Marriage, Families, and Relationships: Chapter 7

What are the 5 major social institutions?

Family, education, government, religion, and economy

social institution

a fundamental part of society where individuals in a defined status (ex: married) are regulated by social norms, public opinion, the law, and religion

family of procreation

family formed by marrying and having kids, most meaningful inner circle for many Americans

family of orientation

family you grew up in

individualism

how you think about yourself, "selfish"

family decline perspective

conservative claim/view that individualized marriage has led to weakened morals, less focus on family, and is worse than companionate marriage

companionate marriage

couples bound by being companions, with a single breadwinner and division of labor, hopes for an "American dream" life, emotional satisfaction important for success

expectations of permanence

expectation that marriage is a lifelong commitment, based on history of economic agreements between the couple's family and social expectation of a family

kin

extended family, still very important to recent immigrants and lower socioeconomic classes

marriage gap

fewer poor people are married than those who think they can afford it/have a higher income

individualized marriage

four key parts: it's optional, roles are flexible and changing, built on love/communication/emotional intimacy, and exists with many family forms

polygamy

having more than one spouse, uncommon, more men with multiple wives than vice versa, illegal since 1875 in US

deinstitutionalization of marriage

historic family definitions and social norms are less important than in the past (ex: kids outside of marriage is less stigmatized now than before)

individualistic society

individual's interests and concerns are more important than others' expectations

institutionalized marriage

marriage as a social institution, based on historic traditions as the norm of permanence, kin have control

marriage premise

marriages are based on permanence and social expectations of monogamous sexual exclusivity

polyamory

marriages where one or both spouses can sexually love others, can be emotional and sexual

role-making

personalizing a role by adjusting its traditional expectations (intimacy, communication, job and school responsibilities, budgeting, parenting, etc)

marital sanctification

seeing your marriage as "divine" because it was ordained by God (married under your church too, brings God into it and makes it more special)

economy of scale

some expenses are less when there's two people instead of one (think split rent, a second income in case of emergencies, etc.)

expectations of sexual exclusivity

spouses promise to only have sex with each other, broadened from only sex to emotions too

War on Poverty

started by Pres. Johnson in the 1960s; structural strategies to decrease child poverty levels, led to record lows, included Job Corps and adult education. Ended after national views changed to individual responsibility, child poverty increased again after ending

selection hypothesis

the benefits found in marriage (higher income/wealth, better health) are actually from the personal traits of those who marry [socioeconomic status->marriage or not]

experience hypothesis

the experience of being married causes the benefits of being married [marriage->middle-class status]

heteronormativity

the idea that heterosexuality is the only normal, acceptable, or "real" option, challenged by same-sex couples

collectivist/communal society

values focus on society as a whole group, not the individual

family change perspective

view that deinstitutionalization of marriage was inevitable, focus on helping the families (single parent and other) living in poverty and social issues that lead to this (low wages, incarceration, expensive day care, etc)