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Choices in Relationships. Introduction to Marriage and Family. Chapter 1. An Introduction. Chapter Outline. Choices in Relationships—The View of This Text Marriage Family Differences between Marriage and Family Changes in Marriage and the Family
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Choices in Relationships Introduction to Marriage and Family
Chapter 1 An Introduction
Chapter Outline • Choices in Relationships—The View of This Text • Marriage • Family • Differences between Marriage and Family • Changes in Marriage and the Family • Theoretical Frameworks for Viewing Marriage and the Family • Evaluating Research in Marriage and the Family
True or False? • Based on the new trend toward single hood, it is estimated that less than 60% of adults will eventually marry.
Answer: False • Over 95% of U.S. adult women and men aged 65 and older have married at least once.
Choices in Relationships • Not To Decide Is To Decide • Not making a decision is a decision by default. • Some Choices Require Corrections • Once a choice is having consistent negative consequences, it is important to make new choices, and move forward.
Choices in Relationships • Choices Involve Trade-offs • Every relationship choice you make will have a downside and an upside. • Choices Include Selecting a Positive or Negative View • In spite of an unfortunate event in your life, you can choose to see the bright side.
Choices in Relationships • Choices Produce Ambivalence • Choosing among options and trade-offs often creates conflicting feelings as to what course of action to take. • Most Choices Are Revocable; Some Are Not • Most choices can be changed.
Choices in Relationships • Choices are Influenced by the Family Life Cycle • Before marriage, individualism characterizes most thinking and decisions. • Choices Are Facilitated with Decision-Making Skills • Steps in decision making include evaluating the issues involved, identifying courses of action, weighing the consequences and being attentive to your motivations.
Institutions • The largest elements of society are social institutions. • These include: • Family • Economy • Education • Religion
Social Groups • Two or more people who have a common identity, interact, and form a social relationship. • Social groups may be categorized as primary or secondary. • Primary groups are characterized by interaction that is intimate and informal. • Secondary groups are characterized by interaction that is impersonal and formal.
Statuses • The status we occupy largely define our social identity. • The statuses in a family may consist of mother, father, child, sibling, stepparent, and so on.
Roles • Every status is associated with many roles, or sets of rights, obligations, and expectations associated with a status. • Social statuses identify who we are; roles identify what we are expected to do. • Roles guide our behavior and allow us to predict the behavior of others.
Question • The social structure of a society consists of institutions, social groups, statuses and • choices. • roles. • social skills. • beliefs.
Answer: B • The social structure of a society consists of institutions, social groups, statuses and roles.
Culture • Two central elements of culture are beliefs and values. • Beliefs refer to definitions and explanations about what is true. • Values are standards regarding what is good and bad, right and wrong, desirable and undesirable.
Elements of Marriage • Legal Contract • Emotional Relationship • Sexual Monogamy • Legal Responsibility for Children • Announcement /Ceremony
Choosing a Spouse • Pg. 2 • Your choice of a spouse is one of the most important choices you will ever make.
Types of Marriage • Polygyny • Polyandry • Polyamory • Pantogamy
Polygyny • Pg. 13 • The HBO program Big Love gave visibility to the issues involved with multiple wives/plural marriage among some polygynous Mormon families.
Types of Families • Family of Origin • Family of Procreation • Nuclear Family • Binuclear Family • Extended Family
Family • This man views the family dog as a member of the family. • Pg. 16
Question • The family into which you were born is called the • family of procreation. • family of origin. • binuclear family. • birthright family.
Answer: B • The family into which you were born is called the family of origin.
Marriage Involves two people. Individuals usually choose each other. Ends when spouse dies or is divorced. Sex between spouses is expected and approved. Procreation expected. Family Usually involves more than two people. Members are born or adopted into the family. Continues beyond the life of the individual. Sex between near kin is neither expected nor approved. Consequence of procreation. Differences Between Marriage and Family
The Industrial Revolution and Family Change • Dual-income family • Urbanization • Transportation • The demise of familism and the rise of individualism
Changes in the Last Half Century • Divorce as marriage endpoint • Changes in gender roles • Delay in age at marriage • Acceptance of singlehood • Cohabitation • Childfree marriages • Living amid a context of terrorism
Families Amid a Context of Terrorism • Pg. 21 • As citizens, we are constantly reminded that we live in a context of terrorism.
Theoretical Frameworks for Marriage and the Family • Structural-Functional • Views the family as an institution with values, norms, and activities meant to provide stability for the larger society. • Conflict • Recognizes that family members have different goals and values that result in conflict.
Theoretical Frameworks for Marriage and the Family • Family life Course Development • Emphasizes the process of how families change over time. • Feminist • Women and men will experience life differently because there are different expectations for the respective genders.
Theoretical Frameworks for Marriage and the Family • Symbolic Interaction • The process of interpersonal interaction. • Systems Framework • The basic premise is that each member of the family is part of a system and the family as a unit develops norms of interacting, which may be explicit or implied.
Theoretical Frameworks for Marriage and the Family • Human ecology • The study of ecosystems, or the interaction of families with their environment. • Biosocial Framework • Emphasizes the interaction of one’s biological/genetic inheritance with one’s social environment to explain and predict human behavior.
Theoretical Frameworks for Marriage and the Family • Stratification • Refers to the ranking of people into strata according to their socioeconomic status or social class, usually indexed according to income, occupation, and educational attainment.
Question • The framework which points out that interactions between spouses, parents and children are understood as each individual seeking the most "benefit" at the least "cost" is the • family development framework. • social exchange framework. • symbolic interaction framework. • family systems framework.
Answer: B • The framework which points out that interactions between spouses, parents and children are understood as each individual seeking the most "benefit" at the least "cost" is the social exchange framework.
Question • Which framework provides a valuable approach to understanding the family and its members' development of rules of interaction? • family systems framework • symbolic interactionist framework • social exchange framework • operative framework
Answer: A • The family systems framework provides a valuable approach to understanding the family and its members' development of rules of interaction.
Research on Marriage and Family: Samples • Some of the research on marriage and the family is based on random samples. • In a random sample, each individual in the population has an equal chance of being included in the sample.
Research on Marriage and Family • Any study that concludes that an abortion (or any independent variable) is associated with negative outcomes (or any dependent variable) must include two groups: • Women who have had an abortion • Women who have not had an abortion.
Research on Marriage and Family: Age and Cohort Effects • In some research designs, different cohorts or age groups are tested at one point in time. • One problem is the difficulty of discerning whether differences between the subjects studied are due to the research variable of interest, cohort differences, or a variable associated with the passage of time.
