Chapter 1 Images, Ideals, and Myths
1) Because nearly everyone has experience as a member of a family, it is relatively easy to arrive
at an objective understanding of families.
Answer: FALSE
Page Ref: 2
2) Myths and images about families influence our expectations and assumptions about family life.
Answer: TRUE
Page Ref: 4
3) Of all the images of family, the image of family as encumbrance has been around the longest.
Answer: FALSE
Page Ref: 6
4) Myths are beliefs that are held uncritically and without examination.
Answer: TRUE
Page Ref: 10
5) Fewer than 10 percent of American families consist of a breadwinner husband, stay-at-home
wife, and their dependent children.
Answer: TRUE
Page Ref: 12
6) The myth of a unified family experience refers to the belief that middle-class and upper-class
families differ very little.
Answer: FALSE
Page Ref: 15
7) Age and gender are key factors influencing an individual’s experience of family life.
Answer: TRUE
Page Ref: 15
8) The definitions of the terms “household” and “family” are nearly identical.
Answer: FALSE
Page Ref: 13
9) According to the text, divorce and single parenthood are better viewed as the consequences of
social problems rather than the cause.
Answer: TRUE
Page Ref: 19
10) The field of family studies has experienced very little change over the past thirty years.
Answer: FALSE
Page Ref: 23
11) To analyze the family using a sociological perspective, one must
A) promote the nuclear family ideal.
B) understand the larger social context in which families are embedded.
C) engage in micro-level analysis of family interaction.
,D) all of the above
Answer: B
Page Ref: 1
12) An obstacle to objectivity in studying families is
A) secrecy.
B) mystification.
C) sacredness.
D) all of the above
Answer: D
Page Ref: 2
13) Using sociologist Erving Goffman’s term “backstage area” to describe family points to the
idea that
A) family is a haven in a heartless world.
B) family members are always acting out social roles.
C) family is an area of privacy where people are free to act in ways they would not act in public.
D) family is completely severed from public intervention.
Answer: C
Page Ref: 3
14) All of the following are distinct family images that have emerged in American culture except
A) family as haven.
B) family as anxiety.
C) family as encumbrance.
D) family as fulfillment.
Answer: B
Page Ref: 5
15) Love and protection are the two distinct themes in which of the following images of family?
A) family as haven
B) family as anxiety
C) family as encumbrance
D) family as fulfillment
Answer: A
Page Ref: 5
16) The image of “family as fulfillment” gives rise to which of the following observations?
A) The family provides intimacy and personal satisfaction that can be found no where else.
B) We tend to blame the family for inhibiting full human development.
C) Family needs are attained through responsibility, duty, and hard work.
D) Having children is the greatest fulfillment of family life.
Answer: A
Page Ref: 5
17) Dorothy Smith refers to the Standard North American Family (SNAF) as
A) an idealized image.
B) an insulated two-parent family.
C) a distortion of reality.
D) all of the above
E) none of the above
Answer: D
,Page Ref: 8
18) According to the text, despite changes in family images over time, an enduring theme in
popular understanding suggests that
A) relationships among family members are expected to be stable and harmonious.
B) family is the locus of competition and violence.
C) relationships among family members are no longer idealized.
D) people do not take media images of the family seriously.
Answer: A
Page Ref: 10
19) Myths can be described as
A) beliefs that have little to do with moral values.
B) beliefs that are held without examination or scrutiny.
C) beliefs that are often based in actual fact.
D) beliefs that challenge nostalgic images of the past.
Answer: B
Page Ref: 10
20) Which of the following statements exemplifies the myth of a stable and harmonious family of
the past?
A) Marital failure and illegitimacy are modern phenomena which did not exist in pre-industrial
families.
B) Families are self-sufficient units relatively free from outside pressures.
C) Contemporary families are not better or worse than families of the past, only different.
D) We expect less from family life today than we did in the past.
