Sociology 1301 Final Chapter 14:2b

Conflict Theory

1. Conflict theorists are quick to point out that U.S. families have been defined as private entities, the consequence of which has been to leave family matters to only those within the family. 2. Many people in the United States are resistant to government intervention in the family: a. parents do not want the government to tell them how to raise their children b. or to become involved in domestic issues.

Parents also teach children gender roles.

1. Gender roles are an important part of the economic function of a family.

Symbolic Interactionism

1. Interactionists view the world in terms of symbols and the meanings assigned to them (LaRossa and Reitzes 1993). a. The family itself is a symbol. b. To some, it is a father, mother, and children; c. to others, it is any union that involves respect and compassion.

Summary

1. People's concepts of marriage and family in the United States are changing. 2. Increases in cohabitation, same-sex partners, and singlehood are altering of our ideas of marriage. 3. Similarly, single parents, same-sex parents, cohabitating parents, and unwed parents are changing our notion of what it means to be a family. 4. While most children still live in opposite-sex, two-parent, married households, that is no longer viewed as the only type of nuclear family.

The first study of marital power was performed in 1960.

1. Researchers found that the person with the most access to value resources held the most power. 2. As money is one of the most valuable resources, men who worked in paid labor outside of the home held more power than women who worked inside the home (Blood and Wolfe 1960). 3. Conflict theorists find disputes over the division of household labor to be a common source of marital discord. 4. Household labor offers no wages and, therefore, no power. 5. Studies indicate that when men do more housework, women experience more satisfaction in their marriages, reducing the incidence of conflict (Coltrane 2000).

Theoretical Perspectives on Marriage and Family

1. Sociologists study families on both the macro and micro level to determine how families function. 2. Sociologists may use a variety of theoretical perspectives to explain events that occur within and outside of the family

Functionalism

1. When considering the role of family in society, functionalists uphold the notion that families are an important social institution and that they play a key role in stabilizing society. 2. They also note that family members take on status roles in a marriage or family.

Interactionists view the family

1. as a group of role players or "actors" that come together to act out their parts in an effort to construct a family. 2. These roles are up for interpretation. a. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, a "good father," for example, was one who worked hard to provided financial security for his children. b. Today, a "good father" is one who takes the time outside of work to promote his children's emotional well-being, social skills, and intellectual growth—in some ways, a much more daunting task.

the word "parent" today

1. is less likely to be associated with a biological connection than with whoever is socially recognized as having the responsibility for a child's upbringing. 2. Similarly, the terms "mother" and "father" are no longer rigidly associated with the meanings of caregiver and breadwinner. 3. These meanings are more free-flowing through changing family roles.

Conflict theory highlights

1. role of power in family life and contends that the family is often not a haven but rather an arena where power struggles can occur. 2. This exercise of power often entails the performance of family status roles

Interactionists stress

1. that family is not an objective, concrete reality. 2. Like other social phenomena, it is a social construct that is subject to the ebb and flow of social norms and ever-changing meanings.

According to functionalists,

1. the differentiation of the roles on the basis of sex ensures that families are well balanced and coordinated. 2. When family members move outside of these roles, the family is thrown out of balance and must recalibrate in order to function properly. 3. For example, a. if the father assumes an expressive role such as providing daytime care for the children, b. the mother must take on an instrumental role such as gaining paid employment outside of the home in order for the family to maintain balance and function.

According to Murdock,

1. the family (which for him includes the state of marriage) regulates sexual relations between individuals. 2. He does not deny the existence or impact of premarital or extramarital sex, but states that the family offers a socially legitimate sexual outlet for adults (Lee 1985). 3. This outlet gives way to reproduction, which is a necessary part of ensuring the survival of society.

As the primary agent of socialization and enculturation,

1. the family teaches young children the ways of thinking and behaving that follow social and cultural norms, values, beliefs, and attitudes. 2. Parents teach their children manners and civility. A well-mannered child reflects a well-mannered parent.

Sociologist George Murdock conducted a survey of 250 societies

Determined that there are four universal residual functions of the familysexual, reproductive, educational, and economic (Lee 1985).

instrumental and expressive roles.

In each family, there is a division of labor that consists of instrumental and expressive roles. 1. Men tend to assume the instrumental roles in the family, which typically involve work outside of the family that provides financial support and establishes family status. 2. Women tend to assume the expressive roles, which typically involve work inside of the family which provides emotional support and physical care for children (Crano and Aronoff 1978).

Conflict theorists may study

conflicts as simple as the enforcement of rules from parent to child, or they may examine more serious issues such as domestic violence (spousal and child), sexual assault, marital rape, and incest.

Interactionists also recognize

how the family status roles of each member are socially constructed, playing an important part in how people perceive and interpret social behavior.

In general, conflict theorists

tend to study areas of marriage and life that involve inequalities or discrepancies in power and authority, as they are reflective of the larger social structure.

Once children are produced,

the family plays a vital role in training them for adult life

The family—and its members

—perform certain functions that facilitate the prosperity and development of society.

Consider the meaning of other elements of family:

"parent" was a symbol of a biological and emotional connection to a child; with more parent-child relationships developing through adoption, remarriage, or change in guardianship,