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Lecture notes, lectures 1
Sociology of Families (University of Calgary)
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Chapter ONE and Class
Defining Family
Can be bad when your definitions are too broad and too narrow, are
consequential have an ideological component and are social constructs
1) Legal/ formal definition- government has a version who can
marry who, what is family like for benefit plans, common law
relationships, stats Canada has a version (has become more
inclusive) need one to do surveys they have a long definition
2) Normative definition- shared by most people in an area
( sometimes the normative and the legal are not in sync)
normative tends to be more inclusive
3) Social definitions- policy making, who can use services, not
necessary legal, family shelter for example
4) Personal- how you define it
5) Theoretical definition- textbook definition, they are all
different
6) Research definition- pragmatic, define at the start of research
so they can better look at findings
Family Membership- Family of origin+ Family of procreation
Typology of Families and Unions
Families
 Nuclear family- A least one parent and one child living
together
o Conjugal
 Husband wife and kids
 Same sex parents with child
 Cohabitants with child
o Single parent
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 One parent and his or her child living together
o Grandparent/Grandchild
 One grandparent parent or two and grandchildren
living together
o Reconstituted
 Remarried spouses or cohabitating spouses when
at least one had a child from a former union
o Horizontal
 Sisters and brothers or cousins living together
without the parent generation
Extended family- all the members of a family including child
parents grandparents and other ascendants plus uncles aunts
and cousins
o In one house hold- generally involves 3 generations at
least one parent and his or her child living with another
relative usually the child’s aunt uncle or grandparent
o In multiple households
 Members of a family including child parents
grandparents and other ascendants plus uncles
aunts and cousins living in separate dwellings and
interacting on a regular basis
Unions
o Legal marriage- social/legally/religiously sanctioned
union which is generally heterosexual but could also be
of same-sex partners depending on the jurisdiction
involved
o Cohabitation- consensual union that is not legally
(common-law) sanctioned but is legally protected in
Canada- can be same sex or heterosexual
o Living apart together (LAT)- union in which the two
partners maintain separate residence
o Monogamy- a legal marriage or cohabitation involving
only two partners
o Serial monogamy- sequence of spouses or partners
over time as in the sequence of marriage divorce and
remarriage; spouses or cohabitations succeed each
other
o Polygamy- multiple partners or spouses at the same
time
o Polygyny- one man married to more than one woman at
the same time
o Polyandry- one woman married to more than one man
at the same time
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Families are an institution- they are the most basic of any
society- Institution is a recognized area of social life that is organized
along a system of widely accepted norms that regulate behaviors
 Socialization- the process whereby children learn to think
and behave according to ways of the society and the group in
which they are born and raised
o During this process kids are not passive they will
respond differently based on they personalities needs
and experiences- it is through this process that society
is shaped and how certain things are reaffirmed
Defining family is hard to do- people want different things
Stats Canada says it is: a couple of any sexual combination
with or without children married or cohabiting as well as a lone parent
of any marital status with at least one child living in the same dwelling
or grandparent raising a grandchild. – this definition has become more
inclusive
Text Book says it is: family is a social group, an institution
and an intergeneration group of individuals related to one another by
blood, adoption, or marriage/cohabitation. It is a group that endures
over several generations- also mentions how family was a part of prehumans and primates- this is why family shouldn’t have to deal with
marriage because that was a cultural thing way after
Definitions have changed as time has went on to be more
inclusive
 Having them be too inclusive have problems
o Overlaps with the concept of social networks and
support networks
o Social polices designed to facilitate family life do need a
modicum of definitional precision
o If the definition is too broad what is the point in having
one
Membership in a family is an ascribed status while friendships
are acquired
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Nuclear Family
The important part is that a new generation is added- so like couples
do not count
Binuclear- this is just when parents are divorced ½ a kids nuclear
family is with the mom and ½ is with the dad
Extended Family
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Also called our kinship group
You are most likely in a nuclear and extended family- they are not an
either or thing
 multigenerational households have never been the norm in
Canada only really among- Aboriginal,
o there has been an increase in the last two generations
mainly because of Asian immigration and people moving
back home
 only 7-10% of people in candy live with an elderly parent
the level of exchange with nuclear family and extended family
varies by coresidence, proximity of neighborhood and emotional
reasons
 in North America most relationships between members of an
extended kin system are optional
Compradazgo- friends may be assimilated into the family as
they become godparents to children- “fictional kinship bonds”
Types of Union and Marriage
Canada says there is two kinds:
1) marriage
2) common law
These are between a man and women, or two people of the same sex
When Polygamy is practiced- there is sex ratio imbalance- there isn’t
enough women to go around men are marrying women who really are
usually “unmarriable” so like too young, no education etc.
Co-Wives- are common in rural areas where there is like farming they
can benefit from having the extra help
 in cases like this women will sometimes like to have the extra
help- when they are related it is easier to adapt,
 this can suck in cases when you aren’t the one with the
favorite kid- recourses are threatened
 The mother of the favorite kid will often be like the “senior
wife” and will help pick other wives
 Some of the wives where it is illegal wont have spousal
rights- like only one of them will!
