SOC 101 Unit II: Family, Socialization, and Gender Roles

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering family structures, marriage forms, socialization concepts, gender studies, and domestic violence from SOC 101 Unit II.

Family

A social group whose members are related to one another by ties of marriage, birth, adoption, and ancestry having the responsibility of taking care of and rearing children.

Marriage

A socially and legally recognized union between two or more persons having sexual rights and economic obligations.

Nuclear (conjugal) family

The smallest of family units, consisting of a married couple and their unmarried biological and/or adoptive children.

Extended family

The largest of family units, consisting of three or more generations of the same family living either in the same household or adjacent physical structures.

Family of Orientation

The family into which one is born or adopted.

Family of Procreation

The family that one establishes through his/her own marriage.

Monogamy

A sexually exclusive union between two persons.

Polygamy

The practice of having more than one spouse at a time.

Polygyny

The marriage of one man to two or more women.

Polyandry

The marriage of one woman to two or more men.

Patriarchy

The type of authority in which descent and inheritance are traced through the male line, the father.

Matriarchy

The type of authority in which descent and inheritance are traced through the female line, the mother.

Egalitarian (equalitarian) system

A system of power distribution where power in marriage and within the family is vested in both men and women.

Endogamy

Marriage practice within one's own social group.

Exogamy

Marriage practice outside of one's own social group.

Homogamy

A mate-selection theory stating that individuals are more likely to choose a partner with similar personality and social characteristics.

Heterogamy

A mate-selection theory stating that individuals are more likely to choose a partner with opposite personality and social characteristics.

Socialization

The lifelong process by which we learn and generally accept the values, norms, beliefs, and behaviors of a particular group or society.

Agents of Socialization

Any person or social institution that shapes and influences a person's values and behaviors.

Significant Others

People who are emotionally important in one's life and who shape and influence one's values and behaviors.

Generalized Other

A child's generalized impression of what other people expect from him or her.

Anticipatory Socialization

The process by which we learn about the future social roles and statuses before we actually enter them.

Resocialization

The process of unlearning the old values, norms, and beliefs and relearning the new ones in a new social environment.

Looking-Glass Self

The concept that we gain images of ourselves by imagining what other people think about our appearance and behavior.

Machismo

Compulsive masculinity, evidenced in posturing, boasting, and an exploitative attitude toward women.

Sexism

The ideology that supports a system of sexual inequality.

Feminism

The ideology that supports and promotes equality between the sexes.

Ageism

A system of negative beliefs about the capacities, skills, and health of the elderly.

Second-Shift

The pattern where women who work for pay outside the home are also expected to do a greater share of housework than their partners, working another shift at home with no pay.

Arapesh society (Margaret Mead study)

A New Guinea society where both men and women exhibited behaviors considered feminine in the U.S. (cooperative, unaggressive, nurturing, sharing, gentle, and emotional).

Mundu-gumuors society (Margaret Mead study)

A New Guinea society where both men and women exhibited behaviors considered masculine in the U.S. (aggressive, hostile, non-emotional, dominant, combative, and competitive).

Tchambuli society (Margaret Mead study)

A New Guinea society where gender roles were reversed compared to traditional U.S. roles; men exhibited feminine behaviors and women exhibited masculine behaviors.

Androgyny

A combination and reconciliation of masculinity and femininity.

Catharsis Myth

The erroneous belief that family members can release tension by routinely and regularly expressing physical and verbal aggression toward one another.

Battered Woman Syndrome

A psychological condition characterized by low self-esteem and learned hopelessness and helplessness that contributes to why women remain in abusive relationships.