Sociology And Family Units

During this assessment I will discuss sociology and there findings on change in family units.

Sociology may be defined as the study of human society and human social behaviour. Sociology is a way of thinking about society and social behaviour that goes beyond common-sense understanding. In sociology, common sense refers to ideas about the world which may be widely held by people in a particular society. Sociological knowledge, however, has greater validity than most forms of commonsense knowledge because it has been tested through some form of observation. In simple terms, sociologists try to base their statements about human behaviour on evidence rather than simple assumption. Sociology understanding is supported by evidence and seeks to be systematic and objective.

When we talk about the sociological perspective, we are talking about the particular way that sociologists, as opposed to non-sociologists, try to understand human social behaviour.

Not all sociologists look at the social world from exactly the same perspective or viewpoint. However, it is possible, to identify a number of common ideas which most, if not all, sociologists believe.

Sociology can be known as the systematic study of human societies which gives particular importance to modern, industrialized systems. The practice of sociology involves a number of varied abilities. It is necessary that one has the ability to think imaginatively and isolate oneself from personalized ideas about social life.

In the past many comprehensive changes that have come about were unsolved. Sociology was created on the attempt to understand the changes in our societies over the past two or three centuries. Changes included not only those of large scale but those concerned with change in the close and personal characteristics of people’s lives (Giddens 2006).

To establish what sociology is, it is important to look at the classical founders of sociology. Throughout the mid-nineteenth century Auguste Comte (1798-1857) and Karl Marx (1818-83) established some of the basic issues of sociology. These were later expanded by Emile Durkheim (1858-1917) and Max Weber (1864-1920).

The term �sociology’ was first introduced by Comte, who wanted it to be a scientific discipline i.e. concerned only with �observable entities that are known directly to experience’, an idea now better none as the term �positivism’ (Giddens 2006). For Comte, sociology was the scientific study of society, which seeks to provide understanding of it so as to promote changes.

He believed that by applying the methods and assumptions of the natural sciences, it could be shown that human behaviour was governed by the same �invariable laws’ or principles of cause and effect (Giddens 2006).

Although Durkheim continued this he went further with the emphasis on social facts and the application of natural science methods to social inquiry. Durkheim sees the threat to social consistency caused by the growing complexity of division labour and the �anomie’ (Giddens 2006 p.14) which individuals experience as a result.

Unlike Comte and Durkheim, Marx also sought to explain the changes that were taking place in society during the Industrial Revolution but had different concepts. Capitalism and the separation of society into capital owners and wage labourers were Marx’s main focus. Two groups whose interests were in conflict in itself.

Weber’s work can be seen as in debate with Marx but with greater emphasis on the role of ideas and beliefs in social change and less reliance on the power of class conflict.

We have seen that although sociologists generally agree about a number of basic aspects of human behaviour they do not all agree about how society is defined or how it can be studied?

Sociological study has highlighted the extent of regularities in social behaviour, which is often predictable. It is argued that while we might think of ourselves as individuals who always make our own decisions and do what we want, in many ways we are actually �controlled’ by society. In other words, the idea of individual choice and free will is not all it seems to be.

We have seen that Sociology is the study of human social behaviour. More accurately, we can characterise it as the study of the way people behave in groups; in basic terms, how the fact of belonging to a group affects our behaviour.

There are various types of social group that we can define which include groups such as: a family group, an educational or even work group. I will focus on family group.

A household is where a group of people live together in the same accommodation. While most families live in households, not all households correspond to a family unit.

So what do we mean by family unit? We are all familiar with the concept of �the family’ but our understanding of the family is influenced by our personal experience of family life. We are also influenced by the way family is represented in the media and institutions such as the government, schools and the church.

If asked to provide a definition of �the family’ we may find it hard. The idea of �the family’ can be seen as highly controversial and full of ambiguities and contradictions. So is it right to use the term family as if it is one unit? Diana Gittins (1993) argues that it is �more appropriate to speak of �families’ rather than �the family’. She felt that referring to �families’ highlight the diversity of family forms (Giddens 2006 p.208).

I feel Sweeney’s consideration of family diversity is significant as she states �Diversity of family life is as evident in Scotland as elsewhere in the United Kingdom, and as Social Trends…confirms, compared to previous times, people today tend to live in a greater variety of household types (Sweeney 2003 p149). She continues by discussing why �marriage, cohabitation, separation or divorce, the creation of second or subsequent families, the increasing number of people choosing to live alone and the relaxation of social conventions or �rules’ (Sweeney 2003 p149) have all played a part in the extended variety of family structure.

One can relate to Sweeney’s statement as most young people I work with come from very different family units. For social workers it is important that