Family Studies
Terms
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- Marriage
- the emotional and legal commitment of two people to share emotional and physical intimacy, various tasks, and economic resources
- Family
- two or more people who are committed to each other and who share intimacy, resources, decision-making reponsibilities, and values
- Stepfamilies
- families in which one or both of the partners have children from a previous marriage
- Social environment
- All the factors, both positive and negative, in society that impact individuals and their relationships, such as mass media, the Internet, changing gender roles, and growing urban crowding
- Stress
- The body and mind's reaction to life
- Gender Roles
- The traits and behaviors assigned to males and females in a culture
- Cultural Identity
- A feeling of belonging that evolves from the shared beliefts, values, and attitudes of a group of people; the structure of the group's material, sexual, and kinship relationships
- Ethnic Identity
- The geographic origin of a minority group within a country or culture; cultural identity transcends ethnic identity
- Cultural Group
- A set of people who embrace core beliefs, behaviors, values, and norms and transmit them from generation to generation
- Coculture
- A distinct cultural or social group living within a dominant culture but also having member ship in another culture, such as gay men and lesbians
- Ethnic Group
- A set of people who are embedded within a larger cultural group or society and who share beliefs, behaviors, values, and norms that are transmitted from generation to generation
- Minority Group
- A social group that differes from the rest of the population in some ways and that often experiences discrimination and prejudice
- Race
- A group of people with similar and distinctive physical characteristics
- Kinship
- The relatedness of certain individuals within a group. Cultures have norms and expectations that structure and govern kin behavior
- Nuclear Family
- A kinship group in which a husband, a wife, and their children live together in one houshold; also called a conjugal family system
- Consanguinal Family System
- A family system that emphasizes blood ties more than marital ties
- Extended Family
- A nuclear family and those related to its members by blood, such as aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents
- Plural Marriage
- A marriage in which a man has more than one wife (polygyny) or a woman has more than husband (polyandry)
- Monogamy
- A relationship in which a man or a woman has only one mate
- Pseudo-kin group
- A type of kinship group in which relationships resembling kinship ties develop among "unrelated" individuals
- Lineage
- Line of descent, influenced by cultural norms. Lineage determines membership in a kinship group, patterns of inheritance, and kinship obligations or responsibilities.
- Matrilineal Society
- A society in which descent, or lineage, is traced through females
- Patrilineal Society
- A society n which descent, or lineage, is traced through males
- Bilateral Descent
- A method of tracing the lineage of children equally through ancestors of both mother and father
- Matriarchal Group
- A group in which the mother or eldest female is recognized as the head of the family, kinship group, or tribe. Descent is traced through this woman
- Patriarchal Society
- A group in which the father or eldest male is recognized as the head of thefamily, kinship group, or tribe. Descent is traced through this man.
- Equalitarian Group
- Structured on the ideals of democracy, a group believing that the rights and perspectives of both sexes and of all genertions ought to be repected. THe societal norms of the US are considered to be equalitarian
- Matrilocal Society
- A society that encourages newly married couples to live with or near the wife's kin, especiaslly her mother's kinship group
- Patrilocal Society
- A society that encourages newly married couples to live with or near the husband's kin, especially his father's kinship group
- Neolocal Society
- A society that encourages newly married couples to establish their own separate, autonomous residence, independent of either partner's parental kinship group
- Family cohesion
- The togetherness or closeness of a family; one of the three dimensions of the Couple and Family Map
- Family flexibility
- A family's ability to change and adapt it he face of stress or crisis; one of the three dimensions of the Couple and Family Map
- Family Communication
- Interaction; sharing of thoughts and feelings; the facilitating dimension of the Couple and Family Map
- Extended Family System
- One of the four major components of the sociocultural context in which families live; focuses on the degree of importance relatives outside the nuclear family have on the family's life
- Social System
- One of the four masjor components of the sociocultural context in which families live; encompasses the influence of the community, laws, economic resources, educational oppourtunities, and other external factors on the family.
