Key Study: Young and Willmott Flashcards

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Who carried out the key study on the symmetrical family?

Michael Young and Peter Willmott.

What does a symmetrical family mean in Young and Willmott’s study?

Husbands and wives share housework and childcare and spend free time together.

What kind of conjugal roles did Young and Willmott say were growing?

Joint conjugal roles.

Where did Young and Willmott carry out much of their research?

London, including East London and new housing estates.

What methods did Young and Willmott use to collect data?

They used surveys and interviews with families.

Who was most likely to have a symmetrical family, according to the study?

Younger, better-off couples living in new housing.

Give two reasons Young and Willmott gave for the rise of the symmetrical family.

More women in paid work and new labour-saving devices at home.

What did Young and Willmott find about leisure time in symmetrical families?

Couples spent more of their leisure time together at home.

What did Young and Willmott find about kinship in Bethnal Green in the 1950s?

Families were close-knit, with strong kin support and separate roles for men and women.

What is stratified diffusion in Young and Willmott’s work?

Changes start with higher classes and then spread to other social groups.

How have feminists criticised Young and Willmott’s claims?

They say men still do less housework and childcare, so roles are not equal.

What is the march of progress view linked to Young and Willmott?

Family life is slowly becoming better and more equal over time.