Exam One Study Guide This study guide is not an exhaustive list of all possible items on the test It does however reflect key points and terms from the readings and lectures assigned for this exam Structural Functionalist Society made up of various parts that work together to keep society functioning organisms part of a living animal o Social institutions create stability o Manifest functions intended obvious functions of social institutions o Latent functions unintended consequences of actions that coincidentally o Traditional institutions government family church education o Modern institutions gender race sexual orientation military technology o Often focuses on minority situations and problem groups instead of help the system dominant group Family performs functions that help society focuses on stability and cooperation 1 replenish population 2 regulate sexual activity and procreation 3 socialize children 4 provide emotional and physical care for its members 5 breadwinner homemaker model Conflict Perspective focuses on inequality power and social change competition and struggles for power family o social class and power influences marriages and families o gender inequality influences and results from family patterns o racial and ethnic differences in families are related to the lower socioeconomic status ex corporations businesses need for profit can conflict with family needs o family wants flexibility but corporations want structure and reliability o functions may be dysfunctional for some Exchange perspective Exchange Theory a sociological theory that views peoples choices as preconceived and rational in relation to the costs and benefits of goods and services society individuals with greater resources and more alternatives can drive better bargains family breadwinner vs homemaker o women exchanges household and childcare services unpaid labor for men s income and vise versa o problems uneven exchange women limited more than men risk of unforeseen events affecting and breaking down balance divorce death Feminist focuses on the domination of women by men cultural differences and constructed in ways that maintain the power of men over women o Offshoot of conflict theory o Developed to better understand and transform the inequalities between women and men Family o defines different experiences and obligations within family life o Second shift still performing the bulk of the unpaid domestic labor movement of women into the work force paid labor while o Ex of male dominance sex money woman s obligations to chores o Women more likely to compromise occupational achievements to perform child care and domestic responsibilities Symbolic Interactionist Perspective Only micro theory focuses on day to day interactions concerned with social meanings and definitions ex perpetuation of gender roles through symbols and meanings o holding open a door for women display of courtesy vs reinforcing cultural idea that men are physically stronger perpetuation of gender differences Family is a reality to negotiate as associated meanings become less negative behaviors become more common Family o when family members label each other they may act according to the label o ex the word visitation after divorce implies that one is temporary etc SOCIETY IS Structural Functionalism Conflict Theory Symbolic Interactionism A set of interrelated parts consensus leads to social order key stability and solidarity Marked by power struggles inequalities result in conflict A network of interlocking roles Social order is constructed though interaction of individuals Key everyday interactions of people Family Decline Perspective What evidence indicators support this perspective family unit is deteriorating as a institution individualism often blamed for deterioration of family life historical family focused on the appearance public interactions contemporary family more focused on individual interactions within the private family 1 increased singlehood and older marriage age 2 increased single parent families 3 increased births to unwed mothers 4 extended adolescence What effect has individualism purportedly had on marriage marriage for love rather than status stability resources pursuing education and career development over early marriage cohabitation rates increasing What is the family transformation perspective How does it differ from family decline perspective families as an institution are constantly changing in response to the times these changes do not show failure or deterioration change is a natural process What does it mean to use a Sociological Imagination C Wright Mills The ability to see connections between our personal lives and the social and historical context in which we live Have to consider more than what is just happening to the individual consider context How is the family a pubic family and a private family Public Family o one or two adults who are related by marriage partnership or shared parenthood who take care of dependents o Public goods Benefits enjoyed by even those who don t have to produce them Ex children can generate income and affect the local economy children can vote o Public Responsibilities How well are families taking care of dependents Raising the next generation Caring for the elderly Caring for the ill and disabled o Challenge Private Family Free rider problem the tendency for people to obtain public goods by letting others do the work of producing them o Two or more individuals who maintain an intimate relationship that is expected to last and who usual live in the same household and pool their incomes and labor o Private Responsibilities How well are families providing the emotional satisfaction people value o Challenge Intimacy love personal fulfillment emotional support Boundary problem uncertain who is in or out of the family European colonists public o families performed public services hospitals education etc social structure created by the family a trouble is a private matter a value cherished by an individual is felt to be threatened an issue threatened is a public matter some value cherished by publics is felt to be Know the elements of structure and culture Traditional ideal family 1950s form over function public concern breadwinner homemaker model separation of spheres Transformational Family can take many different forms function over form private family concern Defining family family is a social construction o what we believe to be real is a matter of what