- Belief System
- One of the four major components of the socioculturla context in which families live, centering on religious/spiritual/ethical beliefs and other ideas about how to live successfully and happily in the world
- Cross-Cultural Family Study
- a research study focused on how cultural context influences family issues, among them, values and behaviors, courtship and marriage patterns, communication, roles, work and the family, child rearing patterns, and sexuality
- Ethnocentrism
- The assumption that one's own culture is the standard by which to judge other cultures
- Etic Perspective
- The analysis of a society from the outside
- Emic Perspective
- The analysis of a society from the inside
- Assimilation
- Adopting the cultural traits and values of the dominant culture
- Acculturation
- The intermeshing of cultural traits and vales with those of the dominant culture
- Segregation
- Isolation of an ethnic group within the dominant culture
- Stereotypes
- A standardized, oversimplified, often foolish and mean-spirited view of someone or something
- Prejudice
- Negative judgment or opinion having no or limited basis in fact; hostility to a person or group based on physical charateristics
- Intercultural Marriage
- Marriage between people frm two different cultural or ethnic groups
- Conceptual Framework
- A set of interconnected ideas, concepts, and assumptions that helps organize thinking from a particular perspective. The field of family science includes a variety of major conceptual frameworks: family systems theory, family strengths framework, family development framework, symbolic interaction framework, social construction framework, and the feminist framework
- Theory
- Systematically organized knowledge applicable in a wide variety of circumstances; especially, a system of assumptions, accepted principles, and rules of procedure devised to analyze, predict, or otherwise explain the nature or behavior of a specified set of phenomena
- Hypothesis
- An assertion subject to verification or proof, a presumed relationship between variables
- Research Study
- Careful, systematic, and patient investigation in a field of knowledge to establish facts or principles, test hypotheses, or better understand processes
- Idiographic Approach
- A theoretical approach that focuses on the study of individuals and individual differences
- Nomothetic Approach
- A theoretical approach that focuses on developing a theory that works for a great number of cases. Researchers using this approach believe it is possible to develop a general family theory
- Family Systems Theory
- A conceptual framework that views everything that happens to any family member as having an impact on everyone else in the family, because family members are interconnected and operate as a group, or family system
- Family System
- One of the four major components of the sociocultural context in which families live; focuses on the interconnectedness of family members
- General Systems Theory
- A set of principles and cncepts that can be applied to all types of systems, living and nonliving
- System
- A set of interconnected components that form a whole; what happens to one component affects all the other components
- Multiple System Levels
- General systems theory holds that systems are embedded within other systems, layer upon layer
- Suprasystem
- In the general systems theory, a large system that incorporates smaler subsystems
- Subsystem
- In the general systems theory, a small system that is part of a larger suprasystem
- Boundaries
- The lines that both separate systems from and connect systems to each other. The notion of a boundary implies a heirarchy of interconnected systems, each larger than the one before it
- Ecology
- The study of how all the organisms in a system relate to one another
- Human Ecosystem
- A model showing how various human subsystems interelate among each other. To really understand a specific family system, one also needs to consider the various system levels it influences and that influence it
- Wholeness
- A characteristic of systems; general systems theorists believe that the whole is more that the sum of its parts
- Interdependence of parts
- A characteristic of systems; the parts or elements of a system are interconnected in such a way that if one part is changes, other parts are automatically affected
- Open system
- A family system that is open to growth and change; also called a morphogenic system
- Morphogenic system
- A system that is open to growth and change; also called an open system
- Closed System
- A family system that has the capacity to maintain the status quo and avoids change; also called morphostatic system
- Morphostatic System
- A family system that has the capacity to maintain the status quo and avoids change; also called the closed system
- Centrifugal Interaction
- Behvior that pushes system components away from one another, decreasing the system's connectedness
- Centripetal Interaction
- Behavior that pulls system components toward one another, resulting in the system's increasing connectedness
- Positive Feedback
