Family Beliefs and Ideologies
Marriage and Family Interaction
HPERF258
Before We Start Today’s Class…
• FYI--Draw Your Family
– For next class: draw, or in some other creative
way, depict your family and what it means to you.
– Write a brief description of what you’ve depicted.
– We will discuss this in class next time.
Family Ideology
• A set of beliefs, standards, and values that are
shared by all family members
• Also called a family paradigm (Reiss defined it
as a set of beliefs shared by all family
members).
Development of Family Beliefs
• Develop in the Broader Social and Cultural
Context
– Are influenced by the broader social and cultural
context
– Influence how we interpret the beliefs of the
broader social and cultural context
• What does this mean?
Character of Family Beliefs
• They are Seen as "Truth" by Members
– i.e., "This is the way things are because this is the
way they are.“
• Socialization of young children
• Exposure from birth
• Because they are learned at such an early age,
we may not question them or struggle with
them, if we see our beliefs becoming
inconsistent with them.
Forming “Family” Ideology
• Formative period
– Borrowed or invented
– Draw by “new family” members from their
earlier family beliefs.
Created to fit new situations where old beliefs don’t
fit
Examples from class??
Family rituals will have meaning for this (come later
in the semester)
Where do we get ideas about how to
“do” family -- article facilitation
• In your small group, discuss article number
#24, “Spanking Children: Evidence and
Issues”
• Be aware of your emotional response to the
discussion. Why is it so common in the US
for people to feel threatened by suggestions
that we no longer spank children?
Configurations of Beliefs in Families
• Shared beliefs in families
– These are beliefs that are held in common by family
members
• Individual beliefs of family members
– These are held by individual family members,
– Family members may or may not know about each
other’s individual beliefs
• Assumptions of beliefs as “shared”
– We may think that beliefs are shared, but, in fact, this may
be inaccurate
– Learning beliefs that were believed to be shared are not
shared can be very stressful
Important Concept Regarding Levels
of Abstraction in Family Ideology
• Text presents three levels of abstraction.
• Important to remember that, for each level of
beliefs, there likely are deeper, more abstract
beliefs that influence the more basic, concrete
level
Insider’s Perspective
• Insider's Perspective on Family (and how
one's actions relate to that family)
– The view of family that we develop by living in a
family
– Helps us to “do” family, but also makes it hard to
see other types of families as acceptable
Draw your family
• Small group discussion of what you
learned from artistically depicting your
family
Types of Family Paradigms
Closed family paradigm
• Fundamental beliefs emphasize continuity,
steadiness, and conventional ways of thinking
• Clear boundaries
• Emphasis on predictability and stability
Open family paradigm
• Fundamental beliefs emphasize dialogue,
communication, patience, and a willingness to
change
• Negotiation and collaboration
• Sharing of ideas, democracy, consensus
• Flexibility
Random family paradigm
• Fundamental beliefs emphasize discontinuity,
change, and a radical focus on the present
• Novelty, creativity, individuality
• Rigidly emphasize individuality, lack of
restraint and high levels of freedom
• Appear to be “rule free”
Synchronous family paradigm
• Fundamental beliefs emphasize harmony,
tranquility, mutual identification
• Decisions based on a non-intellectual sense
of unity
• Try to act in harmonious agreement
Family’s response to stress– small group
• Exaggeration principle – families respond to
stress with an exaggerated version of
themselves
• In your small groups, discuss how each
family form would respond to a job loss in
the family.
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–
–
–
Closed families…
Open families…
Random families…
Synchronous families…
Final Thoughts on Lecture Material
• Write one thought on how family beliefs have
contributed to something positive in your life.
• Remember to turn this in to your discussion
leader.