Answer: A
Page Ref: 11
21) The “myth of separate worlds” refers to
A) the sharp distinction between childhood and adulthood.
B) the idea that men and women experience marriage differently.
C) the belief that families of the past and families of the present have nothing in common.
D) the belief that families operate in isolation from other social institutions such as politics or the
economy.
Answer: D
Page Ref: 11
22) Family Darwinism means
A) family success or failure is the result of how “fit” a specific family form is.
B) family relationships are largely determined by genes.
C) the leader of each family emerges out of a struggle for power.
D) sibling relationships are shaped by the struggle for power.
Answer: A
Page Ref: 11
, 23) Which of the following argues against the myth of separate worlds?
A) The experience of working women points to the interrelationship of work and family.
B) Families interact with institutions such as schools.
C) Parents share the authority for raising their children with organizations and institutions outside
the family.
D) all of the above
Answer: D
Page Ref: 12
24) Globalization
A) increases the control of nation-states over the welfare of their families.
B) decreases the control families have over their own members.
C) decreases the mobility of workers.
D) all of the above
Answer: B
Page Ref: 12
25) The myth of the monolithic family form embodies all of the following features except
A) the family is nuclear in form.
B) the family consists of mother, father, and their children.
C) single parents and their children are identified as families.
D) the family exhibits a gendered division of labor.
Answer: C
Page Ref: 13
26) Which of the following is not likely to be a trend among new American families in the near
future?
A) an increase in the percentage of families of color
B) major involvement with government institutions
C) an increase in families with a semi-extended family form
D) rapid economic advancement
Answer: D
Page Ref: 13
27) Which of the following factors contributes to increasing diversity among contemporary
families?
A) the large-scale increase of househusbands performing primary domestic responsibilities
B) the resurgence of the nuclear family form
C) increasing racial and ethnic diversity
D) all of the above
Answer: C
Page Ref: 15
28) The assumption that all family members have common needs, experiences, and meanings is
expressed in the myth of
A) the monolithic family form.
B) a unified family experience.
C) family consensus.
1) Because nearly everyone has experience as a member of a family, it is relatively easy to arrive
at an objective understanding of families.
Answer: FALSE
Page Ref: 2
2) Myths and images about families influence our expectations and assumptions about family life.
Answer: TRUE
Page Ref: 4
3) Of all the images of family, the image of family as encumbrance has been around the longest.
Answer: FALSE
Page Ref: 6
4) Myths are beliefs that are held uncritically and without examination.
Answer: TRUE
Page Ref: 10
5) Fewer than 10 percent of American families consist of a breadwinner husband, stay-at-home
wife, and their dependent children.
Answer: TRUE
Page Ref: 12
6) The myth of a unified family experience refers to the belief that middle-class and upper-class
families differ very little.
Answer: FALSE
Page Ref: 15
7) Age and gender are key factors influencing an individual’s experience of family life.
Answer: TRUE
Page Ref: 15
8) The definitions of the terms “household” and “family” are nearly identical.
Answer: FALSE
Page Ref: 13
9) According to the text, divorce and single parenthood are better viewed as the consequences of
social problems rather than the cause.
Answer: TRUE
Page Ref: 19
10) The field of family studies has experienced very little change over the past thirty years.
Answer: FALSE
Page Ref: 23
11) To analyze the family using a sociological perspective, one must
A) promote the nuclear family ideal.
B) understand the larger social context in which families are embedded.
C) engage in micro-level analysis of family interaction.
,D) all of the above
Answer: B
Page Ref: 1
12) An obstacle to objectivity in studying families is
A) secrecy.
B) mystification.
C) sacredness.
D) all of the above
Answer: D
Page Ref: 2
13) Using sociologist Erving Goffman’s term “backstage area” to describe family points to the
idea that
A) family is a haven in a heartless world.
B) family members are always acting out social roles.
C) family is an area of privacy where people are free to act in ways they would not act in public.
D) family is completely severed from public intervention.
