Fam Relations Exam 1

Public Family

one or more adults for dependents, plus the dependents themselves

raising generations, caring for someone ill, looking after aging parents

requires dependency and care

Private Family

2 or more people in a close emotional relationship with a durable commitment to each other

Public Goods

something you get to enjoy whether or not you helped produce it

The free-rider problem

somebody who benefits from a good or service without paying or contributing to its production or upkeep.

Voluntary Kinship

you build it. Ties with people not related to you by blood

Assigned kinship

you get it automatically – by being born, or by someone marrying in. You did not choose it and you cannot resign from it

Symbolic interaction theory

A sociological theory that focuses on people's interpretations of symbolic behavior

Feminist theory

a perspective developed to better understand, and to transform, inequalities between women and men

Positive externality

a benefit that spills over people who did not pay for it and cannot be billed

Negative externality

a cost that lands on people who had nothing to do with producing it

Social institution

refers to a set of roles and rules that define a social unit of importance to society

What is the “lake” comparison for surveys

taking a bucket of water from the lake

What is the “lake” comparison for observational (field) studies?

diving into the lake

Advantages of surveys

collects data form large samples quickly

good for measuring attitudes, beliefs, perceptions, and experiences

cost-effective

consistent data

identifies patterns and correlations

Disadvantages of surveys

self-report bias

participants may give socially desirable answers

cannot directly observe behavior

no cause and effect

Advantages of observational studies

captures real behavior in natural settings

detailed data

studies interaction patters

avoids self-report bias

can reveal what participants are not aware of

Disadvantages of observational studies

time-consuming

limited generalizability (smaller sample size)

ethical concerns

can’t determine a why in behavior

harder to maintain objectivity

reactivity

Why is establishing causality difficult in family research?

Because researchers often cannot use random assignment, and many real‑world variables (confounding factors) influence both the “cause” and the “effect,” making it hard to isolate what truly produces an outcome.

What is random assignment?

participants are placed into groups by chance, ensuring groups are equivalent at the start. It is the strongest method for proving causality because it eliminates systematic differences between groups.

Why is random assignment often impossible in family or social research?

Many variables cannot be ethically or practically assigned (e.g., you cannot randomly assign teens to become pregnant, experience divorce, or grow up in poverty). Without random assignment, causal claims weaken.

What is a confounding factor?

a third variable that influences both the supposed cause and the outcome, creating an alternative explanation for the relationship.

Why do confounding factors threaten causal conclusions?

They make it unclear whether the “cause” produced the outcome or whether the confounder did. If confounders aren’t controlled, researchers cannot confidently say X caused Y.

Examples of common confounding factors in family research

Socioeconomic status, parental involvement, neighborhood environment, education level, access to healthcare, relationship stability, family stress, and peer influences.

What is the teenage‑childbearing example

Does teenage childbearing cause poorer adult outcomes (lower education, lower income, more stress), or do pre‑existing disadvantages explain those outcomes?

What is utilitarian individualism?

A focus on self‑reliance, personal achievement, hard work, and economic success.

Benjamin Franklin as the example of utilitarian individualism

Franklin represents the ideal of the self‑made, industrious individual — disciplined, practical, hardworking, and committed to personal improvement. His life embodies the belief that success comes from effort and rational action.

What is expressive individualism?

A focus on individual expression, personal fulfillment, emotional authenticity, and discovering one’s true self.

What does “a finding is not an explanation” mean?

A finding shows that two variables are related, but it does not tell you why they are related. Correlation alone cannot establish causation.

What is the finding in the housework‑and‑satisfaction example?

Couples who share housework more equally report higher relationship satisfaction.

What is reverse causation?

Reverse causation occurs when the direction of cause is flipped: instead of A causing B, B causes A.

What is a causal mechanism?

A mechanism explains how one variable actually produces change in another — the real pathway of cause.

What is boundary ambiguity?

occurs when family members are uncertain about who is in or out of the family system and what roles people should play. It reflects unclear family boundaries, membership, and expectations.

Why does boundary ambiguity matter in family research?

It makes it difficult to measure or define family structures accurately. When people interpret “family” differently, survey responses become inconsistent or misleading.

What is the cohabiting‑stepfamily survey example?

