Chapter 2

Summary:

Chapter 2 discusses a lot of basics about the sociology of the family and marriage.

It begins with a discussion of how few American actually believe statistics and research.  They give 3 reasons as to why research is so important to understanding the family in a sociological way.  First; “what we don’t know can hurt us,” second; “theories and research help us understand ourselves and our families,” third; “they improve our ability to think more critically and make informed decisions in our own families” (pg 30).

The first point points out that many Americans use the internet as a source of health information.  They are not using accredited sites to get the information from either; they often are ordering self-help audiotapes or books, which are not as helpful as they are lead to believe. 

The second points asks the reader to consider research about a child’s sugar intake and how it may relate to a child’s misbehavior. Scientific research helps families to better understand why their child may be acting out.

Finally, it is pointed out that much of what is publicly known about families is biased and that the best way to know what is true is to stay informed.  And, the best way to stay informed is to be aware of statistics.

Much of the chapter focuses on the eight best-known family theories.  These range from macro levels of analysis of micro levels. They included the structural function theory, conflict, feminist, ecological, family development, symbolic interaction, social exchange, and family systems theory.  Each theory was outlined and then the positives and negatives of each theory were discussed.  The conclusion was, none of the theories are perfect. Sociologists must use a combination of many of the theories to really understand the family.

Finally, the last part of the chapter discusses research methods and which are the most beneficial to the study of the family.  They discus surveys, clinical research, field research, secondary analysis, experiments, and evaluation research.  Like the family theories, the strengths and weaknesses of each type of research method is discussed and again, the conclusion that a combination of the methods is necessary to wholly understand the family.

What interested me:

I really found the different theories interesting, some more than others.  I really found myself considering the symbolic interaction theory. It got me to thinking about my relationship with my mother and the ways our roles have changed throughout the years and how it changes our interactions. When I was living at home, she was an authoritative figure but also nurturing.  As I have gone to college and hardly ever go home, our roles and interactions have changed, we are now more friends than mother and daughter.  I often wonder how these roles would differ if I never would have gone to college or if my mother was a single mother. If she were a single mother, would we have been friends all along and would I have been the authoritative figure for my younger brother?

Question for discussion:

I would like to discuss the undercover professor example. In the book, it states that the professor’s peers and other researchers said her research was “dishonest and unethical,” (pg. 45).   I cannot seem to understand why others would think that, she’s not breaking into some secret society (I recently read a book about a journalist who went undercover in a sorority house which I would consider unethical), so what is so bad about what she did?

Gina Zidek