Understanding the Concept of Family 08 28 2013 What is a family today 2 views o Pessimistic families are falling apart o Optimistic family is changing stronger o View that perseveres in US Traditional 2 parent family in which the husband is employed outside of the home and the wife takes care of the children Evidence is legal cases against working moms Permanence of Family as an Institution Humans have had some form of family institution since the days when we were hunters and gatherers Census Definitions adoption Family two or more persons who are related by blood marriage or Household all persons who occupy dwelling such as house Can be one or more people Informal definition group of people who love and care for each other legal issues raise this Implications of Family Membership Intensity of involvement Long term membership Social institution in larger society o Example Parents have legal obligations to children o Authority over children issue with stepparents Family Family Myths 08 28 2013 Self reliant traditional family the idea that a family took care of itself and didn t need help from the government Natural spheres men do one thing and women do another thing All families are happy and loving Idealized families of the 50s Nuclear Family Husband Wife Children biological or adopted Extended family 2 or more generations live with each other or near one another Family of Origin Orientation the family you are born into Family of Procreation the family formed through marriage or having kids We belong to two families in our lifetime in the Family of Origin you are the child and in the Family of Procreation you are the parent How many people live in the United States 315 Million How do we study families families What do you see as particular problems if you want to study o People s ideas of families vary o If a family knows it is being studied they may act differently Basic unit of analysis family instead of individual or society How do we study the family Relationship between theory and research o theory provides ideas LENS o Research provides observations used to verify or disprove theory Issue of objectivity ethics White middle class used as norm Family Family Research Methods 08 28 2013 Quantitative numerical analyses of people s responses or specific characteristics Qualitative non numerical data Surveys Researchers use surveys to systematically collect info or data through questionnaires or interviews It is important to have representative sample of the population that you are interested in studying Oftentimes face to face interviews are used for social science research Limitations o There are many companies who are now using the internet to do online surveys o One major limitation is that use of mailed questionnaires is a low response rate about 3 o Another limitation is that mailed questionnaires may not be answered honestly Clinical Research o Studies individuals or small groups o Often relies on case studies or an in depth informative interview about one person o Case studies are typically linked with long term counseling o Limitations They are usually time consuming and can be very Results are usually only generalizable for the person or expensive group being studied Field Research Researchers collect data about people by observing them in their natural surroundings Highly structured research Two kinds of observations with their subjects o Non participant observations researchers do not interact o Participant observations researchers do interact with their subjects Secondary Analysis Means that researchers review material that have been collected by other researchers In doing so new directions for research are often found Secondary analysis is accessible convenient and inexpensive Limitations o It can be hard to access if it is only stored in certain locations o May not have the info that is needed to answer certain questions Experiments An experiment is a very structured artificial situation that allows the researcher to control certain variables A major strength of the experiment is that cause and effect can be established Limitation o the reliance on volunteers or paid subjects The Ethics of Research ETHICS MATTER WHEN YOU STUDY PEOPLE o we rely so heavily on human subjects that we must be very careful in our approach to ethical concerns when it comes to research o there are a set of professional ethics for Family Research Industrial Revolution Urbanization Colonialism 08 28 2013 Theoretical Approaches issues By mid 19th century strong interest in social change and family Individual obligations to family were questioned Much of our thinking today is still dominated by this time Darwin Evolutionary Theory Biological evolution series of stages simple to complex Applied to study of cultures Concept Origin of families will tell us where families are going all go through stages concept of uni lineaer development Natural selection led to best forms of families surviving over time mechanism of social progress Social Darwinism Social Evolution Social Darwinism dominated study of family for almost 50 years from 1860 onwards Primitive man vs Civilized man o Marriage Polygamy vs Monogamy o Evidence from archaeology Indians aborigines blacks from Africa Provided scientific legitimation for western colonization and exploitation of primitive people affected treatment of poorer classes in American and west European societies Social Darwinists dealt with history and development of the family Implicit where the implications of roles of men and women o Why are societies patriarchal o Were they ever matriarchal Development of Theories Darwin introduced idea struggle for existence and survival of the fittest possibility that conflict and struggle are biological phenomena and central to human existence Marx and Engels expanded o Inherent quality of conflict within human relations o Contradictory nature of human existence o Value of dialectic dynamism stages of thesis antitheses o Class as central materialist view of mankind o Technology produces 2 classes of people owners and workers o Made gender central Marx and Engels o Main contribution family as an economic unit Now work and family separated men worked in factories and earned money while women stayed home As women lost their economic independence an increased division of labor came about Men s work became more valuable than women s work Development of inequality in the family Last 200 years Fundamental Changes in the Western