“A family can be defined as a set of people related by blood, marriage or in some other agreed upon relationship, or adoption, who share primary responsibility for reproduction and caring for member of society". (Schaefer, 2009, p. 288) This leads to a wide open range of interpretation on the exact definition of how a family is truly made up. Depending on your culture, religion, or geographical location a family may represent and be comprised of many different ideals and social norms. There are many theoretical perspectives that have their own interpretations on the subject of what a family is and how it is perceived. I will attempt to expound on three of these perspectives; Functionalism, Conflict, and Interactionalism. The family is a societal institution which initiates the positive and negative process of social interactions between people. Over the last few decades what constitutes the family has changed all over the world. Family in today’s environment is diverse in nature and may go beyond the scope of parents and children. Families can consist of variations in relationships such as close relatives, stepparents, half siblings and extended non-biological family members. Normally, immediate family members live in the same house, nearby, until the child reaches a specified age and maturity to go into the world and start their own family. Most often members of the families have intimate and personal relationships with each other. Within the family there is a continuation of social interactions between members that can influence and shape peoples responses and reactions to their larger societies. Talcott Parson (1902-1979), a prominent sociologist from Harvard University, is accredited as the key figur... ... middle of paper ... ...unctionalism provides a positive platform for viewing society; although interactionism does a nice job as well. The conflict theory is very negative and cynical in its view of society. Conflict is assumed and little energy is devoted to solving it because the underlying assumption is that it is an expected constant. Interactionism can be extremely positive if helpful strategies have been learned that can be used in interactions with others. However, it can be negative if individuals are locked into their personal views. Additionally, in contrast to functionalism and conflict perspectives that study society on a macro-sociological level, interactionists employ micro-sociology (Schaefer, 2009). Evaluating the family from various sociological viewpoints gives insight into the development of socialization within the familial framework and society at large.
compare and contrast the three man schools of sociological theorising with reference to key theorists Introduction 200 Body 1 365
Determining family structure and dynamics as well as defining the family is a complex process. Personally, I come from a very traditional family. Much like the assumptions made by the students in the article Defining Family: Young Adults’ Perceptions of the Parent-Child Bond by Mellisa Holtzman (2008). This is what comes to mind when most people define family; a nuclear family, with married parents, and biological children. However, a family is a complex system and can take on many different forms.
The modern family is a very complex organism. It has become evident that not everyone considers family to be the same thing. As illustrated, there are at least seven different variations of families, and only five of them are recognized as such. Not surprisingly, 99% of people consider a married couple with children as an ideal family (Penn). Some focus solely on their nuclear family, some readily claim their extended family, and some even claim others who are like them, but not necessarily biologically related. Many people gravitate towards the idea of a self-based and centered family, fueled by an independent streak. Others have learned that strangers can be more accepting of them than those who are supposed to be kin to them. However, this is not to say that even others still do not reach out to members of their extended family for support in daily living. In short, the modern family is an ever-changing device. Society is much better off having these sorts of various views of family. It is comforting to know that one will always have someone to turn to in times of need, but it is also nice to know that one can be independent of others and have the determination to stand
Family, a group consisting of parents and children living together in a household. Although family is a concretely defined term, the idea of family varies from person to person. But, what makes a family? For those who are surrounded by loving blood relatives, for those who have never known the one to grant them life, for those who have left their blood behind for a more loving and nurturing environment, what can commonly define a family? Family is something defined by the individual. Family includes those who you have come to love, whether platonically or romantically, those you have suffered with, those you have come to respect, and most importantly those you have cared for and in turn have cared for you. To one that could mean people who
A family might include anyone related by blood or by adoption such as: step parents, grandparents acting as parents, and even brothers and sisters sharing the same household. However, worldwide “the family is regarded as the most ba...
A family is defined as a “system within a system”, it is actually compared to a self operating entity in which each part is related to another in order for it to correctly function (Sigelman & Rider, 2012, p.470). Sigelman and Rider (2012) agree that, the family is a changing system, in a sense, because there are new members that come in, some others pass away, and that changes sometimes the roles of each and everyone in the system. There are multiple relationships in the family such as parents-children, and siblings to siblings. Also, families nowadays exist in a changing world; therefore we are seeing more unmarried parents, more working mothers, more divorces, and more multigenerational families (Sigelman & Rider, 2012, pp. 472-473).
There are many types of family that exists in today’s society, each important to the upbringing of any children of which may be apart of it.
There are several social structures in society that impact the behaviour of individuals, such as family, religion, science, politics, economy, law and education. These contribute in shaping one’s norms and values. Family is the most basic social structure that ...
Symbolic interactionism is the most social out of the three theories due to the fact that it is based upon the premise that society is made through the interactions individuals have with each other. The belief “that family reinforce and rejuvenate bonds through symbolic mechanism rituals such as family meals and holidays” is held by symbolic interactionism (Boundless). Everything any family member does is symbolic and affects the other family members in a positive or negative light and rituals or traditions held by the family only impacts the individual more. This brings forth the stereotype that parents control the fate of their children nonetheless. People emphasize the interactions parents have with their children over anyone else, as parents are the people that the child does see and is around most often in majority of
What is a family? A family is two or more people consider themselves to be blood related, or related by marriage, or adoption. Our families are who we love. We as families look different in so many ways. A family’s caregiving unit might have a couple, a mother, a father, and children. A family could also be a single parent and child, a group of siblings, a small or large group of friends. A family defines itself in many different ways. Families are the foundation of how our society and how it works. It is how we come into the world and nurtured and given the tools that we need to go out into our world. We are both capable and healthy or not our families influence our lives either in a good way or a bad way. While families
Everyone is born into some form of family, with the family taking the responsibility of nurturing, teaching the norms or accepted behaviors within the family structure and within society. There are many types of families, which can be described as a set of relationships including parents and children and can include anyone related by blood or adoption. Family is the most important, “for it is within the family that the child is first socialized to serve the needs of the society and not only its own needs” (Goode, 1982).
The definition of family is “It finds its origin in marriage; it consists of husband, wife, and children born in their wedlock, though other relatives may find their place close to this nuclear group, an the group is united by moral, legal, economic, religious and social rights and obligations” (Ravelli and Webber 283). My family fits perfectly into the definition of what a family is. My family is a nuclear family; I have a mother, father and
Family by its nature is a social unit wherein children grow up and it acts like the socialization agent. Children receive their earliest and most consistent socialization here in the family. In a family it is very important as to how parents cater the needs of their children and how children take care of them in return. Parents as well as the child are very important part of the developmental process, as it is the parents who will shape the children as what they will become. The parent child relationship influences each other and together they shape the relationship they engage in it. Family is a social unit where in all the members living together is related to one another. Family is regarded
Family is arguably the most important social institution in an individual's life. A family is defined as a group of individuals that are related through blood ties, adoption or marriage, that form an economic unit, where the adult members are responsible for the upbringing of children. As a social institution, families change over time, but are usually the first and most important social part of an individual’s life. Education also prepares young people for entry into adulthood and is therefore a form of socialization.
In this discussion, I will be explaining how I define family. I will also include my immediate and extended family. I will also describe what family means to me, how mine differs from other families in my neighborhood, and also how they are similar. I will also describe my family’s ethnicity and how it may affect any of my family’s health. To me, a family is a group of people that are brought together by blood, adoption, or marriage.