Family Comm. Exam 1

symbolic boundaries

figurative, who has shame from certain lifestyle choices or who you share or keep information from

pure types

having the same type partner

defined through interaction

creating and maintaining themselves through their own interactions and their interactions with others outside of the family unit

Social Construction Theory: (co-constructed meaning and basic ideas)

focuses on the meaning making function of communication that is lacking in the systems explanation (interpretivists) co-construction meaning rests on the notion of meaning being created between two parties as they speak

Recognize the family communication perspective of the authors

focus on how family conversations shape family life, and primary interest is in the interaction processes and topics that make up the fabric of family life

Developmental Theory

how a family develops and changes overtime, looks at how communication changes as well

Rawlins two dialectics (real/ideal, public/private)

tensions between the families public vs. private life and our idealized images of family life vs real family life

multidimensional time

that families are constantly changing and evolving overtime, never really settling

family of origin

the family in which you are raised; hard to break what you are used to from growing up in this family such as conflict, abuse, etc.

Define communication

the process of meaning-making

co-culture

the smaller groups you're apart of, you might have similar characteristics with these groups, and have shared expectations with these groups

traditional type

relationship is more important than individual freedom, conventional ideologies typically, typical gender roles, like stability, highly interdependent, shared spaces usually, routines are regular, couples and family friends are how they usually spend time, communication is expressive and conflict is okay because it might help their relationship

popular culture

social media messages we get about our family, how it looks on facebook, sends messages about how we should or shouldn't be

voluntary family

marriage

terrain of struggle

what are the perpetuating messages and how does it affect how you see yourself and your family...how can I match up to 'modern family'

external boundaries

who is in and out of family, so not accepting homosexuality or deciding who is in your wedding or not

self-defined family

who we consider is our family that isn't blood

components of systems theory

wholeness-families overall sense interdependence hierarchy boundaries/openess calibration equifinality-reaching same goals in different ways

literal boundaries

physical fences, door signs to bedrooms

goals of theory

-To explain relationships and communication -provides an understanding of relationships and communication -Predict relationships and communication -Influence social change

limitations of systems theory

-cause researchers to focus too much attention of system and ignore subsystems (such as siblings), failing to recognize important relationships and behaviors -too much emphasis on homeostasis (too little emphasis on importance of change) -denial of individual responsibility -too much focus from positivist tradition -insensitive to differences in family based on culture

Systems Theory (three assumptions)

-suggests that individuals cannot be understood in isolation from one another, but rather as a part of their family, as the family is an emotional unit -can unify science, must be understood as a whole, systems are self reflexive (we develop goals and monitor our behavior

axioms of communication

1. Communication is a process- conversations or conflict can last forever 2. Communication involves co-construction of definitions- each person in the conversation comes from different places and saying it is co-construction because of misunderstanding from where we are coming from saying certain things; can be created jointly but not always agreed upon 3. Communication is a process involving codes-interpretation of tone, looks, etc. 4. Communication occurs in a context- where are you arguing like either grocery store or in own home, it is going to change or in society cannot say certain things in certain places 5. Communication is a transaction- impact one another's communication, sender while receiver 6. Communication occurs at two levels- content dimension (literally what is said), relational dimension (actual emotions and meanings)

Intellectual Traditions/Approaches

Positivists-objective, numbers, control, correlation, prediction, if-then mentality, value neutral (don't want to be apart of study) Interpretivists- rich description perceptions are truth, subjective narratives, interviews, open-ended surveys Critical-change perceptions power, inequality gender, oppression, cultural ; using information that is already out there like research on media etc.

relational culture

a families shared understanding of what relations mean and how they function; do you have a goofy, hostile, etc. family

Define theory

abstract system of concepts derived through observation with a goal to help us understand a phenomenon. They tell us what to observe and how/ways to observe.

time orientations

calendar or clock time- once time has come, it will not come back social process time-using family experiences as a way to divide time (saying right after dad had his surgery, or after allison was born)

Dialects Theory strategies

cyclic alternation- featuring one pole at one time in family development and the other at a different time segmentation-featuring one pole in one domain of family life and the other in different domains selection-choosing one pole at the expense of the other --integration neutralizing-compromising between the polarities and choosing a happy medium reframing-transforming the dialectic so that it no longer seems to contain an opposition disqualifying-choosing one pole for the general pattern, but exempting certain issues from this pattern (generally spontaneous family that has strict rituals around birthday celebrations)

mixed types (50-70%)

different from your partner

definition of family

different to everybody but there is a history, present, and future, and it evolves through time through stages of life or through large events

separates type

individual freedom is very important, do have traditional values like in sex roles and take last name, very independent and a lot of separate time and me time, not a 'we' couple, a lot of physical and psychological distance, routine is mixed some do and some do not, public and private behavior looks very different...party together and when they go home they are in separate rooms, not expressive, don't fight a lot

critical source

instill values in at a young age, they shape your perceptions

boundary ambiguity

it is hard to know where the boundaries are until you actually cross them, uncertainty about where the line is

Revised Developmental Theory

just explains that the original is just too linear and deterministic...a lot of families are not going through the set stages one at a time etc.

intergenerationality

legacy that is passed down from generation to generation, I am my mother!!

Baxter and Montgomery's Dialectical Theory

maintains that family life is characterized by ongoing tensions between contradictory impulses (interpretive)

independent type

nonconventional such as keeping last names, sex roles are blended, stability but change is good, interdependent and share and express a lot have a strong emotional connection, individual space typically, like routine but aren't strict about it, spend a lot of time with outside friends as well, communication is very expressive and talk a lot, assertive, conflict can be ugly, "take me or leave me"

6 family configurations

nuclear- comm. may be facilitated by their culturally sanctioned form gay and lesbian family-complex comm. demand parental comm. similar to that in heterosexual families. lesbians report maintaining an open comm. climate extended family-may have the potential for conflict if issues such as growth and change are not addressed stepfamily-conflict may arise around subsystems, rules, roles, and time management single-parent family- challenging comm. demands. can be helped in co-cultures that stress the group over the individual couples-cohabiters: lack of comm. role models marrieds:much comm. is rooted in daily routines and problem solving

Kantor and Lehrs family types

open-flexible space, time, and energy closed-fixed space, time, and energy random-dispersed space, pick a bed and lay in it, irregular time and fluctuating energy

involuntary family

parents, arranged marriages

internal boundaries

things that happen within the family such as parents having conversations without children, or when certain people are closer than others

genogram

tools to see the patterns in your families and to see the way they develop

Explain why theories are useful for understanding family communication

trying to use the tool by looking at what else it can give us besides its typical use

Fitzpatrick Couple Types RDI and measures

used interviews and surveys and the relational dimensions instrument measures: conventionality (sex roles, routines), interdependence (psychological and physical space), and conflict/comm (approach or avoid, open or closed)

7 stages of Developmental Theory

•Early marriage •1st parenthood (transition) •1st child in school •All kids in school •Oldest leaving the nest •Empty nest •Retirement

4 basic assumptions of Developmental Theory

•Goal-directed •System-individual development affects whole family •Linear-moving forward through stages •Deterministic- certain tasks must be met in one stage before the family can move to the next stage

Dialects Theory tensions

◦Autonomy/connection- being smothered or never feeling like you're seeing that person; desire to be intimate or wanting to be more of an individual (can be in family as well) ◦Openness/protection- how much you share or do not share (physically or psychologically), how much you want to protect vulnerability or not ◦Novelty/predictability- some comfort in stability like date night every Saturday night but be careful to not let you're relationship get stale, add change, etc.