SFL 160 Online Lundell Exam 1

What is a family system?

The individuals, rules, boundaries, routines, and norms that are associated with and self-defined group of individuals

What is a family process?

The ways in which family members interact and work together to achieve the goals and functioning of their family unit

What is emerging adulthood?

The transition from adolescent to adulthood

18-25 years old

New stage of life

For what 3 reasons do we study families?

1. To understand the complexities of family systems

2. To help unhealthy families and support healthy families

3. To understand the human life course

How have marriage trends changed over time?

As of now, fewer people are getting married

How do young people perceive marriage?

Most of them have a goal or desire to get married, however, they are either fearful or ultimately don't get married because it has become less popular and divorce rates have risen

How have divorce trends changed over time?

Divorce rates peaked in the 1980's but have since declined

To most people, it appears that divorce rates have increased because the % of divorce has increased, however, the number of marriages has decreased so the true number of divorces has decreased as well

What do we see regarding fertility trends?

In most industrialized countries, fertility rates are often well below the replacement rate which is 2.1.

The United States is really close to the replacement rate, but if anything is below that.

What are the trends of cohabitation rates?

Cohabitation has become a lot more common and it is no longer due to the fact that people want to "test out their relationships" before marriage.

This has become a normal part of the dating process, and it seems obscure to many when one doesn't participate in this step of dating

What percentage of 19-24 year olds are cohabiters?

43%

What is the focus of individualized marriages?

Personal fulfillment and satisfaction and not as much on the companionship

What are the three things that families are based on?

Intimacy

Strengths

Diversity

What are the three different types of truth?

Pure

Diluted

Relative

What is pure true?

Spiritual knowledge that comes from God

What is diluted truth?

Truth that comes from secular or scholarly sources

What is relative truth?

Truth that comes from our own personal experiences and perceptions

Why is relative truth important?

It helps us to understand the research process

We use it to interpret and analyze diluted and pure truth

What is a construct?

How we conceptualize something that cannot be measured directly

What is a variable?

Something that varies and is measurable

How can we describe relationships?

It is when two or more variables interact

What is bias?

It is prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared to another

What is sample bias?

When the people or families we learn from skew our findings in some way

What is research bias?

When the researcher is causing inaccurate results either intentionally or unintentionally based on how they are gathering or interpreting the results

What is causation?

It indicates that there is a relationship between two events where one event is directly affected by the other

What is correlation?

A relationship between two variables

What are spurious relationships?

Relationships that look real mathematically but are not in the real world

What is reductionism?

The best way to understand something is to reduce something very complex into the most basic elements that can represent that one thing

What are theories?

General assumptions and conclusions

What are the three things that we need to remember about the social science theory?

1. Theories are best guesses, not facts

2. Theories are constantly changing

3. Theories need constant testing

Why do we use social science theory?

To follow patterns and create hypotheses about families

What is the focus of the family systems theory?

What is happening between family members

What are boundaries?

Determine who is in and who is out of the family system

What theory are boundaries associated with?

The family systems theory

What are permeable boundaries?

Loose boundaries, a lot of people know things (information is easily let in and out of the boundary)

What are ridged boundaries?

They are present when the family distrusts outside information

What are subsystems?

Individuals, dyads, or groups within the family system (siblings, parents)

What are structures?

The underlying pattern of interactions that families have

What is equilibrium?

It describes how family systems are always changing and transitioning but ultimately seek to maintain a balance between all of their tasks

Under what theory do we find the word equilibrium?

The family systems theory

What do family goals do?

They drive behavior and process

What are implicit goals?

Goals that aren't discussed, they are simply just implied

What are explicit goals?

Goals that are openly discussed

How can we describe the life course theory?

It tries to take the big picture and situate family process into a large life course and historical perspective.

Individuals and families change over time (how those changes occur and how they influence the family process)

What are transitions?

They make ups life trajectories and they provide clues to developmental change

How can we describe linked lives?

This is a term coined by an early scholar to capture the idea of interconnected trajectories

We all live interdependently and social and historical influences are expressed through this network of shared relationships

What are interconnected trajectories?

When you experience a change in your life that may alter the trajectory of the entire family

What are centripetal forces?

Forces that unify people and bring them together (kid skinning his knee)

What are centrifugal forces?

Forces that tear families apart (fungus)

What is synchronization?

It refers to the coordination of lives and matters of timing

What are the 3 basic assumptions of the family systems theory?

1. each individual in a family acts and is acted upon by all other members of the family

2. each person is connected to the others and they all react to each other as a collective unit

3. the whole is greater than the sum of its parts

What are the two basic assumptions of the family life course theory?

1. We need to keep in mind that each person in a family is living an ever-changing and dynamic lifestyle (life course trajectory)

2. We consider changes, transitions, and trajectories, some are normative while others are not

What are the principles of the life course theory?

1. historical time and place

2. the timing of lives

3. linked or interdependent lives

4. human agency

What are the three levels of change seen within a family?

1. historical setting

2. cultural setting

3. generational setting

How can we describe the historical setting?

The life course of individuals is embedded in and shaped by the historical times and places they experience over their life time

What historical events are causing family-level change, what historical event outside the family control was creating the possibility of change and transition to his family's life course

How can we describe the cultural setting?

