Public and Private Families

Chapter 1

Increasing ambivalence

• Women in workforce vs. children in day care

• Divorce vs. unhappy marriage

Focus on the individual

• Individualism

• Utilitarian individualism

• Expressive individualism

Public vs. Private

• Public• One adult, or two adults who are related by marriage, partnership, or shared

parenthood, who is/are taking care of dependents

• Private• Two or more individuals who maintain an intimate relationship that they

expect will last indefinitely and who usually live in the same household and pool their incomes and household labor

Public vs. Private

• Public• Externalities

• Benefits or costs that accrue to others when an individual or business produces something• Negative – costs imposed on others• Positive – benefits received by others

• Public goods• Things that may be enjoyed by people who not themselves produce them

• Free-rider problem• The tendency for people to obtain public goods by letting others do the work of

producing them

Public vs. Private

• Not all families will be accepted by society or by the state• There are implications to our social construction of family

Sociology and the Scientific Method

• The scientific study of social relationships and human groups.

Theory

• A set of statements or propositions that seek to explain or predict a particular aspect of social life.

Sociological Theory and Family

• Structural Functional• Conflict/Feminist• Symbolic Interaction• Exchange• Postmodern

Structural Functionalism

• Assumes that society is structured to maintain stability• Control and regulation• Socialization• Emotional support

Conflict Perspective

• Examines society in terms of conflict, struggle and scare resources.• Who benefits and who suffers?

Feminist Theory

• Looks at gender as the central organizing principle within society (Conflict and SI)• Men’s domination

Social Exchange Theory

• Assumes that humans’ choices are motivated by the same forces that drive economic marketplaces.• Maximize rewards and minimize costs

Symbolic Interactionist Theory

• Looks at everyday social interactions as well as symbols.

Postmodern

• Individuals reflexively influence their social environments• Late modern era• The last few decades of the 20th century and the present day

• Self-identity• A person’s sense of who he/she is and of where he/she fits in the social

structure

• Reflexivity• The process through which individuals take in knowledge, reflect on it, and

alter their behavior as a result.

Objectivity

• The ability to draw conclusions about a social situation that are unaffected by one’s own belief• Critical to scientific study

What is the Scientific Method?• Systematic, organized series of

steps that ensures maximum objectivity and consistency in researching a problem• Defining the problem• Reviewing the literature• Formulating the hypothesis• Selecting the research design

and collecting and analyzing data• Developing the conclusion

Replication

• The practice of researchers performing similar studies to see whether they obtain the same results as a previous study.

Hypothesis

• A researchable prediction that specifies the relationship between two or more variables.

Research

• Hypothesis: Speculative statement about the relationship between two or more factors known as variables• Variable: Measurable trait or characteristic subject to change under different

conditions• Independent variable: Variable

hypothesized to cause or influence another• Dependent variable: Action depends

on influence of the independent variable

Research

• Experiment – A research method designed to elicit some sort of behavior; typically under closely controlled laboratory conditions.

Research

• Survey – A form of social research in which researchers ask respondents a series of questions, either orally or through a questionnaire.• Primary analysis – analysis of survey data by the people who collected the

information• Secondary analysis – analysis of survey data by people other than those who

collected it

Observational/Field research

• A type of research in which the researchers goes out and observes events as they actually occur.

Unobtrusive research

• Content analysis – study of recorded communication to determine variations in social trends over time

• Historical analysis- research method that relies on existing historical documents as a source of data.

Samples

• Representative• Random• Convenience

Globalization

• The increasing flow of goods and services, money, migrants, and information across the nations of the world• Impact on the family

Social institution

• A set of roles and rules that define a social unite of importance to society• Organized patterns of belief and behavior centered on meeting social needs