In a survey, a mother living with her partner and her children may report that she is in a cohabiting stepfamily, while her partner may report that he is not in a stepfamily. Their answers conflict because they define the family differently.

What is the exchange perspective in family relationships?

A theory that views relationships as exchanges of resources (emotional, financial, practical). Satisfaction and stability depend on the balance of rewards, costs, dependence, alternatives, and power.

What is dependence in the exchange perspective?

Dependence is how much a person relies on a relationship to meet their needs. The more someone depends on a partner, the more power the partner has.

What are “alternatives” in Emerson’s theory?

Alternatives are other possible partners, relationships, or life options that could meet a person’s needs if the current relationship ended.

How does Emerson define power in relationships?

Power comes from controlling resources that another person values. The less dependent partner has more power; the more dependent partner has less power.

What does “the primacy of the public family” mean?

It means the family’s main purpose was to serve public functions for the community, church, and state — not private emotional needs.

What economic change produced the separation of women’s and men’s spheres in the 1800s?

the rise of wage labor and industrialization

How did enslaved African Americans maintain family and kinship ties despite slavery?

They preserved family connections through extended kin networks, fictive kin (“aunts,” “uncles,” “brothers,” “sisters”), marriage and partner bonds even without legal recognition, naming traditions, visiting partners on nearby plantations, and community support systems that helped rebuild family ties after forced separations.

Why were nineteenth‑century Chinese immigrant communities in the U.S. so heavily male?

U.S. immigration laws restricted Chinese women from entering the country

What changed in the ideal of marriage in the early twentieth century

Marriage shifted from a public, economic partnership to a private, emotional relationship centered on mutual affection, friendship, sexual fulfillment, and personal happiness.

What determined how hardship affected children during the Great Depression (Elder)?

Effects depended on children’s age when hardship hit and how their families responded.

Older kids often gained resilience; younger kids were more vulnerable

Why were the 1950s unusual in U.S. family history?

people married younger, the baby boom, strong postwar economy

Emerging Adulthood

mid-teens to about 30, when people finish education, enter the labor force, and start their own families

The cohort explanation

born during the depression when birthrates were low, they were a small birth cohort – and reached adulthood just as the economy boomed. Back luck growing up, good luck arriving

Life-course perspective

the study of changes in individuals lives over time and how those changes are related to historical events

Birth cohort

people born during a given year or period of years

What did the “women’s sphere” do for women’s opportunities?

it limited womens opportunities

What does “the primacy of the tribe” mean in American Indian families before 1776?

Family life was organized around the tribe, not the nuclear family

What is the doctrine of separate spheres?

The belief that men and women belonged in different, complementary realms:

Men → public sphere (work, politics, economic life)

Women → private sphere (home, child‑rearing, moral guidance)

How did sexual identities emerge historically?

In the late 19th–early 20th century, experts began labeling people by sexual desire, creating modern identities like “homosexual” and “heterosexual.”

Sex

biological characteristics: chromosomes, hormones, reproductive organs, physical traits

biological creation

Gender

social and cultural characteristics placing people on a continuum from women to men

social creation

Why do intersex birth estimates range from 1.7% to 0.02%?

Because researchers define “intersex” differently.

1.7% = all sex‑trait variations

0.02% = only ambiguous genitals at birth

The disagreement is about definitions, not numbers.

Biosocial Approach

The theory that both biological and social factors influence gender differences in family-related behaviors

What does the biosocial approach NOT claim

that hormones and chromosomes are destiny, or that biology always wins

that neither factor alone gives a full account

What did Kane (2006) find about parents’ responses to gender nonconformity in sons vs. daughters?

Parents were more accepting of gender nonconformity in daughters but often resisted or discouraged it in sons

What does “doing gender” mean, and what does it mean that people are held accountable for it?

Gender is something people perform in interaction through everyday behavior. Others judge and respond to that performance, holding people accountable to cultural expectations of masculinity and femininity.

What are the 3 levels gender operates at?

Individual

Interactional

Institutional

What did Correll, Benard & Paik (2007) find about the motherhood penalty for mothers vs. fathers?

Mothers were rated as less competent, less committed, and were offered lower salaries. Fathers were not penalized, the received a “fatherhood bonus.”

Why is an audit (correspondence) study a strong design for detecting discrimination?

