income and wealth boosts health:
◦ better nutrition
◦ better health care
◦ safer and less stressful surroundings

Infant mortality
◦ Twice as high for disadvantaged children as for
children born into privileged families.
◦ Poorest US children are as vulnerable to
disease as those in low-income nations
Cigarette Smoking


Most preventable health hazard
By 2005, only 21% of Americans smoke
◦ Smokers: Divorced, separated, unemployed, in the
military, and less schooling

440,000 people die prematurely each year as a
direct result of smoking
◦ Exceeding the combined deaths from alcohol, cocaine,
heroin, homicide, suicide, auto accidents, and AIDS
Obesity

Many adults are overweight.

Obesity can limit physical activity and
raises the risk of serious diseases

Odds of being overweight go up among
people with lower incomes

Social causes of obesity
◦ Lack of physical activity
◦ Poor diet
National
Map
21.2
Obesity
across the
United
States
Sexually Transmitted Diseases





1960s sexual revolution saw a rise in STD
rates, generated sexual counter-revolution
Because our culture associates sex with sin,
some people regard STDs as marks of
immorality.
Gonorrhea & syphilis
Genital herpes
AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency
Syndrome)
Figure 21.2
Types of Transmission for Reported U.S. AIDS Cases as of
2005
There are several ways in which people can be infected with HIV.
Source: CDC (2007).
Global
Map 21.1
HIV/AIDS
Infection of
Adults in
Global
Perspective
Ethics & Death



When does death occur?
◦ When there is an irreversible state involving no
response to stimulation, no movement or
breathing, no reflexes, and no indication of
brain activity
Do people have the right to die?
◦ About 10,000 Americans are in a permanent
“vegetative state.”
What about mercy killing?
◦ Euthanasia–Assisting in the death of a person
suffering from an incurable disease
◦ Active euthanasia–Allowing a physician to help
a sick person die
The Medical Establishment


Medicine–The social institution that focuses on
fighting disease and improving health.
The rise of scientific medicine
◦ American Medical Association founded in 1847
◦ Other healers kept tradition but occupy lesser
role.
 Chiropractors, herbalists, midwives
◦ Conflict between scientific medicine and
traditional healing continues today.
Holistic Medicine

Holistic medicine–An approach to health
care that emphasizes prevention of illness
and takes into account a person’s entire
physical and social environment

Three foundations of holistic health care:
1. Treat patients as people
2. Encourage responsibility, not dependency
3. Provide personal treatment
Medicine in Socialist Nations
China
◦ Government controls most health care operations.
◦ “Barefoot doctors” in rural areas practice
traditional healing arts.

Russian Federation
◦ Medical care is in transition, but all citizens have a
right to basic medical care.
◦ Setbacks in health care, partly because of a falling
standard of living
Medicine in Capitalist Societies




Sweden
◦ Socialized medicine–A medical care system in
which the government owns and operates most
medical facilities and employs most physicians
Great Britain
◦ Also has socialized medicine, but citizens may
choose public or private health care.
Canada
◦ Single-payer model; government is like an
insurance company
Japan
◦ Doctors operate privately, but government
pays most expenses.
Figure 21.3
Extent of
Socialized
Medicine in
Selected Countries
Paying for Care in the US




Direct fee system–Medical care system in which
patients pay directly for the services of
physicians and hospitals
Private insurance: Few programs pay all costs.
Public insurance programs
◦ Medicare for those over 65
◦ Medicaid for impoverished and veterans
Health maintenance organizations–An
organization that provides comprehensive
medical care to subscribers for a fixed fee
◦ No HMO provides full coverage
Nursing Shortage

Shortage of nurses as fewer people enter
the profession

Nurses cite heavy patient loads, too much
overtime, stressful work environment,
lack of respect.

Working nurses say they wouldn’t
recommend the field to others.
Theoretical Analysis


Structural-functional analysis: Parsons’ role
theory
◦ Sick role–Patterns of behavior defined as
appropriate for people who are ill
◦ Doctors expect patients to cooperate.
Social-conflict analysis: Health and inequality
◦ Access to medical care, the effects of the
profit motive, and the politics of medicine
Theoretical Analysis

Symbolic-interaction analysis: Meaning of health
◦ Ideas of health and stress are socially
constructed.
◦ How people define a condition might actually
affect how they feel.
◦ Surgery can affect social identity.
Figure 21.4
Self-Assessment
of Physical
Health by FirstYear College
Students, 19852006
Future of Health and Medicine
Today, Americans take good health and
long life for granted.
 Individuals taking responsibility of their
own health
 Double standard of health between rich
and poor people
 Health problems are greater in lowincome countries.

Applying Theory
Health