Exploring Relationships And Families PDF

Exploring Relationships And F amilies CHAPTER TWO  Personal Experience vs. Research Evidence Certain beliefs about the family cannot be based solely on first- hand experience. Common Sense, Social media can also be misleading. Certain assumptions conceived about family needs to be...

Exploring Relationships And F amilies CHAPTER TWO  Personal Experience vs. Research Evidence Certain beliefs about the family cannot be based solely on first- hand experience. Common Sense, Social media can also be misleading. Certain assumptions conceived about family needs to be examined and supported by a broader evidence. “When I was a child I used to believe that my parents WERE superheroes at night.” “I grew up believing meerkats have human hands because I learned about meerkats from The Lion King.”  Blinders of Personal Experiences Science has developed norms for transcending the blinders of personal experience. The central aim of scientific investigation is to find out what is actually going on as opposed to what we assume is happening. Science can be defined as a logical system that bases knowledge on systematic observation and empirical evidence.  Scientific Norms These are set of shared values, principles, and practices that guides the conduct and communication of scientific research. To transcend personal biases, scientist must follow certain norms such as Honesty: Transparency, not fabricating results. Universalism: Peer Review based on merit, not the researcher’s social characteristics Communalism: Peer-reviewed evidence accumulates over time, providing more clarity Objectivity: Research plans that are rigorous, carefully designed, and standardized  Theoretical Perspectives on the Family There are nine of these theory to be discussed relating to families; Family ecology perspective The family life course development framework The structure–functional perspective The interaction-constructionist perspective Exchange theory Family systems theory Conflict and feminist theory The biosocial perspective Attachment theory  Activity: Stand your ground QUESTION #1: How important do you think family science theories are to helping us understand understand family relationships? a. Very important—probably more important than anything else b. Somewhat important—they help in some ways c. Not really important—maybe even damaging  Activity continued…. QUESTION #2: How much do you think family science/family theories can help you understand your own family relationships? a. Very important—probably more important than anything else b. Somewhat important—they help in some ways c. Not really important—maybe even damaging  Family Life Course Developmental Fram ework Typical Family Stages Transition Developmental Tasks Difficulties often arise in unsuccessful transitions Critiques Based around average Western nuclear families Doesn’t account for multigenerational households, single-parent families, etc.  Family Systems Theory Cybernetics and Homeostasis Resistance to change *Linear vs. Circular causality Removing blame Foundation for MFT Critiques Lack of accountability Doesn’t account for external factors  Check-In What are your thoughts so far on these two theories? Do you like them? Do you agree?  Biosocial Model Based in the theory of evolution oFamilies and survival oShared characteristics of family Biology and social aspects are interdependent oExample: illness and family relationships Critiques oDoes not account for psychological/emotional aspects oDoes not account for larger systems  The Interaction- Constructionist Perspective This focuses on interaction, face-to-face encounters, roles, and relationships with family members, such as day-to-day conversation, gestures, roles, and behavior diversity. vThis approach also explores ways people interact with one another, construct, or create, meanings, or symbols of events or situations. vIt explains how cultural norms, societal expectations, and historical events shape how families interpret and construct their realities.  Postmodern Theory This is the broader aspect of interaction-constructionist perspective.  Postmodern theory largely analyzes social discourse or narrative (public or private, written or verbal statements or stories).  The analytic purpose is to demonstrate that a phenomenon is socially constructed (Gubrium & Holstein, 2009). And the principal goal is to debunk essentialism.  This theory emphasizes that social and cultural influences shapes general understanding of family structures rather than being natural or universal.  Critiques of Interaction- Constructionist Perspective Contributions ◦ Deconstruction of harmful narratives can be empowering for some (i.e. helping a family see that it’s not always one person’s fault, creating new meaning about each of their roles/responsibilities). ◦ The traditionally accepted norm among married couples that honeymoon take place immediately after the wedding has evolved and is being redefined over time. Many couples now choose to delay their honeymoon or schedule it at a more convenient time that suits their preferences. Critiques ◦ Critics ask, “Where do we go from here?” (Wasserman 2009). Once the taken-for-granted is deconstructed, then what? For one thing, it is virtually impossible to conduct traditional social science research in the absence of agreed-upon social categories (Cockerham 2007).  Exchange Theory  This theory predicts that people tend to marry others whose social class, education, physical attractiveness, and even self-esteem are similar to their own.  Partner who cares less about the relationship typically has more power. This is because they are less dependent on the relationship.  Those with more resources (such as financial stability or personal independence) have more power in relationships.  Those with fewer resources are more dependent on the relationship. They are likely to leave because they fear the consequences of ending the relationship. Bluey Example 6:00-10:00 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4bz3Z6PVFQ  Attachment Theory  This is a psychological theory that holds that, during infancy and childhood, a young person develops a general style of attaching to others; once an individual’s attachment style is established, he or she unconsciously applies that style to later, adult relationships.  The three basic attachment styles theses are secure, insecure/anxious, and avoidant. Gregory, M., Kannis‐dymand, L., & Sharman, R. (2020). A review of  Critiques Of Attachment Theory It was argued that attachment style might depend on the situation a person finds themselves rather than on a consistent personality trait. Even if it is a relatively stable personality trait, there is debate about how one’s attachment style can be changed over time.  Family Ecology Perspective Emerged in late 19th century Society and one's environment influence family Challenges the idea that family wellness and success is dependent on individual effort Ex: factors impacting adolescent food choice differ across environments (home, school, restaurants, stores) (Ziegler et al., 2021) Disadvantages So broad, and inclusive of everything, very difficult to research wholly Ziegler, A. M., Kasprzak, C. M., Mansouri, T. H., Gregory, A. M., Barich, R. A., Hatzinger, L. A., Leone, L. A., & Temple, J. L. (2021, March 12). An ecological perspective of food choice and eating autonomy among adolescents. Frontiers. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.654139/ full#h4  The Structure-Functional Perspective Recall: 3 family functions - raise children responsibly, provide economic support, and give family members emotional security How well a family structure can perform a basic family function (e.g., how well can a single parent raise a child? Fictive kin - relationships, not based on blood or marriage, that replicate many of the obligations usually associated with family ties Limitations The perspective itself is based on heterosexual nuclear families as the “normal” or “functional” family structure and how well alternatives can fulfill those goals/functions Dominated family sociology in the 50’s, but rarely referenced now  Conflict and Feminist Theory Conflict theory (aka opposite it of structure-functional) - not all of a family's behaviors and practices are good and beneficial (e.g., domestic violence, divorce, power) Feminist movements have applied conflict theory to power differences in society and in the family Feminist theory - theme: male dominance = oppressive to women; central concept: patriarchy Emerged from political and social movements EX: Women’s domestic work was largely invisible in social science until the feminist perspective began to treat household labor as work that has economic value Limitations Can be seen as more political than academic Patriarchy has been criticized as being unscientifically vague and ahistorical  The Relationship Between Theory And Research Theory is used to help direct research questions and hypotheses Can also interpret data and think about what theoretical perspective best explains the findings