Theories on the family - Personal life perspective

Question 1

What approach does the personal life perspective take?

Answer 1

bottom up approach - focusing on the individual meanings members give to their family relationships

Question 2

What 3 criticism does the personal life perspective have towards structural theories?

Answer 2

• argues structural therories out of date
• Assumption the families serve social structure
• their top down approach

Question 3

Structural theories out of date - explain

Answer 3

• S theories based on nuclear family but family diversity is more widespread today → no longer make
• assumptions about families based on the nuclear
  **However 60% of the families are still nuclear → the extent of diversity is still limited **

Question 4

structural assume the families serve the social structure - explain

Answer 4

• Families and individuals have choice / freedom to determine what we see as family
• And that members are passive puppets manipulated by social structure to perform functions
• Unable to assume families perform ‘functions’ based on the social structure

Question 5

Structuralist are top down - explain

Answer 5

The structuralist approach takes a broad theory and tries to apply it making generalisations.

• PL is a bottom up apprach focusing on what individuals see as important

Question 6

How does the personal life perspective define family?

Answer 6

Family goes beyond blood and marriage it is whatever the individual defines

Question 7

Smart

Answer 7

Argues family can beyond blood ties and marriage

• Relationships with friends
• Fictive kin - close friends who are treated as relatives ( mum bff)
• Gay and lesbian ‘chosen families’ → made up of supportive network of close friends, ex partners who not related by blood or marriage
• Relationships with dead relatives - live on in people’s memories continue to shape their identity and actions
• Pets - TIPPER found in study of children’s views they saw pets as part of the family

Question 8

What did Tipper study find?

Answer 8

in study of children’s views they saw pets as part of the family

Question 9

+ Evaluations

Answer 9

• N/S study helps to illustrate value of personal life perspective as helps to understand people construct and define their relationships → rather than imposing traditional sociological definitions ( based on blood)
• MASON and BECKY → highlight how children create their own definitions of who is who in the family - which may include people who are not biological but are ‘close’
  → children attach own meaning → structuralist theories ignore this
• Understands the family that allows for multiple definitions of family life