1. Theoretical Perspectives in the Study of the Family
Individuals and Families: Diverse Perspectives
Unit 1 - Chapter 2

2. What image do you see? Old woman or young lady?
Do you see an old woman or a beautiful young lady?
Old woman or young lady?

3. What image do you see?
Do you see a vase or two human faces?

4. Perception is the way the brain interprets an image or event
Perspective is the way you perceive or interpret the meaning of an image or event
Your perspective is influenced by the beliefs and values you hold
It draws you to some things and blinds you to others

5. How can people change what happens?
Social scientists attempt to answer the following questions:
What happens?
How does it happen?
Why does it happen?
How can people change what happens?
These perspectives are known as theoretical perspectives or frameworks.
Social scientists attempt to explain human behaviour from a particular perspective

6. A Theoretical Perspective…
● is a point of view about a subject
● gives us a framework for asking
questions
● helps us organize and manage
research
● reflects an individual’s assumptions
about human behaviour and the
motivations behind it
● is viewed by its supporters as true

7. These are the theoretical perspectives that we will learn about and apply throughout this course.
There are both macro and micro perspectives.
Macro perspectives work from a large or societal scale.
Micro perspectives work from a small or individual scale.
Refer to Chapter 2 in the textbook. Look for the icon in the margin whenever there is a theoretical perspective referred to in the textbook.

8. No one perspective is best in all circumstances The perspective one uses may depend on the question being asked
Government introduction of full-day kindergarten
Functionalism
Impact of bullying on school performance
Refer to the chart on page 48 of the textbook to examine how the different perspectives can be applied in the research process.
Symbolic Interaction

9. ● Analytical tools for understanding,
THEORIES
● Analytical tools for understanding,
explaining, and making predictions
about a given subject matter
● Framework for organizing and
explaining observable evidence
● Define patterns and trends in the
social sciences
● Many theories that attempt to
explain the same set of
observations
What theories are you aware of based on your studies in previous science or social-science courses.

10. THEORIES (continued) ● Many theories were developed in the mid-20th
century, a time of intensive study
in the social sciences
● Some theories are durable and
continue to be used to explain
human behaviour for many years
● Others have become less useful
as the facts of human behaviour
have changed and been replaced
by newer theories
What theories are you aware of based on your studies in previous science or social-science courses.

11. “Theories suggest what we look at contain underlying assumptions about how the social world works—which in turn guide our research questions and methods” (Albanese, 2007, p. 130)
Theories and theoretical perspectives are intertwined.
When working in the social sciences, the terms are often used interchangeably.
Be aware that all researchers use a perspective to frame their research and, in turn, develop theories—underlying assumptions.

12. Theoretical Perspectives Sociology

13. FUNCTIONALISM
“Families are institutions that serve specific functions in society, and family members are expected to fill prescribed roles within the institution for the good of society as a whole” (Albanese, 2007, p. 14)
Consider different movie clips that could be used to illustrate this perspective—My Big Fat Greek Wedding or Bend It Like Beckham are two examples. Identify examples of how the perspective is illustrated.

14. FUNCTIONALISM (continued)
Looks at how society is organized to perform its required functions
Social change can upset the balance in society
Key Terms: status, roles, norms
Status—a specific position within a social group
Role—a set of behaviours that an individual is expected to demonstrate
Norm—most prevalent behaviours
Refer to Figure 2-11, on page 38 in the textbook. Work with a partner to consider whether the increasing numbers of stay-at-home dads is benefiting society. What are the consequences for individuals, the family, and society of a man looking after children and earning no income while his partner works. Refer back to the main points of this perspective.

15. SYSTEMS THEORY Examines how family members interact as a system
Goal is to maintain stability of the system
Family systems have a complex organization because individuals never leave a family
A change in one member causes change in all members
Key Terms: feedback, subsystems, strategies
This framework looks at how individual family members work together and influence one another over time.
The family goes beyond those who live within the household to include extended family, children who have married and moved away, etc.
Feedback—a process by which members learn how to interact to maintain stability of the system; it is a give and take between members.
Subsystems—each family consists of many subsystems—the family, the interpersonal subsystems, and personal subsystems.
Strategies—patterns of interaction that are repeated; can be referred to as meaningful habits; require the collaboration of all members to continue.
Consider the example presented in the textbook: What happens within a family when a stay-at-home wife and mother returns to work after having a child? What changes would you expect to see? How will family members adapt? Will they?
Refer to the Case Study feature, A Genogram of the Johnson Family System, on page 40 in the textbook and consider the answers to questions 1–4.