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 Overall they say monogamy is better
Authority and Lineage
o Patriarchal- men is the head of the family- this is how most
western societies are
o Patrilineal- family name is passed on from men’s side
o Matriarchal- the women is the dead of the family
o Matrilineal- this is when the name is passed on my the mother
o Patrolocal- when you create your own family and your own
offspring and you live with the males family
o Matrolocal family- is when you live with the wives family
o Neolocal Family- this is when you make your won residence- like
western way
Theory
Structural Functionalism-Tallocat Parsons
 looks at society’s organization its structure and the linkages
between various systems- the family is an important unity
that fulfills key functions for society (like child socialization)
Organic View: An organism (society) is a system with many
subsystems that collaborate or function together to optimize its
success. The various systems fulfill function or do things for one
another- Tallocat Parsons
When looking at it this way it is all about equilibrium- and how like
even inequality is functional
Instrumental Role- Father as the breadwinner
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Expressive Role- mother who cares for children, maintains
relationship and does the house work
Social Structural Orientation- families living conditions are looked at
through political economy and even cultural arrangements this does
not defend the status quo rather it suggest the necessity for the
change at the global level
Assumes that the fundamental relationship of the family members is
harmony beneficial members have complementary interest ( like how
mother and father need each other and provide different things) co
dependence and they have the same values ( they are on the same
page)
Conflict Theory- Marx and Ingles
 family as an institution will facilitate conflict
 there is unequal distribution of scare resources between not only
men and women but other families
 conflict is usually positive if it leads to changes to increase quality
but that doesn't always happen
 unequal access to like education
 society at large isn't just for class conflict but also gender and
race conflict
 family is defined by conflict, domination, competition and
subordination
 they say there are really few families that are equal
 women are exploited because they are in charge of all the unpaid
labor in the home, like cleaning- with this work that they do it
facilitate the men because they are enabling their husbands by
taking care of all the home work so that the men can go and do
paid work
Social Exchange and Rational Theories
 this was influenced by economics and utilitarianism ( self
interest)
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Social Exchange Theory
Humans and Bleau
They say that all parties involved in something should receiving
something they feel is equal- if they didn’t there wouldn’t be
balance “distributive justice” or “fair exchange”
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Main idea is that you want to maximize your benefits and minimize
your pain
 They say that the spouse with the most resources so the most
power is least likely to stay because they really don’t need to be
into the marriage
 But then there is the idea of altruism so like you will do things for
your kids- so this kind of disproves this theory also you don’t
always like know that you are making decisions
Rational Theory
 all about capital and community
 Human capital- abilities skills education and positive human
characteristics inherited or acquired by a person
 Cultural Capital- parents general knowledge and aspects of their
lifestyle that can promote their children’s achievement
 Social Capital- resources that individual families are able to secure
on the basis of membership in social networks- these have to be
things that enhance a families feeling of belonging- this is seen like
when parents are agreeing on things and share authority it lets kids
see the norms more effectively
 Social Closure- social networks are closed so that children are less
subjected to conflicting norms
 Effective Community- when neighbors are willing to take
responsibility for all the children in the community “collective
socializing” – takes a village to raise a child
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Symbolic Interactionism
 the self, social self, and role occupy a singular position- the views
that you have of yourself are formed by the way that other people
see you “the looking glass self”
 people will get their self definition from their significant others
( people that play an important role in the persons life like parents)
 Reference groups- so that can be like teachers, friends sports
people that you will look to like check in on your own behavior
Interactional-Transactional Perspectives
 posits that an individual creates their own environment at the
interpersonal level, at the same time that he or she is being shaped
by this environment
 child as a social actor- so they are participants and so are their
parents interactions will provide feed back on each other
o if the child actively participates in the socialization process
albeit unconsciously so means the child is a coproducer of
his or her own development
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this model is bidirectional- from parents to kids
feedback model it is transactional because it is parents and kids
interacting with the environment
Developmental (life coarse) perspectives
 provides a more longitudinal way or long term framework
 looks at the stages and the fluidness
 challenges appear at different life stages
 family is not a homogenous mass- there is distinct stages as you
grow
 Timing is key in this theory “on time” is 25 having a kid “off time”
13 with a baby
 how things with one person will impact the other generations- so if
say a 16 year old had a kid how would it be impactful “age
condense” but if you were 50 having a kid “age gap”
Social Constructionism
 this says that things that we take for granted that we think are
normal are really just social constructs
 they are usually made by people with money and power
 it is like how childhood was never really a thing we made a defined
it- we let the professions make these
The Gendered Social Construction of Parenthood
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Motherhood
 social and cultural phenomenon- it is socially constructed to serve
the culture of the time and the economic system of a society
 it is also defined according to what the definition of childhood and
childhood needs and role in a economic system
 as the needs of children change so do the role of mothers- once
they decide what the kids need then that’s what mothers do.
o Ex) North America they are told to develop intellectuals and
self esteem whereas in Africa they are all about safety and
survival because of the high mortality rates
o Ethnocentric Phenomenon is motherhood defined by western
society?
