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Symbolic interaction
- culture dictates the language we learn and how we interpret various situations; our families help socialize us into behavioral patterns
- We define what is real or “normal” based on what those around us accept as ordinary
- •Human agency
- •Meso-level institutions help define our roles within the family
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Rational choice theory
- family patterns are reinforced to the extent that the exchanges are beneficial to the members. Relationships are unlikely to continue when the costs outweigh the rewards
- Costs and benefits often established by meso-level organizations and institutions
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Structural functional
- the family serves a number of common purposes in every society
- •Sexual regulation
- •Reproduction and replacement
- •Socialization
- •Emotional support and protection
- •Status assignment/attainment
- •Economic support
- –Many family functions have been outsourced
- •Changing family functions
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Conflict theory
- conflict within families is inevitable and natural; this conflict results from struggles for power both from within the family and between the family and society at large
- •Families help sustain class inequality
- •Power struggles within families can be positive because they can lead to changes that make the family as a unit stronger
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Feminist theory
- women are placed at the center to spotlight them as active agents and uncover the biases in male assumptions
- •At the micro level, examine the way women construct their own realities within the context of social factors
- •More equality and autonomy for women can be obtained with changes in the patriarchal family structure, education and employment opportunities for women, and child care availability
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Stimulus
we meet someone to whom we are attracted
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Value comparison
we find a person compatible if they affirm our own beliefs and values
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Roles and needs
the couple explores the roles of companion, parent, housekeeper, and lover and find common needs, interests, and favored activities
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Egalitarian family patterns
power and authority is shared between spouses
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Resource theory
the spouse with the greater resources (education, income, occupational prestige) has greater power
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second shift
refers to the housework and child care that employed women do after their first-shift job
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