Answer: C
Page Ref: 3
14) All of the following are distinct family images that have emerged in American culture except
A) family as haven.
B) family as anxiety.
C) family as encumbrance.
D) family as fulfillment.
Answer: B
Page Ref: 5
15) Love and protection are the two distinct themes in which of the following images of family?
A) family as haven
B) family as anxiety
C) family as encumbrance
D) family as fulfillment
Answer: A
Page Ref: 5
16) The image of “family as fulfillment” gives rise to which of the following observations?
A) The family provides intimacy and personal satisfaction that can be found no where else.
B) We tend to blame the family for inhibiting full human development.
C) Family needs are attained through responsibility, duty, and hard work.
D) Having children is the greatest fulfillment of family life.
Answer: A
Page Ref: 5
17) Dorothy Smith refers to the Standard North American Family (SNAF) as
A) an idealized image.
B) an insulated two-parent family.
C) a distortion of reality.
D) all of the above
E) none of the above
Answer: D
,Page Ref: 8
18) According to the text, despite changes in family images over time, an enduring theme in
popular understanding suggests that
A) relationships among family members are expected to be stable and harmonious.
B) family is the locus of competition and violence.
C) relationships among family members are no longer idealized.
D) people do not take media images of the family seriously.
Answer: A
Page Ref: 10
19) Myths can be described as
A) beliefs that have little to do with moral values.
B) beliefs that are held without examination or scrutiny.
C) beliefs that are often based in actual fact.
D) beliefs that challenge nostalgic images of the past.
Answer: B
Page Ref: 10
20) Which of the following statements exemplifies the myth of a stable and harmonious family of
the past?
A) Marital failure and illegitimacy are modern phenomena which did not exist in pre-industrial
families.
B) Families are self-sufficient units relatively free from outside pressures.
C) Contemporary families are not better or worse than families of the past, only different.
D) We expect less from family life today than we did in the past.
Answer: A
Page Ref: 11
21) The “myth of separate worlds” refers to
A) the sharp distinction between childhood and adulthood.
B) the idea that men and women experience marriage differently.
C) the belief that families of the past and families of the present have nothing in common.
D) the belief that families operate in isolation from other social institutions such as politics or the
economy.
Answer: D
Page Ref: 11
22) Family Darwinism means
A) family success or failure is the result of how “fit” a specific family form is.
B) family relationships are largely determined by genes.
C) the leader of each family emerges out of a struggle for power.
D) sibling relationships are shaped by the struggle for power.
Answer: A
Page Ref: 11
, 23) Which of the following argues against the myth of separate worlds?
A) The experience of working women points to the interrelationship of work and family.
B) Families interact with institutions such as schools.
C) Parents share the authority for raising their children with organizations and institutions outside
the family.
D) all of the above
Answer: D
Page Ref: 12
24) Globalization
A) increases the control of nation-states over the welfare of their families.
B) decreases the control families have over their own members.
C) decreases the mobility of workers.
D) all of the above
Answer: B
Page Ref: 12
25) The myth of the monolithic family form embodies all of the following features except
A) the family is nuclear in form.
B) the family consists of mother, father, and their children.
C) single parents and their children are identified as families.
D) the family exhibits a gendered division of labor.
Answer: C
Page Ref: 13
26) Which of the following is not likely to be a trend among new American families in the near
future?
A) an increase in the percentage of families of color
B) major involvement with government institutions
C) an increase in families with a semi-extended family form
D) rapid economic advancement
Answer: D
Page Ref: 13
27) Which of the following factors contributes to increasing diversity among contemporary
families?
A) the large-scale increase of househusbands performing primary domestic responsibilities
B) the resurgence of the nuclear family form
C) increasing racial and ethnic diversity
D) all of the above
Answer: C
Page Ref: 15
28) The assumption that all family members have common needs, experiences, and meanings is
expressed in the myth of
A) the monolithic family form.
B) a unified family experience.
C) family consensus.
