SOCI ch. 1

2004,

1.2 million children in the US were born out of wedlock

2005,

65,000 adoptive children were in a same sex home

2 "waves" of feminism. 1st- during 50's. 2nd-60's &70's. During the second wave, leaders such as

Betty Friedan, Gloria Steinem, and National Organization for Women (NOW) campaigned on issues such as equal pay and job training for women, reproductive choices, maternity leave, child care, and ending sexual discrimination. Today, feminists support equality for men and women in all contexts of public and private life.

Education and Socialization of children

whether they know it or not, parents teach their children the values, attitudes, and beliefs of their culture. They (the parents) are responsible for educating and socializing their children.

What defines a family, and what are the historical and current trends in marriages and families?

Marriage in the US is a legally recognized union between a man and a woman, although broader definitions take same-sex couples and cohabiting couples into account. A family is a group of two or more people related by birth, marriage, or adoption that reside together. Current trends in the US include fewer marriages, fewer children, later age of marriage, an an increasing number of single parent families and step families.

Boundaries

are emotional barriers that define a system and separate the system from its environment and other systems

Rules of Transformation

are the means by which a system governs the way in which inputs from the environment are changed to outputs

Costs

are the negative outcomes, energy invested, or rewards foregone as a result of choosing one behavior over another.

Rewards

are the pleasures or satisfactions we enjoy from participating in a relationship

In the 1930's, William Ogburn identified 7 roles that families fulfill

economic security, social prestige and status, education and socialization of children, protection, religious tradition, recreation, and affection. Still the same 70 years later.

Structural Functional Theory

examine the family from a macro level. Looking at society from a broad, global approach

Symbolic Interaction theory

examines families on a microscopic level. They believe that the individuals develop a sense of self through their interactions with others. We develop a sense of self based on the reactions of the people we care about and by our perception of those reactions.

Most Asian Americans are

family oriented, place a high value on educational achievement, cultural values, and independence

Economic Security

family provides people with financial security and stability for its members

Asian American families typically have

fewer children and the children are born later in the marriage

Current Family trends include:

fewer marriages, fewer children, later age of marriage, & increasing number of non traditional families (step-families, single parent families)

Shift in the past 40 years towards

gender equality and the empowerment of women

medical and legal developments

have enabled women to have more choices when it comes to marriages and families

Positive Effects of Family of Origin

high levels of parent affection during childhood are associated with an improved ability to regulate negative emotions in childhood; high levels of parent warmth during childhood are associated with better physical health in adulthood; parents who are involved in their children's school activities have children with higher educational aspirations; children whose parents model and explain financial tasks to them are better prepared to take on financial roles and responsibilities themselves.

Social Exchange Theory

human behaviors and interactions are based on a series of rewards and costs

Religious Tradition

if parents belong to a religion, they will usually provide their children with a religious identity by performing traditions particular to that religion

These are influenced by:

increased life expectancy, increased rates of cohabitation before marriage, transition towards gender equality, and medical and legal developments

Family Systems Theory

individuals cannot be understood in isolation because they are part of an interconnected and interdependent system (a family)

Belive that conflict is

inevitable and necessary. Individual family members are motivated to pursue their own needs, values, and goals

Affection

intimacy and affection are basic human needs, and families provide each other with a source of companionship

Subsystem

is a part of a system that can be analyzed separately in relation to its exchanges with the system and with other subsystems

Macrosystem

is the culture in which an individual lives

Comparison level of alternatives

is the evaluation by individuals of their relationships in the light of available alternatives

Variety

is the extent to which a system is able to adapt to changes in the environment

Role

is the part that we are expected to play in society, learned through interactions with others

Chronosystem

is the research model that examines the impact of normative and non-normative life transitions on family processes and child development over time

Hispanics are the

largest and fastest growing ethnic group in the US

According to conflict theorists, sources of power within a family include:

legitimacy, money, physical coercion, and love

Wife

maintain family relations

Which of these is NOT a current trend in modern households?

more nuclear families

Protection

parents take care of the kids in their young age and in return, the kids take care of the parents in their old age.

Ethnicity

people characterized by cultural factors, such as language, religion and shared customs that are passed from one generation to the next

If divorce rates are adjusted according to socioeconomic status,

racial differences are minimal

Since WWII, many Native Americans have migrated from

reservations to urban areas. Increasingly marrying non-Indians

Functional theory ground to a halt in the 60's and 70's with the huge increase in

same sex couples, single parent families, and blended families

Unable to account for

social change

Rather than maintenance of social order, feminist theorists place emphasis on

social change and challenging the status quo.

Biosocial Theory

view human behavior in the family setting as an intricate interaction of genes and environment.

Feminists theory

viewing women's experiences as central to an understanding of the family as a whole, focusing on women's perspectives and feelings.

