SOC 350 Exam 1 Review (2022)
Define personal families, legal families, and the family as an institutional arena. Give
examples of each, and explain how they're different from each other. - ANSWER
personal family: the people to whom we feel related and who we expect to define us as
members of their family as well. EX: parents, siblings, step-siblings, friends etc.
legal families: a group of individuals related by birth, marriage, or adoption. EX:
immediate and extended family
Family as an institutional arena: a social space in which relations between people in
common positions are governed by accepted rules of interaction. EX: mother, father,
child, brother, sister
How has the Census's definition of a family changed over time? - ANSWER Today, the
definition is a family who lives together in one household. The definition of family used
to be a householder, the wife and the children.
When it comes to understanding families, how are structural functionalists and conflict
theoretical perspectives different? Based on what you read in the chapter, contrast how
the two theories might explain the breadwinner-homemaker family. - ANSWER conflict
perspective believes opposition and conflict define a given society and are necessary
for social evolution while the SF perspective believe consensus and harmony form the
basis of society. SF would agree with the breadwinner-homemaker family dynamic
whereas conflict theorists would argue that the husband and wife should be competing
for the roles.
Describe three significant contributions of feminist theory to sociologists' understanding
of contemporary families. - ANSWER Researchers pointed out that gender inequality
is central to family life.
Family structure is socially constructed - the product of human choices rather than the
inevitable outcome of natural or biological processes.
Race, ethnicity, and social class all affect family life and gender dynamics in unique
ways.
Why is exchange theory part of the consensus tradition of perspectives? Give an
example of how an exchange theorist might explain housework. – ANSWER People
enter into relationships because they have something to gain from them. Husbands
benefit from this because the wives are expected to do the housework and if they do,
then the husband is more inclined to feel like he needs to work to make the money.
According to modern theorists, what distinguishes first modernity from second
modernity? What are the implications for relationships? - ANSWER
Define personal families, legal families, and the family as an institutional arena. Give
examples of each, and explain how they're different from each other. - ANSWER
personal family: the people to whom we feel related and who we expect to define us as
members of their family as well. EX: parents, siblings, step-siblings, friends etc.
legal families: a group of individuals related by birth, marriage, or adoption. EX:
immediate and extended family
Family as an institutional arena: a social space in which relations between people in
common positions are governed by accepted rules of interaction. EX: mother, father,
child, brother, sister
How has the Census's definition of a family changed over time? - ANSWER Today, the
definition is a family who lives together in one household. The definition of family used
to be a householder, the wife and the children.
When it comes to understanding families, how are structural functionalists and conflict
theoretical perspectives different? Based on what you read in the chapter, contrast how
the two theories might explain the breadwinner-homemaker family. - ANSWER conflict
perspective believes opposition and conflict define a given society and are necessary
for social evolution while the SF perspective believe consensus and harmony form the
basis of society. SF would agree with the breadwinner-homemaker family dynamic
whereas conflict theorists would argue that the husband and wife should be competing
for the roles.
Describe three significant contributions of feminist theory to sociologists' understanding
of contemporary families. - ANSWER Researchers pointed out that gender inequality
is central to family life.
Family structure is socially constructed - the product of human choices rather than the
inevitable outcome of natural or biological processes.
Race, ethnicity, and social class all affect family life and gender dynamics in unique
ways.
Why is exchange theory part of the consensus tradition of perspectives? Give an
example of how an exchange theorist might explain housework. – ANSWER People
enter into relationships because they have something to gain from them. Husbands
benefit from this because the wives are expected to do the housework and if they do,
then the husband is more inclined to feel like he needs to work to make the money.
According to modern theorists, what distinguishes first modernity from second
modernity? What are the implications for relationships? - ANSWER
