Unit One – All in the Family Chapter Two – Approaches to Studying Individuals & Families

Preconceptions Experiences that you have in your own families, the opinions they have formed from observing & discussing their friend’s families, and the families they have seen portrayed in the media will affect the perceptions they have of the subject. What are your preconceptions?

Theoretical Perspectives Four basic questions in Social Science: What happens? How does it happen? Why does it happen? How can people change what happens? All linked to Human Behaviour

Family Studies Flow Chart Sociology Systems Theory Functionalism *Conflict Theory *Feminist Theory Psychology Symbolic Interactionist Exchange Theory Ecological Perspective Anthropology Family Life Cycle Theory

Key Terms in Theoretical Perspectives Disciplines: specific branches of learning (ex. Math, physics, psychology) Theory: a framework for organizing & explaining observable evidence. Without facts, a theory is just a speculation or a guess. Macro: large scale study of society Micro: small scale study of individual cases

Anthropology: study of culture Ethnocentrism: the tendency to evaluate behaviour from the point of view of your own culture Sociology: study of behaviour of individuals in groups, families and society Psychology: study of behaviour based on mental process