Exam # 1 Study GuideLecture 1 What is a Family?What is a family? - Pipher definition o Blood/genetico Unconditional love, obligationo Live togethero Chain of connectedness – something that relates themo Support system- A&S definitiono Shared sense of historyo Emotional bondingo Devise and apply strategies to accomplish meeting the needs of family members as well as group as a whole- Legal definitiono 2 or more ppl [one who is householder] – related by birth, marriage, adoption and live togethero Household – group of ppl who occupy dwelling- Postmodern families – 80s – media moves away from traditional stereotype – satisfy 3 fundamental conditions of family [from textbook]; numerous and flexible familial roles; range from traditional family to single parent, same sex parents, adopted/biological children, step families, half children, etcLecture 2 Family as a SystemFamily as a System- Gestalt concept – whole greater than sum of parts; can’t understand any individual in the fam w/o understanding family unit/in isolation from one another- Subsystems – marital/parental; parent-child; sibling- Three levels of interaction – complex levels of interactiono Person to person: mom to dad, mom to daughter, dad to sono Dyad and one individual: parents to child most commono One dyad to another dyad: parents to children- Interdependence PSYC 464 1st Editiono Mutual dependence; members influence each other and are influenced by each other – ripple effect [ex: mom getting new job, more hours away from family – influences time and energy with kids and will affect dads relationship w/ kids because he’ll need to step up and spend moretime w/ kids – role change could affect mom and dad’s relationship] - Structureo Composition – people in the fam [#of ppl]o Organization – roles, responsibilities, rules that govern the way people relate in the family/patterns of interactiono Strategies and Rules Methods to accomplish tasks – influenced by history, culture that family is in embedded [ex: strategy in the past was to have more kids to get more work done – more help on farm/on household chores/taking care of other kids] Rules – reflect well established strategies; maintain stability of family – reflect how family defines themselves [to each other and outside world]; reflect what’s acceptable inthe family [what is talked about]; metarules – qualify rules [ex: family can talk about anything except dads ex wife]- Can be overt or covert- Taskso First order What family has to execute successfully in order for someone to do well Common to all families regardless of composition, SES, culture, race, era Developing identity- Concerned with the identity of the family as a whole and as individuals- Family themes – organizing values of the family [based on culture, religion, etc] [ex: fighters not quitters; value higher education] – ideas family centers around; can involve stereotypical roles of individual family members- Family myths – a discrepancy between the family theme and reality is associated with conflict [within or between families and outside world] [ex: one members image isn’t consistent with family image – athletic family with one son that is an artist] Regulation boundaries- Marks limits of family system- External – who is let into the family? How much is shared with the outside world?- Internal – how family members interact with one another; flow of information is regulated between members of the family- Clarity of the boundaries are essential for family functioning - Hierarchy – distinction between different levels of a system; clear lines of authority - Rigid or loose – [ex: not having people over to visit] – can be isolating for family and individual o rigid can exist inside the familyo loose – no family secrets; people can come over; no public vs private family life; no separate parental unit- permeability – open versus closed- unclear – neither situation is optimalo enmeshed – over-involvement between family members [diffuse boundaries]o disengagement – lack of involvement [rigid boundaries w/I the family] - coalitions – one family member pairs up w/ another member against a third [problematic when its cross generational – will undermine authority of parental subsystems]- alliance – two family members that share an interest not shared by a third Emotional climate- How does family express emotions [talk about feelings? Express only positive? Express only negative?]- How is conflict handled?- Who has power in the family?- Implications for well being of family; sets the stage for how family members interact with people in the outside world; sets the stage for how you solve conflict with peers/dating partners Maintaining household- How are basic needs met? Food, clothing, shelter, education; how family uses resources to meet these basic needso How well the family functions is related to how well they execute the four first order taskso Second order Modify first order when change in family comes [ex: child going into adolescence; family member gets sick] Always in the process of change – need to be able to adapt Adaptability - Extent to which a family can adapt to all the stressors in the outside world Stressor – tells family that strategies/rules need to be adjusted [developmental change isa common stressor]Lecture 3 Methods for Studying Family Relationships Studying Family Relationships- When choosing methods, researchers have to make a trade off – choose to ignore one aspect to study another- What methods do we use?o Pros and cons of each method need to be weighed relative to each other when thinking about what you’re studyingo Self-Reports Information from one or more family member Forms - Questionnaires- Paper and pencil – typical questionnaire- Interviews - Interaction records/participant observations Subjective in nature – looking for persons perspective Pros- Easy, cheap, quick, effective in accessing peoples internal thoughts [sometimes it’s the only way to get that information]  Cons- Interpretation issues – question may not be understood or interpreted in the waythe researcher meant- Response bias – social desirability [idea that people want to present themselves in the most favorable view – might not be completely honest about the issues at hand]; bias due