Macrosociologists note the importance of social class; in relation to family life:

Maria is in her early forties and is juggling the demands of taking care of her two young children and having to assist her elderly parents with some daily tasks. She is __________.

As nations industrialize, they turn to the methods of science to innovate.

When we ask a question like “why have most American women taken their husband’s last name upon marriage”, which has been a taken-for-granted social reality for generations, we are employing Peter Berger’s idea:

Culture penetrates our thinking;    for example, in terms of creating families:

Explain instrumental and expressive tasks within the family; discuss your experience with such tasks within your family environment.

If  you were born and raised in Atascadero and traveled to rural Pakistan, you might be surprised at the differences in family and educational structure; the disorientation you may feel is referred to as:

Modern societies rely on this institution to provide valid, reliable answers to questions about the natural and social worlds:

Like all institutions in modern society, we assign and expect the family to meet certain specific needs, such as:

Within the institution of the family, we find positions, such as mother, father, brother, and sister.    These positions are part of social structure, organizing our behavior.   Sociologists refer to such recognizable positions as: