FAMILY-is a social institution found in all societies
that unites people in cooperative groups to care for
one another, including any children
TWO TYPES OF FAMILY:
1. EXTENDED FAMILY-a family composed of
parents and children as well as other kin;
also known as a “consanguine family”
2. NUCLEAR FAMILY-a family composed of one
or two parents and their children; also
known as a “conjugal family”
FAMILY TIES/KINSHIP-a social bond based on
common ancestry, marriage, or adoption
MARRIAGE-a legal relationship, usually involving
economic cooperation, sexual activity, and
childbearing.
MARRIAGE PATTERNS- Cultural norms, and often
laws, identify people as suitable or unsuitable
marriage partners.
TYPES OF MARRIAGE PATTERNS ACCORDING TO
SOCIAL CATEGORY (age, religion, social class, race)
1. ENDOGAMY-marriage between people of
the same social category.
2. EXOGAMY-marriage between people of
different social categories.
TYPES OF MARRIAGE PATTERNS ACCORDING TO
NUMBER OF PARTNERS:
1. MONOGAMY-marriage that unites two
partners.
2. POLYGAMY-marriage that unites a person
with two or more spouses.
a. POLYGYNY-marriage that unites one
man and two or more women
b. POLYANDRY-marriage that unites
one woman and two or more men.
RESIDENTIAL PATTERNS- Just as societies regulate
mate selection, they also designate where a couple
lives
1. PATRILOCALITY-a residential pattern in
which a married couple lives with or near the
husband’s family
2. MATRILOCALITY-a residential pattern in
which a married couple lives with or near the
wife’s family
3. NEOLOCALITY-a residential pattern in which
a married couple lives apart from both sets
of parents
PATTERNS OF DESCENT- refers to the system by
which members of a society trace kinship over
generations.
1. PATRILINEAL- descent a system tracing
kinship through men
2. MATRILINEAL- descent a system tracing
kinship through women
3. BILATERAL- descent a system tracing kinship
through both men and women
THEORIES OF THE FAMILY
1. THE STRUCTURAL-FUNCTIONAL APPROACH-
identifies major family functions that help
society operate smoothly:
a. socialization of children to help them
become well-integrated members of
society
b. regulation of sexual activity in order
to maintain kinship organization and
property rights
c. giving children a social identity within
society in terms of race, ethnicity,
religion, and social class
d. providing material and emotional
support to family members
e. The incest taboo, which restricts
sexual relations between certain
relatives, exists in all societies.
2. THE SOCIAL-CONFLICT APPROACH AND
FEMINIST APPROACH- point to ways in
which families perpetuate social inequality.
a. Families ensure the continuation of
the class structure by passing on
wealth to their children.
b. Families perpetuate gender roles by
establishing men as the heads of the
household and by assigning the
responsibility for child rearing and
housework to women.
c. The tendency of people to marry
others like themselves supports
racial and ethnic hierarchies.
3. THE SYMBOLIC-INTERACTION APPROACH -
explores how family members build
emotional bonds in the course of everyday
family life
4. THE SOCIAL-EXCHANGE APPROACH sees
courtship and marriage as a process of
negotiation in which each person weighs the
advantages and disadvantages of a potential
partner.