Kinship, Marriage and the Family q&a

Flashcards about Kinship, marriage and family

What are the similar functions that families fulfill in most societies?

Families fulfill similar functions, such as providing comfort, identity, economic cooperation, and nurturing of children.

What creates a gap between the real and idealized family types?

The gap between the real and idealized family types due to life realities in any given society.

What is the composition of the “sitcom” family?

A working father, stay-at-home mother, and dependent children.

What are the interconnected ways the Ozzie and Harriet norm changed beginning in the late 1960s and 1970s?

More women in the workforce, more two-income households, fewer children, more divorces, and more blended families.

What is the purpose of a kinship chart?

Useful for diagramming biological relationships, if not the cultural meanings associated with these relationships.

What was the extended family structure like in nineteenth-century America?

Extended families were common in nineteenth-century America, with households shared by nuclear relatives, grandparents, unmarried aunts or uncles, and so on.

How are relatives understood in descent groups?

Relatives may be understood as having descended from a single ancestor (clan) or are directly descended from known ancestors (lineage).

What is patrilineal descent?

Descent traced through male ancestors

What is matrilineal descent?

Descent traced through female ancestors

What are cognatic clans?

Reckoning descent through either men or women from some ancestor

How do kinship terminologies help people?

Kinship terminologies help people keep track of their many relatives by assigning categorical terms.

According to many anthropologists, what makes a difference in how much children aspire to achieve?

Parental investment of time and nurturing makes a difference in how much children aspire to achieve as adolescents and adults.

What is one cross-cultural function of families regarding wealth?

One cross-cultural function of families is managing their members’ wealth.

What is bride price?

To compensate a clan for losing a person of that clan to marriage, the groom’s family gives valuables to the bride’s family.

How do families control wealth, property, and power?

Families also control wealth, property, and power through inheritance rules.

What kind of ties does marriage create?

Marriage creates formally recognized ties between marriage partners and their respective families.

What are the two types of polygamy?

Polygyny and polyandry

What is one evolutionary explanation for incest taboos?

Evolutionary explanations view taboos as an adaptive measure to avoid birth defects associated with incest.

What impact did birth control pills have in Western countries in the 1960s?

In the 1960s, birth control pills gave women in Western countries greater control of their sexuality, ultimately leading to a “sexual revolution.”

What is the impact of IVF, surrogacy, and sperm donation on parenthood?

IVF, surrogacy & sperm donation create multiple parents: genetic, gestational, and social.