Because researchers send identical applications that only differ in one trait (e.g., gender, race).

What did the Man Box study find about rigid masculine norms, violence, and mental health?

Men who strongly followed rigid masculine norms were more likely to use violence, engage in risky behaviors, and report worse mental health. Strict masculinity increased harm to themselves and others

Asymmetry of gender change

the greater change in women's lives than in men's lives

Example of asymmetry of gender change

A girl who wants to join the football team would be teased when she thought she'd be accepted. A boy who wants to be a cheerleader would be called “gay.”

Intersectionality

Inequalities related to one social identity often overlap with inequalities in other identities

Hegemonic masculinity

A generally accepted style of masculinity that maintains men's power over women

Why did early gender research have little to say about men (“the unmarked case”)?

Because men were treated as the default or norm, not a gendered group. Researchers studied women as the “gendered” category and assumed men’s experiences were universal, so men’s gender went unexamined.

Why do surveys like BRFSS and Pew give different estimates of the transgender population?

they ask different questions and use different methods

BRFSS Surveys

uses a direct gender-identity question, producing higher estimates

Pew Surveys

uses broader surveys where fewer people self‑identify, producing lower estimates.

Differences come from measurement, not actual population changes

How do peer groups shape gender in childhood?

Peers reward gender‑typical behavior and tease or punish nonconformity, teaching kids what counts as “boy” or “girl.”

What did Bertrand, Kamenica & Pan (2015) find about couples where wives earn more, and what is the critique?

couples were less likely to form or stay together when wives earned more

Critique: this may reflect structural factors, not men’s preferences

How fast have gender roles changed since the 1960s?

Gender roles have changed substantially but unevenly since the 1960s

What is the current women‑to‑men earnings ratio?

~83%

What are the 4 approaches to gender?

sex differences

gendered selves

doing gender (interactional)

gender as a social structure (institutional)

How has gender studies contributed to family sociology?

they showed how power, division of labor, expectations, and institutions shape family life

Sexual identity

An identity such as heterosexual, gay, lesbian, bisexual, or queer, formed on the basis of romantic and sexual attraction.

Queer theory

Challenges the assumption that sexual identity is fixed, natural, and universally the same. Social, cultural, institutional, and power dynamics shape it

What are the three ways surveys measure sexual orientation?

Attraction

Behavior

Self-identification

Why don’t surveys identify the same people?

They don’t match because people’s desires, actions, and labels don’t always align.

What is the social constructionist perspective on sexuality?

Sexuality is shaped by culture, history, and social norms, not just biology. What counts as “normal,” “desirable,” or a sexual identity varies across time and place because society defines and interprets sexual behavior.

What does research generally find about children raised by same‑sex parents?

Research finds children of same‑sex parents do just as well on mental health, academic, and social outcomes

What are the limitations on research about children raised in same-sex households?

many studies rely on small, non‑random samples or younger

How does sexual frequency differ for singles?

singles have the least sex

How does sexual frequency differ for cohabiting couples?

cohabiting couples have the most sex

How does sexual frequency differ for married couples?

married couples fall in between

Why do cohabiting couples have the most sex compared to married couples?

cohabitors tend to be younger and have fewer constraints; marriage brings work, kids, and routine, which reduce frequency

How have adolescent sexual activity and teen births changed since the early 1990s?

Adolescent sexual activity has declined, and teen birth rates have dropped sharply since the early 1990s

What did Ganna et al. (2019) find?

Huge GWAS study; found no single “gay gene” — many tiny genetic influences.

Results cannot predict an individual’s sexuality

What can’t the results from Ganna et al. (2019) do?

They cannot predict an individual’s sexual orientation or behavior, and they cannot determine the cause of someone’s sexuality.

What did Raifman et al. (2017) compare?

They compared states before vs. after adopting same‑sex marriage policies.

What did Raifman et al. (2017) find for adolescents—especially sexual‑minority students?

After adoption, suicide attempts declined, especially among sexual‑minority adolescents, who saw the largest improvement.

How have attitudes toward premarital sex and extramarital sex changed from 1972–2021?

Attitudes toward premarital sex have been rising steadily over time. Attitudes toward extramarital sex remain strongly disapproving, with little change across decades.