16. Theoretical Perspectives Psychology

17. SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM
How individuals behave based on their perceptions of themselves and others
People define and interpret their experiences to give them meaning
It is this meaning that matters
Discuss the statement “It is how people interpret their experiences that influences how they give meaning to it.”
There are many examples of this perspective in movies and television shows. Mean Girls is a very good example.
Refer to the book Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus. Men and women have problems in their relationships because they give different meanings to actions and words. By acting in ways that reflect their own interpretation of the other sex, they behave in ways that are confusing to them.
Many resources are available at the author John Gray’s web site

18. SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM
Three basic concepts:
“me” and “I”
“take the attitude of the other”
shared symbols
“I am not what I think I am; I am not what you think I am; I am what I think you think I am” (Cooley)
Three basic concepts:
1. “Me” is the objective qualities like height, weight, and hair colour. “I” is the subjective awareness of self—good student, shy, lonely. The “I” is based on how the individual interprets feedback from other people.
Refer to the quote by Cooley in the textbook. Discuss what he is trying to say?
2. Take the attitude of the other. You must do this to anticipate what the other person will do and decide how they will respond.
3. We can only interact effectively if we can communicate with others. Language is the means by which we interpret and give meaning to our experiences of self and others.

19. EXCHANGE THEORY Making choices based on costs and benefits
Maximize benefits and minimize costs
Social roles are stable when the exchange is equal (benefits = costs)
Benefits and costs are based on perceptions, not facts
Exchange theory borrows from symbolic interactionism. It is based on how people interpret the costs and benefits within their relationships. Benefits and costs are not facts, they are interpretations.

20. Theoretical Perspectives Interdisciplinary Approaches

21. LIFE-COURSE APPROACH
Looks at behaviour demonstrated by individuals or families at various stages
Examines biological, psychological, social, and cultural factors that influence development
There are predictable changes in behaviour throughout the life cycle
Families have life courses with predictable stages marked by normative events such as marriage and the birth of children
Developmental tasks—prerequisites for moving on to the next stage
This is the approach used in this textbook which is also called developmental theory.
This approach explains how a person or family adapts in response to internal or external stimuli.
It is often combined with systems theory to analyze how transitions take place.
Developmental theories such as this one are based on long-term studies of many cohorts and are used to explain behaviour and are not intended to dictate how people should behave or criticize those who follow a different life pattern.
Developmental tasks are prerequisites for moving on to the next stage. Brainstorm the developmental tasks of the young single person. What do young adults need to do before they move on to the next stage? The newly married couple establish a career path; separate from birth family; and establish intimate relationships with others.
Two criticisms of this approach are that not all stages fit all families and individuals and non-normative events such as the death of a child will not be experienced by all families.

22. CONFLICT THEORY Power is what holds society together
Conflict exists because of inequities in power
Society is organized into groups to divide people according to their power
Groups compete to meet their needs
Competition can result in exploitation
The conflict theory combines sociological and political theory.
It is both a macro- and micro-level theory.
Macro level: identify examples from society in which one group has had power over another—oppression of blacks, subjugation of women, parents over children.
This theory was developed in the 19th century when there were large social inequalities in societies. Refer to the example on textbook pages 43–44 about men, women, and children and their roles in the family. Look at conflict theory from a micro level when you are examining relationships within the family.

23. CONFLICT THEORY (continued)
“Conflict theorists ask the question “Functional for whom?” because, unlike functionalists, they question why the structure of society does not work for everyone” (Teevan & Hewitt, 1995)
Conflict theory is used to criticize, not explain society.
Karl Marx stated that people must perceive the dominant group as being more entitled to the benefits of society than others.
Many people believe that this inequality is the natural state of human society.
Discuss the quote.

24. FEMINIST THEORY Examine the impact of sex and gender on behaviour
Androcentricity is bias that assumes male behaviour is human behaviour
Types of feminists: liberal, socialist, radical
The feminist theory was developed in the second half of the 20th century.
It works from a conflict theory perspective, but uses sex and gender rather than class.
Androcentricity—if females do not behave the same as males, they are considered deviant.
Feminists argue that change is necessary so the needs of all people are met.
Liberal feminism—discriminatory policies force women into an inferior social class that restricts their rights to participate fully in society according to their individual abilities; they try to change social policy through political means.
Some examples from history are the right to vote and pay-equity laws.
Socialist feminism—assumption that the status of women is a social inequity rooted in the sexual division of paid and unpaid labour.
Radical feminism—differences in power between men and women result in any male-female relationship being exploitive; they suggest there should be the development of a separate female culture.

25. ECOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
Individuals and families are members of interlocking systems within society that influence each other
Goes beyond systems theory to consider the impact of influences outside the family
Urie Bronfenbrenner developed this perspective in 1979.
This approach combines aspects of systems theory and developmental theory.
Used to explain the diversity of the developmental behaviour that cannot be explained by developmental theory alone.
It recognizes the influences of other influences and goes beyond the family to include socio-economic and socio-cultural environments.
Refer to Figure 2-19 on page 47 in the textbook. What government policies have had an impact on the decisions families are making?

26. Society influences individuals and families on four levels:
ECOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE (continued)
● Microsystem––individual
● Mesosystem––small groups,
such as family
● Exosystem––socio-economic
environment, such as extended
family, school, and employment
● Macrosystem––socio-cultural
environment, the society in which
one lives
Society influences individuals and families on four levels: