Chapter 2

Studying Marriages and Families

Key Terms

• Objectivity To suspend the beliefs, biases, or prejudices we have about a subject until we really understand what is being said.

• Value judgmentA value judgment usually includes words that mean “should” and imply that our way is the correct way.An example is,“Everyone should get married.”

• OpinionAn opinion is based on our experiences or ways of thinking.

• BiasStrong opinions that may create barriers to hearing anything contrary to your opinion.

• StereotypeSets of simplistic, rigidly held, and over generalized beliefs about the personal characteristics of a group of people.

• FallacyErrors in reasoning. These mistakes come as the result of errors in our basic resuppositions.

• Egocentric fallacyMistaken belief that everyone has the same experiences and values that we have and therefore should think as we do.

• Ethnocentric fallacy The belief that one’s own ethnic group, nation, or culture is innately superior to others.

• Scientific methodWell-established procedures used to collect information about family experiences.

• TheoriesSets of general principles or concepts used to explain a phenomenon and to make predictions that may be tested and verified experimentally.

• ConceptualizationThe specification and definition of concepts used by the researcher.

• OperationalizationThe identification and/or development of research strategies to observe or measure concepts.

• Deductive researchIn deductive research, concepts are turned into variables.

• VariablesConcepts that can vary in some meaningful way.

• HypothesesPredictions, about the relationships between marital status and other variables. We might hypothesize that race or social class influences whether someone is married or not.

• Dependent variable Factors that are affected by changes in the independent variable.

• Independent variable Factors manipulated or changed by the experimenter.

• Intervening variableVariables that follow our independent variables and have direct effects on dependent variables.

• Inductive researchBegins with a topical interest and perhaps some vague concepts. As researchers gather their data they refine their concepts, seek to identify recurring patterns out of which they can make generalizations, and, perhaps, end by building a theory based on the data collected.

• Grounded theoryTheories rooted in observations of specific, concrete details.

• Family ecology theoryThe emphasis is on how families are influenced by and in turn influence the wider environment.

• The theory was introduced in the late nineteenth century by plant and human ecologists.

• Environment and AdaptationInitially used to refer to the adaptation of plant and animal species to their physical environments, these concepts were later extended to humans and their physical, social, cultural, and economic environments.– As applied to family issues, the family

ecology perspective: How is family life affected by the environments in which families live?

• Symbolic interaction theory Looks at how people interact with each other.

• Social roles Established patterns of behavior that exist independently of a person, such as the role of wife or husband existing independently of any particular husband or wife.

• Family myth Views of reality that couples construct and apply to account for why their domestic arrangement is other than they expected.

• Social exchange theory According to social exchange theory, we measure our actions and relationships on a cost-benefit basis. People maximize rewards and minimize costs by employing their resources to gain the most favorable outcome. An outcome is basically figured by the equation: Reward – Cost = Outcome.

• EquityExchanges that occur between people have to be fair, to be balanced.

• Family development theoryEmphasizes the patterned changes that occur in families through stages and across time.

• Structural functionalism A theory that explains how society works, how families work, and how families relate to the larger society and to their own members.

• Subsystem Major institutions, such as the family, religion, government, and the economy. Each of these structures has a function in maintaining society, just as the different parts of a tree serve a function in maintaining the tree.

• Conflict theory Holds that life involves discord. Conflict theorists see society as divided, with individuals and groups in conflict with each other.

• Family systems theory Combines structural functionalism and symbolic interaction, to form a psychotherapeutic theory.

• Feminist perspective Blending some central ideas of conflict theory with those of Interactionist theory, feminists critically examine the ways in which family experience is shaped by gender—the social aspects of being female or male.

• Gender The social aspects of being female or male.

• Quantitative researchResearch that deals with large quantities of information that is analyzed and presented statistically.

• Qualitative researchResearch concerned with a detailed understanding of the object of study.

• Secondary data analysis Involves reanalyzing data originally collected for another purpose. Examples might include analyzing U.S. Census data and official statistics, such as state marriage, birth, and divorce records. Also includes content analysis of various communication media such as newspapers, magazines, letters, and television programs.

• Ethical guidelinesFamily science researchers conduct their investigations using ethical guidelines agreed on by professional researchers that protect the privacy and safety of people who provide information in the research.

• AnonymityInsists that no one, including the researcher, can connect particular responses to the individuals who provided them.

• Rules of ConfidentialityThe researcher promises not to reveal information publicly.

• Survey research Gather information from a smaller, representative group of people and to infer conclusions that are valid for a larger population.

• Clinical researchInvolves in-depth examination of a person or a small group of people who come to a psychiatrist, psychologist, or social worker with psychological or relationship problem.

• Case-study method Consisting of a series of individual interviews, is the most traditional approach of all clinical research; with few exceptions, it was the sole method of clinical investigation through the first half of the twentieth century.

• Observational research Scholars attempt to study behavior systematically through direct observation while remaining as unobtrusive as possible.

• Experimental research Researchers isolate a single factor under controlled circumstances to determine its influence.