All arrangements defined as marriage share 3 common characteristics:

1-they establish rights and obligations related to gender, sexuality, extended family relationships, and legitimacy of children 2- they establish specific roles within the wider community 3- they allow the transfer of wealth and property from one generation to the next

1900's- Pre WWII

Big movement was that women wanted the right to vote. They took on roles outside of the home. Family units were smaller and more private. Spouses believed that marriage would lead to emotional fulfillment and when that wouldn't happen, they were quick to divorce.

4 Key concepts for the family systems theory

Boundaries, Rules of Transformation, Subsystems, and Variety

Marriage was originally defined by

Britain's House of Lords in 1866

Looking Glass Self

Charles Cooley. Is a concept of self in which interpretations of other people's opinions become a dominant aspect of identity.

Colonial - 1899

Early colonial families were primarily nuclear. Girls learned their trade around 6/7. Boys went to the fields. Around 14, all children were living with another family as an apprentice. Gender segregated roles in the house, jobs, and the community.

Negative Effects of Family of Origin

Early exposure to violence in the family correlates with positive attitudes toward marital violence; mothers with maladaptive eating habits may increase the likelihood of their daughters developing disorders; lack of parental affection and high levels of conflict at home may result in poor emotional regulation and maladaptive coping lifestyles; children from divorced families are more likely to get divorced themselves; people who perceive their family of origin as less healthy are more likely to have negative attitudes towards marriage.

conflict theory stems from

Karl Marx. His idea was that those who control the resources, have all the power.

Family Systems Theory orginated in the 1940's by

Ludwig von Bertalhffy

Which of these statements is TRUE of marriages in all cultures?

Marriage establishes rights and obligations related to gender

Bronfenbrenner identified 5 environmental systems that influence the family:

Microsystems, mesosystems, exosystems, macrosystems, and chronosystems

Symbolic Interactionism involves 3 main concepts

Self, Society, and Role

Which of the following theorists examine the family on the micro level?

Social Interactionist Theorists

Modern Era (WWII-Present)

Teen pregnancy was higher in the 1950's than today but the average age to get married was younger (shot gun weddings). The family structure shifted to dual-parent breadwinners (both parents working outside the home).

What is the meaning of family?

The meaning of family changes according to whether you are looking at it from the perspective of society, a small group perspective, or an individual perspective.

Which of these statements would MOST LIKELY be voiced by a functionalist?

The traditional nuclear family is the only form that promotes stability within society.

Ecological Theory

Urie Bronfenbrenner argued that in order to study a child's development, it is necessary to look beyond the child's immediate environment and consider the interaction between the child's biological make up and wider external factors

Microsystem

a child's immediate environment, including any immediate relationships or organizations that the child interacts with

Self

a concept that develops through interactions with others

Race

a group of people classified by their outward appearances

Family is defined as

a group of two or more people related by birth, marriage, or adoption that live together

Today, marriage is defined as

a legally recognized union between a man and a woman

One effect of increased life expectancy is

a trend toward delayed marriage

Social Prestige and Status

being part of a family provides us with a sense of place and belonging in society

Sociologist John Weeks

believes in several reasons for the changing of modern households. Due to people living longer, they are not wanting to stay "till death do us part".

Husband

breadwinner

options of reproduction:

contraceptive pill in the 1960's; legalization of abortion in 1973.

Family of origin

describes the family in which an individual was raised

Talcott Parsons

developed his theories in 1950-1960. Parson's believed that human behavior is driven by people's efforts to conform to the moral codes of society. And that these moral codes constrain human behavior to promote the common good. For society to survive, its subsystems must function in a way that promotes the maintenance of society as a whole.

Family Life Course/Development Theory

early theorists viewed family development as proceeding through life cycle stages, with each stage marked by a different set of norms or expectations.

All families differ in

socioeconomic status, structure, race, ethnicity, sexuality, and lifestyle choices

How do different theorists view the family?

structural functionalists view the family as a system that promotes the maintenance of society, with the traditional nuclear family as the ideal form. Conflict theorists believe that individual family members are involved in a constant power struggle and that conflict within families is necessary because it results in change and adaptation. Symbolic Interactionists believe that the individuals develop a sense of self through their interactions with others.

Mesosystem

the description of how different parts of the child's microsystem interact

Recreation

the family was the source of recreation. Now, many recreational activities occur outside of the home

2 central assumptions in functional theory

the main function of families is to procreate and socialize children. The family, as a system, needs to maintain its basic structure.

Exosystem

the outside influences that a child may not interact with personally but that have a large impact on the child

Society

the process of socialization in which we interpret meanings of symbols and learn about our roles

As long as the rewards of a relationship outweigh the costs,

the relationship will likely continue