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Multiple Parenting- majorting in many agrarian and gathering
societies “share the care of children”- common in black and
aboriginal families
Intensive Parenting- happens in western society- see kids as a
project that has to be perfected- all about expert advice, labor
intensive at the middle class and have promotion of self esteem and
development
Proper feeding of infants: moral entrepreneurs now act like you
are bad if you don’t breast feed your child- whereas before you
were given the choice
Mother blaming- old phenomena- useful when political told what
socials structures and safety nets fail individual families- mothers
become children’s only safety net- like handi kid is more likely to
live with his lone mother- also when women are made into mothers
their career and identity that worked for is gone whereas men stay
the worker
Fatherhood
Definition has been changing he is still considered the worker and
bread winner, the ideal father now is apart of kids daily lives but the
involvement is still low.
 Dual Practice of Fatherhood- one for intact families and one for
what are all absent fathers
o the more remote the legal paternity linkages to mothers the
less involved the fathers are
o when fathers divorce even if they have spilt custody they
fadeout and when they remarry the new kids “crowd out” the
old once
o the least involved are the men that father kids non martially
and especially if they have not lived with the mother
o Fatherhood depends on the relationship with the mother men
are more likely to be better dads if the mother has confidence
in him- whereas women don t need that reinforcement
o Fathering is more contextually sensitive process than
mothering
Behavior Genetics
This looks at withing-family phenomena to explain how nature and
nurture combine and intact to produce personalities parent-child
interactions the home environment how parents raise their children
and why children grow up to be who they became
 in a family each person is a part of the other environment
 Because of their different personalities siblings in a family do not
experience their shared environment in the same way-
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o Shared Environment- consists of family evens and
circumstance in which everyone partake such as family
outings meals together parental teachings and even divorce
o Non Shared Environment- do not share like illnesses
classrooms and peers
Feminism
 looks at the patriarical organization of society
 Influenced by conflict theory
 Challenge traditional family roles
 Challenge the traditional family- is was really not so deal patriarchal
short lived, violence
 Challenge the role of being a mother- you cant really like it or doing
house work
 How can you say mother is best to take care of kids?
 Raising our kids with these gender ways- they will grow up to do
the same thing so the cycle just keeps going
 Challenge that the family is a safe haven really isn’t there are
some places are just aren’t- bad homes
 Not always happy and harmonious- we question ourselves when
things aren’t going right when nobody is perfect we should question
our standards not ourselves
 Need to promote new gender roles
Gender Stratification and Gender Roles
Go back to social constructionism- they represent the social definitions
of what in a society is constructed as appropriately masculine or
feminine in terms of behavior
 Gender Roles- norms or rules that define how males and females
should think and behave
o Macro level
 Gender roles are supported by the masculine
organization or stratification system of the society
which provides more resources authority and
opportunities to men than to women- men have more
power than women this affects the way that we think
and feel at the Micro level
 at a really young age when you are being
socialized this is all starting with the type of toys
you are given
Feminist Analyses of the Family
 there exists a fallacy that the family is a separate group that is
untouched by society’s inequalities
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o they see the divisions of individuals lives between public and
the private spheres as analytically flawed
 private domain is affect by the public (cultural,
economy, policy) but the private becomes a polecat
issues- like beating your wife is private but made public
they say that motherhood is a social construct- not a natural
product
marriage adds to inequality for women and perpetuates in the
private life
Methods for Family Research
Theory- set of interrelated propositions that explains a particular
phenomenon and guides research
Hypothesis- testable proposition or sentence
Methods- are the means or tools that utilized to answer
researchers questions or obtain information- if you don’t use the
right one you wont have good data
survey- questionnaires, face to face interviews, phone interviews
Observationso Natural setting- home streets
o Participant observation- researcher plays a role in the life of
the respondents
o Laboratory- particularity of mother/child interaction and one
way mirror events are recorded as they are seen
Experiments
o Natural- study of families before and after a social effect or
natural phenomena- so like if an earthquake happens or if
internet is introduced
o Laboratory- before and after a variable is introduced or while
the dynamics of an interaction are ongoing
Evaluative Research
o Can use any of the above methods in order to study the
impact of social policy initivitie and clinical interventions
Content and Secondary Analysis
o Content analysis of public documents media programs
newspapers books songs videos
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o Content analysis of archives and personal documents such as
dairies for historical research
o Content analysis of diaries and autobiographies
o Secondary analysis of survey and the census and other stat
sources (secondary means the searchers who do the analyses
were not the ones who had designed the original study or
data gathering)
Qualitative Methods Vs Quantitative
Qualitative- based on numbers percentages and averages they are
shown in tables and charts and are expressed in stats
 Ground Theory- methodological approach guiding the study of
family via qualitiave methods- emphasizes individual experience
from which to build research results and even theory
 Cross Sectional- GSS
 Longitudinal- National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth
 Experiments
 Content Analysis
 Evaluative Research
Qualitative- reports what family members say write and do in the
form of quotes, extracts, summaries, and case studies
Unity in Diversity
Intergenerational Institution- families are united even though they are
different
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