Chapter 2 Family

How a family influences and is influenced by the surrounding environment

1) natural physical-biological environment - climate, soil, plants
2) human-built environment- nature altered by human action
3) social-cultural environment- cultural values, language, law, economy, etc.
4) Family

family is interdependent

Criticism: so broad and inclusive that virtually nothing is left out

Emphasis on family as a unit
family life cycle - family changes in predicted ways over time
1) addition or subtraction of family member
2) stages of children
3) changes in connections with other social institutions

require developmental task to be accomplished before moving onto the next stage.

stages
1) newly established couple (marriage and residence)
2) families of preschoolers (first baby born)
3) families of primary school children (coordinate schedules, school expectations)
4) families with adolescents (sex, drugs, expensive)
5) families in the middle years (help kids become adults, leisure)
6) aging families (retire, health crisis, illness)

criticism:
white, middle-class bias

made more useful by recognizing family variations

Family seen as social institution that performs certain essential functions for society
beliefs, values, attitudes, and norms meet the needs of members and enable the society to survive.
likewise, family structure varies according to society around

family responsible for:
1) raise children responsibility
2) provide economic support
3) give emotional security

calls attention to cross-cultural variations in family structure and variations, points out essential role of family in society

criticism: emphasized heterosexual nuclear family as "normal" and argue instrumental husband/expressive wife.
fails to recognize that what works for one group may not work for another

Focus on interaction, the face-to-face encounters and relationships of individuals who act in awareness of one another
refuses to identify a standard family structure
family is a creation of its participants as they spontaneously relate to one another

self-concept (basic feelings about self, abilities, characteristics, and worth)
identity (sense of uniqueness and inner sameness)
self developed initially in family setting

criticism: makes intuitive sense but is difficult to test empirically. it is qualitative and relatively subjective
overestimates the power of individuals to create their own realities
needs to consider how race, class, gender, age, and time relate to family interaction.

Application of economic perspective to social relationships
personal resources affect their formation of and continuation on relationships.
rewards and costs shapes power and influence
must fight human tendency to see relationships in more romantic or emotional terms

criticism: assumes human nature that is unrealistically rational

Focus on family as a system
tendency toward equilibrium
system must change as a whole, not individual
sensitizes to fact that family relationships is not one-way

criticism: lack of specificity
does not take into account social structure

Opposite of structure-functional (family is essential to society)
not all families are good
calls attention to unequal power

criticism:
too political, value-laden, tied to advocacy

Differentials in relationships and power between men and women in society.
society oppresses women and is male dominated (patriarchy)

criticism;
too political, value-laden, tied to advocacy, too vague

Human anatomy, genetics, and hormones affect much of human behavior and many family-related behaviors
having evolved in ways that enable survival and continuation of the human species.
certain human behaviors, because they evolve for the purpose of human survival, are both "natural" and difficult to change.
does NOT mean that a persons behavior cannot be influenced or changed by social structure. nature and nurture are seen as interacting

criticism: careful to avoid interpretations shaped by ideological bias

Procedures, regulations, attitudes, and goals of government that affect families.
circumstances in the broader society that affect family

Neightborhood and relationships within community
sense of security with neighbors watching out for each others children
sense of community has declined in the past years

Parents , children, grand parents, and other relatives
whole kinship group

Beliefs we have about family through our personal experience
misled by media and "common" sense

What members of society agree is true, may misrepresent the actual experience of family

Institutional Review Board
board set up to review scientific research plans to make sure the research is scientifically sound enough