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 Ch 1 2 3 and 4 plus assigned articles The American Family and Gender Effects Know the theoretical perspectives structural functionalist conflict exchange symbolic interactionists micro feminist and sociobiology evolutionary psychology Pg 59 66 also look at handout Theoretical Perspectives on Families o Structural Functionalist Focuses on stability and cooperation manifest latent functions First dominant theory Family performs functions that help society Replenish population Regulate sexual activity and procreation Socialize children Provide emotional and physical care for its members Breadwinner Homemaker model o Conflict Focuses on inequality power and social change Social class and power influence marriages and families Gender inequality influences and results from family patterns Racial and ethnic differences in families are related to the lower Corporations Businesses need for profit can conflict with family socioeconomic status needs o Exchange Exchange theory and rational choice Intimate relationships Women exchange performance of household and childcare services in return for benefit of men s income Men perform outside labor in exchange for household and childcare services performed by women Rewarding experiences subjective Compare present experience to past and future possibilities o Symbolic Interactionists mico Day to day Interactions are central to this theory Family is a reality to negotiate Concerned with social meanings and definitions As meanings become less negative behaviors become more When family members label each other they may act according to o Feminist Perspective Gender is central to this theory Experience of living in a family is different for men and women Historically arrangements were domestic slavery of the wife with no income or status Women seen as property of husbands contributing to wife common label battering Now wives employed full time still do the bulk of unpaid domestic labor in the home The Second Shift Women are more likely to compromise occupational achievements to perform child care and domestic responsibilities o Sociobiology Also known as evolutionary psychology endowed by nature to ensure that our genetic material is passed on to future generations All behaviors influenced to some degree by biological forces Biology interacts with culture in creating certain family forms Comparison of Major Theoretical Perspectives Society is Structural Functionalism Conflict Theory Symbolic Interactionism a set of interrelated parts consensus leads to social order key stability solidarity marked by power struggles inequities results in conflict key inequality limited resources a network of interlocking roles social order is constructed through interaction of individuals key everyday interactions of people o What is Family Traditional Ideal family Reflected in the media of the 1950 s Today diversity the marriage movement vs diversity defenders Individualism is often blamed for deterioration of family life People defined as family may be in line to receive a whole host of tangible benefits such as eligibility for certain types of housing tax breaks inheritances health care coverage and travel insurance not to mention legitimate recognition within their community Even out right to spend time with certain people sometimes depends on whether or not we re considered that person s family Pg 5 Why do we need to define family Perhaps no word evokes as much emotion or carries as much political weight as family It permeates our lives and defines who we are as a culture We re all born into a family of one sort or another and will spend at least part of our lives inside some type of family Pg 4 Which forms of family are normal desirable and praiseworthy Who said Family is a Social Construction What we believe to be real is a matter of what we collectively define and agree upon as real How is family defined o Our View of the Family Today What is family decline perspective What evidence indicators support this perspective What effect has individualism purportedly had on marriage o Family Decline Perspective An approach to understanding families that regards recent changes in family life as a sign that the overall importance of family as a social institution is eroding Supporters of this perspective point to the strong movement in recent years away from traditional nuclear families and toward an assortment of households claiming to be families Pg 31 o Evidence supporting this perspective Pg 33 36 Increase in unmarried cohabitation Increased singlehood and older age at first marriage Reduced importance of marriage in people s lives is the increasing number of women who are bearing children while unmarried Today the rate of labor force participation is higher among mothers than it is for women in general The women s movement has encouraged large numbers of women to reject the idea that motherhood and family are their primary destiny and to strive for success and independent through career achievement Wives are becoming less dependent on their husbands for economic support than they were in the past As a culture we ve become less child centered There has been a steady decrease in fertility rates as well as in the number of households with children The cause of the high divorce rate are many may include things like higher expectations for marriage a reduction in the influence of religion and the stress of changing gender roles o Individualism effect What is the family transformation perspective How does it differ from family decline perspective How do these perspectives on family determine potential solutions and social policies promoted by each Pg 37 46 o Family Transformation Perspective An approach to understanding families that maintains that family both as a living arrangement and as a social institution is not disappearing but instead is becoming more dicers and complex as it adapts to changing social an economic circumstances Don t want same sex marriages Don t want single parents When getting divorce waiting period counseling etc o Differ from Family Decline Perspective the decline perspective misses the crucial sociological point that historical and cultural changes influence family structures and encourage new arrangements o How do these perspectives on family