Sociology of Family Concepts and Theories

Vocabulary flashcards covering sociology of the family concepts, historical family structures, relationship scripts, and cohabitation typologies based on lecture notes.

Functionalist theory

A theoretical perspective emphasizing stability and consistency over time, viewing families as institutions that adapt to society's needs through designated instrumental and expressive roles.

Instrumental role

A family role within functionalist theory, traditionally associated with the father, that focuses on task completion, organization, giving direction, and working for wages.

Expressive role

A family role within functionalist theory, traditionally associated with the mother, focused on emotional health, home care, and ensuring family members' well-being.

Conflict theory

A theoretical perspective that analyzes society through inequality, power, exploitation, and social change, viewing the family at a macro level as a tool for capitalists and at a micro level through women's lack of economic resources.

Exchange theory

A theory asserting that individuals are rational actors who evaluate pros and cons through a cost-benefit analysis when deciding to enter or maintain a relationship.

Theory of Symbolic Interactionism

A micro-level theory focused on small group dynamics, shared meanings, understandings, and how individuals create and interpret social roles such as fatherhood or motherhood.

Feminist theories

Theoretical frameworks centered on gender inequality within the family, viewing the family as a socially constructed institution where individuals experience distinct outcomes based on intersecting identities.

Theory of Modernity

A perspective tracing the shift from historical periods with constrained choices and predetermined life plans to modern contexts offering wide-ranging choices and pathways.

Exclusionists

Individuals who define family strictly by privileging the "traditional" married, heterosexual family model while rejecting same-sex family structures.

Moderates

Individuals who hold a somewhat broader definition of family than exclusionists but still enforce formal boundaries on what constitutes a family.

Inclusionists

The fastest-growing ideological group regarding family definitions, advocating for a very broad definition that encompasses a wide variety of living and care arrangements.

Census definition of family

The legal/statistical definition of a family as a group of individuals related by birth, marriage, or adoption who reside together in one household.

Colonial American families

Historical family units based on small family farms with no separation between home and work, where the father acted as moral overseer and the mother was viewed as childlike and emotional.

Victorian Era families

Historical family structures marked by separate spheres and courtship, where mothers were elevated as moral guides for raising children and fathers acted as distant breadwinners.

Father as moral overseer

A historical parental role in which the father was responsible for providing children with their moral compass, teaching right from wrong, and directing emotional and relational guidance.

Father as distant breadwinner

A historical role requirement where the father's primary function was leaving the home to secure external economic resources for the family.

New father image

A modern cultural shift in ideology emphasizing that fathers should be directly active in home life and child rearing.

Supermom

A cultural figure representing women who maintain active professional careers while remaining deeply involved in domestic child rearing.

Separate spheres

The industrial-era separation of home and workplace, designating the home as a feminine realm focused on reproduction and work as a masculine realm focused on wage production.

Cult of domesticity

An ideology asserting that women are uniquely suited for motherhood and domestic work, placing them on a pedestal for creating a nourishing home environment.

Social script

A set of accepted cultural guidelines that individuals rely on to navigate expectations in social interactions and relationship situations.

Courtship

A highly supervised social interaction process similar to dating, carried out with the exclusive purpose of eventual marriage.

Dating

An unsupervised social behavior permitting individuals to test relationships with various partners and select their own marriage partners, historically increasing male authority.

Hooking up

A casual sexual encounter occurring without expectations of future relational commitment.

Deinstitutionalization of marriage

The weakening of formal social norms defining marriage, rendering it a personal choice rather than a mandatory requirement and reducing stigma for non-participants.

Cohabitation

An arrangement where two romantic or sexual partners live together in a single household without being legally married.

Precursor to marriage

A cohabitation type where partners are committed to marriage and each other, living together to verify compatibility before marrying.

Coresidential daters

A cohabitation arrangement where partners are uncertain about marriage or each other, opting to live together rather than live apart.

Trial cohabitors

A form of cohabitation in which individuals are committed to the concept of marriage in general, but use cohabitation to evaluate a specific partner.

Alternative to marriage

A type of cohabitation where a couple remains committed to each other long-term with no interest or intent to formally marry.