Theoretical Perspectives

Theoretical Perspectives Ch.2: Approaches to Studying Individuals and Families

Anthropology • The study of human behaviour in societies • Cultural factors: arts, beliefs, habits, institutions, and other features that are characteristic of a specific community, society, or nation • Anthropologists try to develop an understanding of diversity to overcome ethnocentrism • Ethnocentrism: the tendency to evaluate behaviour from the point of view of your own culture • Anthropologists live within a society and observe behaviour in a natural setting

Studies in Anthropology • Colin Turnball studied the BaMbuti Pygmies in Zaire • He compared the initiation rites that marked the transition into adulthood of Mbuti boys with his own experience as an upper-class British boy • He concluded that his private boarding-school education did not prepare him for marriage and sex as well as the initiation rites prepared by the Mbuti boys

Their faces full of fear, Mbuti boys wait in turn to be whipped during the nkumbi, a grueling initiation into manhood. During the nkumbi, boys about 9 to 12 years old are circumcised and then marched into the forest, where they spend several months hunting, fishing, dancing, and singing. Each morning the boys are whipped by their elders to instill toughness. When they're not singing, the boys are kept silent by clamping leaves in their mouths.

Sociology • The social science that explains the behaviour of individuals as they interact in social groups, such as in family settings, and in differently organized communities • Sociologists investigate social facts and the social sources of behaviour that are used to determine rates of behaviour • Sociologists are more concerned with the patterns of behaviour observed in large numbers of people or groups rather than with the behaviour of individuals • For example, Statistics Canada uses sociological methods to gather information and produce demographics about Canadians in many aspects of their family, consumer, and business lives • Governments use demographics for planning social policy, businesses use them for marketing decisions, and students and teachers use them for academic study

Psychology • The study of behaviour based on mental processes • Psychologists use an understanding of mental processes and the characteristic patterns of motivation called personality • Jean Piaget (developmental psychologist) identified the Stages of Cognitive Development • He described how children think and learn at each stage of development by researching mental processes

Family Studies • Interdisciplinary study which integrates anthropology, sociology, psychology • Also includes other disciplines such as economics, politics, and religion • Academics in family studies try to gain an understanding into issues surrounding individuals and families by applying knowledge from numerous theories

What is a theory? • Theories are essential tools when conducting research • Theories are not facts, just attempts to explain evidence or predict patterns of behaviour • A valid theory has evidence that supports it; an inaccurate theory has little or no supporting evidence • Theoretical perspectives determine the point of view

Aren’t social science theories just common sense? • Consider the following theory that predicts successful mating patterns: • Opposites Attract • Why do you think successful couples embody “opposites attract”?

Now let’s test that theory... • Research findings spanning over 30 years have consistently found that opposites do not attract, and that most successful, long-term couples embody this theory: Birds of a feather flock together • This means people are more likely to choose partners similar in age, culture, religion, socio-economic background, education, values, lifestyles

Functionalism • Sociological theory that looks at how a society is organized to perform its required functions effectively • Assumes “families are institutions that serve specific functions in society, and family members are expected to fill prescribed roles within the institution for the good of society as a whole” • Social change can upset equilibrium of society • Status quo is preferred • Functionalists examine the status and roles of individuals within the family • Status is a specific position within a social group • Role is a set of behaviours an individual is expected to demonstrate • Prevalent behaviours are described as norms

Systems Theory • Examines how groups of individuals interact as a system, a set of different parts that work together and influence one another in a relatively stable way over time • Family systems theory applies to the examination of family processes • A basic principle of systems theory is feedback, a process by which members learn how to interact to maintain the stability of the system • Because feedback implies give and take, the individuals in a family influence one another in a reciprocal way

The larger family system contains sub-systems: • The family-unit subsystem of those members sharing a household • The interpersonal subsystems between individuals, such as husband-wife or mother-son • The personal subsystem comprised of interaction between the individual as self and as a member of the family

Symbolic Interactionism • A psychological theory that looks at how individuals behave based on their perceptions of themselves and of others • People experience their social world, and then define and interpret their experiences to give them meaning • It is the meaning that people give to their experience of the world, not the social facts

Symbolic Interactionism • Based on three basic concepts: • 1. An individual develops a self that has two parts: the “me” that consists of objective qualities (tall, male, student) and the “I” that is the subjective awareness of self (good student, shy, lonely). • 2. People must also “take the attitude of the other” to be able to anticipate what the other person will do and decide how they should respond. • 3. People are able to interact effectively only if they can communicate using a common language. Language is the means by which individuals interpret and give meaning to their experiences of self and others in order to interact in relationships

Exchange Theory • Is a psychological theory that looks at how individuals make choices within roles by weighing costs and benefits • According to this theory, individuals know what they have to offer, and what they need • Benefits are rewarding because they meet a perceived need and can include physical or emotional security, access to goods and services, and social approval

Conflict theory • Looks at how societies are held together by power • Conflict exists between groups in societies because of inequalities in power • Society is organized into groups to divide people according to their power and to encourage competition • Assumes that groups compete with one another to meet their needs • Since needs of all will not be met equally, exploitation by individuals with greater power over those with lesser power will occur

Feminist Theories • Examines the impact of sex and gender on behaviour, from the specific viewpoint of women • Feminist theories have their roots in conflict theory, but were developed to separate sex and gender from class • Androcentricity: bias that assumes that all male behaviour is human behaviour • Explain social inequalities between men and women from a variety of female perspectives

Theoretical Perspectives