Chapter Two: Studying The Family (JHR)

Summary:
According to Benokraitis, there are eight different theoretical perspectives on families: structural functionalism (macro), conflict (macro), feminist (macro/micro), (macro/micro), ecological (macro/micro), developmental (macro/micro), symbolic interactionist (micro), social exchange (micro), and family systems (micro). Each of these eight perspectives looks at the family from a different angle, as well as asking and answering specific questions about the family.

1. Structural Functionaliam: looks at the the function of a family in terms of how it functions in a larger society; what are the functions of a family that would contribute to society
2. Conflict: looks at the conflict a family would have with society, and examines their struggles based on social inequalities; how might one family be benefiting, while another is not benefiting?
3. Feminist: looks at a family as a group that is learning how to function within society by using gender roles, age, sexual orientation, as well as other factor as their guide; how might the role be different for a man and a woman within a family? Are their experiences the same?
4. Ecological: looks at how the family will change and adapt to the changes in their neighborhood/environment; would the area in within a family reside effect the way in which it function?
5. Developmental: looks at the different tasks and behaviors of each member of the family as a phase that one is in; how are some task performed by certain family members essential to the family's survival?
6. Symbolic Interactionist: looks at the way families interaction within themselves, as well as with society, through symbols, values and communication; how does one family distinguish between "right" and "wrong"?
7. Social Exchange: looks at the family as a group of people who, within themselves, are attempting to gain rewards without having to give up much; how would one person of a family benefit from a certain task, and how much are the losing by performing it?
8. Family Systems: looks at the family as a group who people who need to interact with each other, as well as society, in order to survive; what makes a family functional verses dysfunctional, and can these behaviors be fixed?

When researching families there are six methods that can be used; surveys, clinical research, field research, secondary research, experiments, and evaluation research. Each of these method encompass different techniques in which data is collected.

1. Surveys: data collection through questionnaires
   
2. Clinical Research: studies people who obtain help from mental health professionals and other scientists
   
3. Field Research: individuals are studied in their own surroundings; researchers are either known or unknown to their subjects
   
4. Secondary Research: data collected from past studies and examined again by a new researcher
   
5. Experiments: controlled scenarios that can be manipulated by a researcher in order to test the effect of certain variables
   
6. Evaluation Research: uses all of the method described above in order to tell if a certain program is effective at producing its desired results.

Along with the guidelines for how to carry out each method of research, there are ethic codes that must be followed when collecting data. The Nation Council on Family Relations and the American Sociological Association are just two of many organization that regulate how research is conducted.

New/Interesting Things:
As a Sociology major I was surprised to find out that there were more sociological perspectives that I was not made aware of in my introductory courses. I knew of the main three (structural-functionalist, conflict, and symbolic interactionist), however the other five were somewhat new to me. There were some aspects of each that I have heard of before, but I was not aware that each of the things I considered minor details actually embodied a whole other perspective in itself.

Also, I was shocked to find that the book defined a significant other as "people in our primary groups, such as parents, friends, relatives, and teacher- who play important roles in our socialization". As a culture, I think we are made to believe that a significant other is someone that we are dating, married to, or cohabiting with; I would never think of my mom, let alone my dad, as my significant other.

Question/Concern/Discussion Angle:
I would like to talk more about this significant other definition. How is it that our society could define a significant other as one thing, but social scientist can define is as another if they are studying "us" to get their findings? Why don't these definitions match up, and will they ever match up?