- Information or communication that is intended to create change in a system
- Negative Feedback
- Information or communication that is inteded to minimize change in a system
- Family Strengths Framework
- A conceptual framework proposing that if researchers study only family problems, they will find only problems in families, but that if they are interested in family strengths, they must study strong families; identifies 6 qualities that strong families commonly demonstrate: commitment, appreaciation and affection, positive communication, enjoyable time together, spiritual well being, and the ability to manage stress and crisis well
- Appreciation and Affection
- One of the 6 major qualities identified by researchers working within the family strengths framework
- Commitment
- Attachment to another. One of the 6 major qualities identified by researchers within the familie strengths framework
- POsitive Communication
- One of the 6 major qualities identified by the family strengths framework
- Expressive Role
- According to Parson and Bale's model of the modern family, the wife-mother's role -- caring for the emotional well-being of the family, provideing urturing and comfort
- Cohesion
- The togetherness or closeness of a family; one of the 3 dimensions of the Couple and Family Map
- Personification
- The belief that everything one's partner does is a reflection on oneself; leads to attempts to control the partner's behavior
- Family Development Framework
- A conceptual framework that focuses on how family mebers deal with roles and developmental tasks within the family unit as they move through the stages of the life cycle
- Symbolic Interaction Framework
- A conceptual framework that focuses on the internal perceptions of family members and examines how they learn roles and rules in society through interaction and shared meaning
- Role
- The expected behavior of a person or group in a given social category; such as husband, wife, supervisor, or teacher
- Role Taking
- THe process whereby people learn how to play role correctly by practicing and getting feedback from others
- Role Making
- The process of creating new roles or revising existing roles
- Definition of the situation
- The concept that a situation is based on a person's subjective interpretaion; hence, people can have different views of the same situation
- Looking-glass self
- The idea that you learn about yourself based on the feedback you receive from others
- Social Construction Framework
- Proposes that human beings are profoundly immersed in the social world and that our understanding of this world and beliefs about this world are social products
- Postmodernism
- A belief system that emphasizes multiple perspectives or "truths." Postmoderists are extremely skeptical in regard to questions of truth, meaning, and historical interpretation. No objective, universal truth can be seen, once and for all, and readily agreed upon. Instead, there is only a collection of subjective truths shaped by the particular subcultures in which we live. These multiple subjective truths are constantly competing for our attention and allegiance
- Feminist Framwork
- Emphasizes the value of women's perspectives on society and the family, that recognizes women's subordination, and that promotes change in that status
- Gender
- The learned characteristics and behaviors associated with biological sex in a particular culture
- Instrumental Role
- According to PArson and Bales's model of the modern family, the husband-father's role -- being the breadwinner, the manager, and the leader of the family
- Flexibility
- A familiy's ability to change and adapt in the face of stress and crisis; one of the 3 dimensions of the Couple and Family Map
- Couple and Family Map
- A graphic representation of dynamic relationships within families, comprising 3 central dimentions: cohesion, flexibility, and communication
- Balanced Families
- Families who fit into the 4 central categories of the Couple and Family Map: families who are flexibly conected, flexibly cohesive, structurally connected, or structurally cohesive
- Mid-Range Families
- Families who are extreme on one dimension of the Couple and Family Map but balanced on the other dimension. There are 8 mid-range familiy types
- Unbalanced Families
- Families who fall at thge extremes on both flexibility and cohesion dimensions of the COuple and Family Map; chaotically enmeshed, chaotically disengaged, rigidly enmeshed, or rigidly disengaged
- Communication
- The way humans create and share meaning, both verbally and nonverbally; the foundation for developing and maintaining human relationships, especially intimate relationships
- Linear Causality Model
- An interpersonal communication model that assumes a direct, or linear, relationship between cause and effect
- Circular Causality Model
- An interpersonal communication model that describes an interaction pattern in which both parties view their behavior as a reaction to the other's behavior rather than as something for which they are each reponsible. The first person sends out a message that causes a change in and a response from the second person. That response causes a new response in the first person, whose response initiates another response from the second person, and so on. This type of communication cycle can escalate into conflict
