Theoretical Perspective



THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES FOR STUDYING INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILIES

|Theoretical Perspective |Theorist(s) |Underlying Assumptions |

|FUNCTIONALISM |Auguste Compte |Views the family as an institution among other social institutions |

| | |Structure and function connect the family with society as a whole and |

|Macro level view/approach of family |Emile Durkeim |separate it from other institutions |

| | |Emphasizes family strengths |

|Analyzes: large scale patterns of society |Federic LePlay |Major part of this approach is the development of the concept of |

| | |values and norms, including social scripts, status and |

|relationships among parts of society |Bronislav Malinowski |roles-individuals within society have roles to play and each role has |

| | |a status |

| |William F. Ogburn |The most prevalent behaviours are called “norms” |

| | |This approach is unclear about why families and societies |

| |William Goode |change-change can occur if the structures within society can adjust to|

| | |maintain an equilibrium, but this usually happens slowly |

| |Talcott Parsons |This approach ignores family violence, including sexual abuse |

| | |See crime and delinquency as societal, not familial problems |

| | |Is intolerant of any departure from the stereotypical nuclear family, |

| | |which it considers “normal” |

| | |Assumes that if not “normal” /”functional” must be “abnormal” or |

| | |“defective”/”dysfunctional” |

| | |Assumes that society has one set of norms and values, and ignores the |

| | |multicultural diversity of Canada |

|SYSTEMS THEORY | |Attempts to explain how groups of individuals interact as a system |

| | |Views the family as an important part of the social system |

|Influenced by ideas of structural functional |R.D. Laing |Believes that what affects one member affects all members to a degree |

|thought | |Emphasizes complementary roles i.e parent/child |

| | |Difficulties arise if members of family fail to live up to their roles|

|presents a micro level view of the family | |Unrecognized roles may cause problems |

| | |There subsystems within the system: based on age, sex, interests |

| | |Boundaries exist which mark who is a member of each subsystem |

|SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM |William Jones |explains how individuals choose how they will act based on their |

| | |perceptions of themselves and of others |

|Micro level view/approach of family relationships|George Herbert Mead |best way to understand relationships in the family is to examine |

| | |meanings each member see in other members’ words and actions – |

|Based on Psychological theory |Ernest Burgess |individuals communicate with one another, but they give different |

| | |meanings to actions and words |

|Analyzes small scale patterns of social |Harvey Locke |responses are based on the history of interactions between and among |

|interaction and symbols people use to create | |family members |

|social life |Charles Cooley |behaviours become symbolic – people need to give meaning to their |

| | |experiences before they can act on them |

| |John Gray |roles are studied from the viewpoints of individuals who develop a |

| | |sense of self and a sense of which roles they are to fulfill based on |

| | |their interaction with others |

| | |places emphasis on the individual shaping his or her own world |

| | |pays little attention to wider impact of society on family |

| | |relationships |

| | |ignores factors of law, economics, social class and values |

| | |does not explain society-wide changes in families |

| | |can be used as the basis for family therapy |

|EXCHANGE THEORY | |explains social factors that influence how individuals interact within|

| | |relationships |

|Micro/macro level view/approach | |family life is viewed in terms of costs and benefits –benefits to and |

| | |costs of relationships are based on individuals’ perceptions, not on |

|Inspired by symbolic interactionism | |facts |

| | |there is an expectation of fair exchange for these benefits |

|Interdisciplinary - a social psychological and | |repayment of these benefits is expected when we receive them |

|sociological perspective | |helps us to understand decision making in families |

| | |focuses mostly on husband/wife relationships |

|Roots in economics, psychology and sociology | |marital interaction is seen as bargaining process, especially when one|

| | |wishes to change the rules |

| | |limited in ability to explain family dynamics |

| | |based on individual rather than family needs |

| | |assumes that people behave with self-interest, which is not always the|

| | |case |

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|DEVELOPMENTAL APPROACH | |looks at the entire life cycle of the family |

| | |divides each cycle into stages |

|Interdisciplinary- examines |Evelyn Duvall |describes the patterns of growth and change throughout the human life |

|biological/psychological/social and cultural | |span |

|factors that influence development |Monica McGoldrick |at each stage the family changes in predictable ways |

| | |throughout life, individuals face role expectations that challenge |

|Informed by functionalism and shaped by symbolic |Elizabeth Carter |them to develop, called developmental tasks |

|interactionism and systems theory | |emphasizes that success in the acquisition of developmental tasks |

| | |leads to happiness and success in later tasks |

| | |explains that failure to accomplish tasks leads to unhappiness, social|

| | |disapproval, and difficulties mastering later tasks |

| | |relates stages and tasks to a social time clock –describe predictable |

| | |changes in the behaviour of individuals or families |

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|CONFLICT THEORY/MARXISM/ | |States that conflict exists between groups because of inequalities in |

|POLITICAL ECONOMY |Frederick Engels |power |

| | |Emphasis is put on the negative aspects of family influences |

|Interdisciplinary – sociological and political |Karl Marx |Explores power relationships |

| | |Explains how power holds society together |

|Analyzes large scale patterns of society; | |Inequalities between and among members of a family are explored; |

|struggles and conflicts between social classes | |especially those between men and women, adults and children, boys and |

| | |girls |

| | |Assumes groups compete with one another to meet their needs, but the |

| | |needs of all groups cannot be met |

| | |Explains why families and societies change |

| | |Change results from a shift in the balance of power |

| | |Explains why values are passed from generation to generation |

|FEMINIST THEORY | |Explains the impact of sex and gender on behaviour |

| |Margrit Eichler |Considers issues from the viewpoint of women |

|Roots in conflict theory | |Believe change is required to meet the needs of all people |

| |Meg Luxton | |

|Developed to separate sex and gender from class | | |

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|Developed as a reaction to gender biases in | | |

|sociology | | |

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|Attempts to explain social inequalities between | | |

|men and women from a female perspective | | |

|LIFE COURSE APPROACH | |Assumes that early life events will influence later life choices, and |

| | |that one's future course in life can be predicted by examining one's |

|Analyzes people's lives within structural, | |socioeconomic background, history, psychology, and overall health. |

|social, and cultural contexts | | |

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|Concerned with an individual's history, | | |

|psychology, socioeconomic background, and health.| | |

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