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

2. 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?

3. 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

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

5. 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

6. 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