Table of Contents
What is the relationship between sociology and social policy?
Sociology is the study of society and of people and their behaviour. Social policy refers to the activities of governments and their agents to meet social needs and solve social problems.
What is the family policy?
All social and economic policies affect families, but the term family policy usually refers to social programs, laws, and public directives designed to promote and enhance marriage, reproduction, and raising children. This entry focuses on policies and social programs initiated by governments. …
Why are reconstituted families increasing?
The reconstituted family is often made up of divorced or widowed people who have re-married and their children from the previous marriage. Such families are on the increase because of divorce, e.g. one in 15 families are step-families; one in 12 children were living in them in 1991.
What function does the family serve?
The family performs several essential functions for society. It socializes children, it provides emotional and practical support for its members, it helps regulate sexual activity and sexual reproduction, and it provides its members with a social identity.
What is perverse incentives sociology?
“A perverse incentive is a term for an incentive that has the opposite effect of that intended. Perverse incentives by definition produce negative unintended consequences.” For example: “Some social welfare programs only give money to people with no job. This effect is called the ‘Welfare trap.
What do postmodernists believe about the family?
Postmodernists believe that there is no longer one dominant family form (i.e. the nuclear family). They believe that there are now a number of options available to people to choose from in terms of family size, structure and relationships. Family diversity is now the norm.
Is the family in decline sociology?
Family decline theory suggests that families as an institution are changing in such a way that they are in a state of decline. It is argued that the overall functions of the family, to have children and to nurture those children into functioning adults, are being threatened by changes in values and norms in society.
What is Marxist view on family?
Marxists argue that the nuclear family performs ideological functions for Capitalism – the family acts as a unit of consumption and teaches passive acceptance of hierarchy. It is also the institution through which the wealthy pass down their private property to their children, thus reproducing class inequality.
What is the new right view of the family?
Like Functionalists, the New Right hold the view that there is only one correct or normal family type. This is the traditional or conventional nuclear family. Again like Functionalists, The New Right sees this family as ‘natural’ and based on fundamental biological differences between men and women.
How do Functionalists see the role of social policies?
The Functionalist View of Social Policy and The Family They see the state as acting in the interests of society as a whole and its social policies as being for the good of all. Functionalists see policies as helping families to perform their functions more effectively and making life better for their members.
Who argues that the welfare state gives perverse incentives that weaken self reliance and encourages a dependency culture?
Charles Murray (1998) Murray argues that welfare policies have undermined the nuclear family and given perverse incentives for people to start single-parent families or to end their marriages and form single-parent families.