- Nonverbal Communication
- The communication of emotions by means other than words, such as touch, body movement, facial expression, and eye contact
- Mixed Message
- A message in which there is a discrepancy between the verbal and the nonverbal components. The receiver hears one thing but simultaneously feels something else
- Double Bind
- A situation in which the message relayed by the speaker calls into question the type of relationship the receiver has with the speakerq
- Metacommunication
- Communicating about communicating
- Self-Disclosure
- Revealing to another person personal information or feelings that that individual could not otherwise learn
- Persuasive Listening
- A style of listening in which the "listener" is looking only for an oppourtunity to take over and control the diredtion of the conversation
- Directive Listening
- A style of listening in which the listener attempts to control the direction of the conversation through the use of questions
- Attentive Listening
- A style of listening focused on fully understanding the speaker's point of view; characterized by encouragement rather than trying to direct or control the speaker
- Assertive Communication
- A style of interpersonal communication that involves expressing one's self-interests and wishes without degrading or putting down the other person
- Passive Communication
- A style of interpersonal communication characterized by an unwillingness to say what one thinks, feels, or wants
- Aggressive Communication
- A style of interpersonal communication that attempts to hurt or put down the receiver while protecting the aggressor's self-esteem
- Assertiveness
- A person's ability to express her or his feelings and desires
- Self-Confidence
- A measure of how a person feels about herself or himself and the ability to control things in her or his life
- Avoidance
- A person's tendency to minimize issues and a reluctance to deal with issues directly
- Partner Dominance
- The degree to which a person feels her or his partner tries to be controlling and dominant in their relationship
- Pursuer
- An individual who wants a very high degree of togetherness and expression of feelings in a relationship
- Distancer
- An individual who 1. wants emotional space when stress is high 2. is self-reliant rather than a help-seeker, and 3. values privacy
- Dance of Anger
- Lerner's metaphor to describe styles of managing anger and ways in which these styles interact
- Underfunctioner
- An individual who is too highly flexible and disorganized and becomes less competent under stress
- Overfunctioner
- An individual who knows what is best not only for herself or himself but for everybody else as well; they cannot let others solve their problems themselvesq
- Blamer
- A person whose style of anger management is characterized by a short tempers, emotionally intense responses to strewss, and the belief that others are responsible for his or her feelings and problems
- Gunnysacking
- An alienating fighting tactic in hich a person saves up unresolved grievances until he or she explodes, resulting in a major confrontation
- Passive-Aggressie Behavior
- Feigning agreement or acting as if everything is okay but later becoming hostile aggressive; an indirect way of expressing anger
- Incongruity Humor
- Humor that points out things in life that don't fit together logically; a tool for couples and families who was to "fight fair"
- Closure
- The resolution of an issue
- Competitive Style
- A style of conflict resolution characterized by aggression, lack of cooperation, pursuit of personal concerns at the expense of the other, and the desire to "win" at all costs
- Collaborative Style
- A style of conflict resolution characterized by a high degree of assertiveness about reaching one's own goals coupled with a concern for the other person
- Compromise Style
- A style of conflict resolution characterized by a willingness to give up something to resolve an issue
- Avoidance Style
- A style of conflict resolution characerized by nonassertive and passive behavior; avoiders often withdraw from the conflict or change the subject
- Accommodating Style
- A style of conflict resolution characterized by nonassertive but cooperative behavior; accommodaters subjugate their own wants and needs to those of others
- Brainstorming
- A conflict-resolution strategy that involves thinking of as many solutions to a problem as possible.
- Quid pro quo
- A strategy for negotiating differences in which one person agrees to do something in exchange for the other person's agreement to do something else of equal value or importance; "this for that"
- Quid pro quid
- A strategy for negotiating differences in which one person gets to do what he or she wants in exchange for doing something another person requests; "this for that"
- Agreeing to Disagree
- A negotiating strategy in which two people are unable to agree on opposing courses of action and decide to take neither course of action