Status quo effect: when we make our transition in conjunction with norms to fit in

Reactionary effect: when we make our transitions in opposition to norms to set ourselves apart

A group of like-minded people that influences what our sense of normal life is (church, America)

How can we describe the generational setting?

The role within a family and how that can change with transition (mom becomes grandma)

What does timing in lives state?

The developmental impact of a succession of life transitions or events is contingent on when they occur in a person's life

What are linked lives?

Lives that are lived interdependently and social and historical influences are expressed through this network of shared relationships

What is human agency?

When individuals construct their own life course through the choices and actions they take within the opportunities and constraints of history and social circumstances

What does the life course theory fail to do?

Locate people according to their life stage or historical context

What is the symbolic interaction theory?

It is that people place symbolic meaning on things in their lives and that meaning is what drives behavior

No one is born with meaning, it is developed (when placed within the family they collectively place meaning on things that direct their family behaviors)

What are symbols?

Anything that represents or stands for thoughts, feelings, and ideas

What is a pragmatic actor?

It explains our human behavior

It assumes that we are acting out a part in our families

ex: trouble maker

What is imaginative rehearsal?

When we play out conversations or scenarios in our head before they happen

What is the social construction theory?

A blend between elements of family life course theory and symbolic interaction theory

Human behavior is dictated by our own perception of reality, we each internally "construct" a unique reality using our large culture as a guide (interaction not required)

Rely on social media and society to decide how to treat children

What is shared meaning?

A meaningful principles shared between individuals that is placed on an item but to others it seems like a normal object

What are roles?

Our perception of what our duties and responsibilities are in a system, in SI it dictates what we do regardless of if the perception is accurate or not

What is perception?

How we view the world, people, and things around us

What is the king that drives behaviors in SI?

Perception

What is habituization?

The defining of something as normal to a family (homecomings for missionaries)

What is institutionalization?

When society becomes structured around something that has become normal (cohabitation)

What are the assumptions of the SI theory?

When we begin to interact with someone, we draw on our symbolic meanings to try to guess what is going to happen

What are the assumptions about the SC theory?

Closely tied to postmodernism (the concept that each individual creates their own reality and there is no universal truth) and moral relativism (there is no absolute moral code, but each person needs to figure out their own ethical framework and work within it)

What is a family paradigm?

The collective way a family views the world based on shared beliefs and values

What are first order processes?

Processes that are visible to anyone who observes the family

(rules, rituals, communication, patterns, conflict issues)

What are second order processes?

Themes and beliefs that tie family processes together and are generally held by all members of the family

Encompass family goal and family systems theory

What do family rules do?

Create structure and regulation

Lessens stress because it allows for expectations

What are folkways?

Rules about less serious behavior

ex: brushing teeth

What are mores?

Rules about serious issues or behavior, often involve morality

What are meta-rules?

Rules about rules

What is assimilation?

When paradigms don't change based on new information but they are incorporated (often cause judgment of people with different paradigms)

What is accommodation?

When families change or restructure their worldview based on new information

What are the four types of family paradigms?

Open

Closed

Random

Synchronous

How can closed families be described?

An idea that is closely tied to postmodernism (the concept that each individual creates their own reality and there is not universal truth) and more relativism (there is not absolute moral code, but each person needs to figure out their own ethical framework and work within it)

How can open families be described?

When there are strong paradigms about open communication

Members value each other's viewpoints and encourage active and open relationships among members (30 minutes to choose where to eat)

How can random families best be described?

Opposite of a closed family

Open boundaries

Members are unique and different

Families believe that the purpose is to support each other's individual choices

How can synchronous families be described?

They are centered on being harmonious and conflict-free

Discourage communication

(there is this idea that the family is naturally good so they don't need to communicate)

What is the purpose of family rules?

They lessen stress and create expectations for members of family

What are the three steps of rule creation?

1. Rule discovery

2. Rule negotiation

3. Rule creation

What are rituals?

Repeated events that typically are done the same way each time

Usually has meaning

What is a routine?

Behaviors that are repeated over time, without special meaning

What is overritualization?

To much information is allowed in and rituals become oversaturated

What is under ritualization?

Having few or no rituals

What is dismemberment?

When rituals start to have the exact opposite effect that they are supposed to

Some family members are excluded

What is trivialization?

When families commercialize their ritual or rely more on cultural scripts instead of family symbols

Becomes more about what we are supposed to do and not what we uniquely do within our families (guys give girls flowers on her birthday, all the events that happen on the wedding day)

What is fragmentation?

When rituals are re-invented every year or every time they are done

By doing this it never becomes a ritual and no one knows what to expect or what to do

Special meaning is never attached

What are the similarities between family rituals and routines?

1. Both involve family

2. Both repeated over time

3. Both first order processes

4. Both help accomplish family goals

What is the importance of family rituals?

It is vital to healthy family development and maintenance

How do rituals and routines differ in terms of communication?

Rituals: family reflects on special meaning and positive emotion associated

Routines: Communication tends to be pragmatic and focuses more on what needs to get done

How do rituals and routines differ in terms of continuity?

Rituals: We see behaviors and events that are repeated through the generations (songs you sing, stories you tell)

Routines: Don't carry the same investment within families, are different across generations (showering patterns)