Sociology Ch. 12 Marriage and Family

polygyny

a form of marriage in which men have more than one wife.

polyandry

a form of marriage in which women have more than one husband

family

two ore more people who consider themselves related by blood, marriage, or adoption

household

people who occupy the same housing unit

nuclear family

a family consisting of a husband, wife and child(ren)

family of orientation

the family in which a person grows up

family of procreation

the family formed when a couple’s first child is born

marriage

a group’s approved mating arrangements, usually marked by a ritual of some sort.

endogamy

the practice of marrying within one’s own group

exogamy

the practice of marrying outside one’es group

system of decent

how kinship is traced over the generations

bilinear system of descent

a system of reckoning that counts both the mother’s and father’s side

patrilineal system of descent

system of reckoning descent that counts only the father’s side.

matrilineal system of descent

a system of reckoning descent that counts only the mother’s side

patriarchy

men-as-a-group dominating women-as-a-group; authority vested in males.

matriarchy

authority vested in females.

egalitarian

authority more or less equally divided between people or groups , in marriage between both parters

homogamy

the tendency of people with similar characteristics to marry one another.

blended family

a family whose members were once part of other families.

(step dad and mother, step children and so on)

cohabitation

unmarried couples living together in a sexual relationship