Ch14.1 and 14.2: marriage and family Flashcards
marriage
a legally recognized social contract between two people, traditionally based on a sexual relationship, and implying a permanence of the union
sociologists’ interest in marriage
interested in the relationship between the institution of marriage and the institution of family because marriages are what create a family, and families are the most basic social unit upon which society is built
family
a socially recognized group joined by blood relations, marriage, or adoption, that forms an emotional connection and serves as an economic unit of soceity
family of orientation
refers to the family into which a person is born
family of procreation
describes a family that is formed through marriage
five contents of family as a social form
sexual activity, economic cooperation, reproduction, socialization of children, and emotional support
macro-level family
since 1950s, functionalists has emphasized the importance of the nuclear family as the basic unit of an orderly and functional society
nuclear family
a cohabiting man and woman who maintain a socially approved sexual relationships and have at least one child
functionalist approach to nuclear family
it operates as a model of the normal family, with the implication that non-normal family leads to a variety of society dysfunctions such as crime, drug, poverty, and welfare dependency
critical perspective on nuclear family
- emphasizes the inequalities and power relations within the family and their relationship to inequality in the wider society
- nuclear family should be thought of less as a normative model and more as an historical anomaly that reflected the specific social and economic conditions of the two decades following WW2
meso-level family
- the sociology of mate selection and marital satisfaction reveal the ways in which the dynamics of the group or the family itself, act upon the desire, preferences, and choices of individual actors
- concerned with the interactions within groups where multiple social roles interact simultaneously
micro-level family
- focus on the dynamics between individuals within families
- unequal exchange could lead to domestic violence (physical or emotional)
exchange theory
proposes that all relationships are based on giving and returning valued goods or services
intimate terrorism/violent resistance
describe the extreme outcomes of unequal exchange
romantic love
- defined as the desire for emotional union with another person
- in the past, it was not considered a suitable basis for marriage (marriages were arranged to increase wealth, property, or prestige)
- seen as the essential basis for marriage in modern individualistic societies
neuroscience’s discovery on love
- describes love as one of the central brain systems that have evolved to ensure mating, reproduction, and perpetuation of the species
- romantic love is the intense attraction to a particular person that focuses mating energy on that person
- romantic attachment activate oxytocin and vasopressin receptors in the brain’s reward system and suppresses regions associated with negative emotions and critical judgement of others
Robert Sternberg’s triangular theory of love, the three components of romantic love
- passion or erotic attraction: starts off at high levels but drops off as the partner no longer as the same arousal value
- intimacy: feelings of bonding, sharing, closeness, and connectedness, decreases gradually as the relationship becomes more predictable
- commitment: deliberate choice to enter and remain in a relationship, increases gradually at first then more rapidly as relationship intensified, and eventually levels off
companionate love
characterized by deep friendship, comfortable companionship, and shared interests, but not necessarily intense attraction or sexual desire
three sociological variables during the selection process
- socioeconomic and cultural resources to maximize the value the relationship will bring (income potential, family wealth, cultural resources, education, taste, worldview, and values)
- third parties like family, church, or community members tend to intervene to prevent people from choosing partners outside their social group, as it threatens group cohesion and homogeneity
- demographic variables that affect local marriage markets
local marriage markets
places like schools, workplaces, bars, clubs, and neighbourhoods where potential mates can meet
symbolic interactionist approach to family
indicate families are groups in which participants view themselves as family members and act accordingly
cohabitation
when a couple shares a residence but not a marriage
monogamy
when someone is married to only one person at a time
polygamy
being married to more than one person at a time