CHAPTER 1
MARRIAGE, RELATIONSHIPS, AND FAMILY COMMITMENTS:
MAKING CHOICES IN A CHANGING SOCIETY
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
At the end of this chapter, the student should be able to do the following:
1. Address the complexities of defining the word family in our postmodern society.
2. Understand the concept of family as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau.
3. Discuss whether we are in an era of “family decline” or “family change.”
4. Explain the importance of current societal trends and their impact on the family.
5. Discuss the importance of making choices in relationships.
6. Address the difference between active, knowledgeable choices and choice by default.
7. Recognize that people’s decisions are both influenced by social constraint and at the
same time can be sources of change in the social structure.
8. Know the tension between individual and communal values, and how this tension
affects families.
9. Explain how change and development are a part of both individual and family life.
10. Understand the importance of the family in providing members a place of personal
identity.
LECTURE OUTLINE
I. Overview
A. Families are central to American society and to our everyday lives.
, B. Families are commissioned with a variety of tasks, including raising children and
providing members with intimacy, affection, and companionship.
C. Maintaining relationships today requires both commitment and knowledge.
II. Defining Family: The Postmodern Family
A. Traditionally, both law and social science specified that the family consisted of
people related by blood, marriage, or adoption. Some definitions of the family
specified a common household, economic interdependency, and
sexual/reproductive relations.
B. The U.S. Census Bureau defines a family as two or more persons sharing a household
and who are related by blood, marriage, or adoption.
C. America is increasingly postmodern. Ultimately, there is no typical family.
1. Until the last fifty years, the nuclear family was considered the modern
family.
2. As families have become less traditional, the legal definition of a family has
become much more flexible.
3. The text defines family as any sexually expressive, parent-child, or other kin
relationship in which people–usually related by ancestry, marriage, or
adoption–form an economic unit and care for any children or other
dependents; consider their identity to be significantly attached to the group;
and are committed to maintaining that group over time.
D. “Family Decline” or “Family Change?”
1. A discussion on “Family Decline” or “Family Change” explores the debate as
to whether current changes in the family are positive or negative according
to the views of social scientists and researchers.
III. Three Societal Trends That Impact Families
A. Advancing Communication and Reproductive Technologies
1. Communication by cell phones, internet sites and GPS facilitate constant and
global access to children, parents and extended family.
2. Internet access causes family boundaries more permeable.
3. Reproductive possibilities broadened and complicate family possibilities.
A. The New Faces of America’s Families: More People of Color
, 1. America is increasingly diverse ethnically due to immigration, refugees in
America, and higher fertility rates among racial and ethnic minorities.
2. Transnational and binational families add to America’s diversity.
3. President Obama symbolizes America’s acceptance of interracial unity.
B. Economic Uncertainty
1. The recession that began in 2008 has increased unemployment and caused
uncertainty and change in virtually all families.
IV. The Freedom and Pressures of Choosing
A. The best personal decisions are made knowledgeably. Social pressures, beliefs,
and values influence personal decisions. People can and do influence
society through individual and group opinions and participation.
B. Personal Troubles, Societal Influences and Family Policy
1. Because personal troubles often reflect societal influences, people must
understand themselves in the context of the larger society.
2. Individual choices largely depend on the alternatives that exist in society.
3. Individual choices are influenced by the speed at which societal changes
occur.
C. Social Influences and Personal Choices
1. Social factors limit choice options and make normative choices easier.
2. Sometimes, decisions are made by default.
3. Although social conditions limit choice options, conscious awareness of
these forces allow for more knowledgeable decision making.
V. Making Choices
A. Choosing by Default
1. People make decisions by default when they are not aware of all the
alternatives or they choose the easiest options (e.g., when spouses focus on
career success and neglect their family relationships, their decision is likely
the result of default).
B. Choosing Knowledgeably
1. Choosing knowledgeably involves rational consideration of many
alternatives and the recognition of the social pressures that influence
choices.
, 2. Knowledgeable decision making has respect for personal feelings and
includes regular testing of decisions against those feelings (as well as the
changes in the social environment).
3. Today, adulthood is viewed as a time for continued personal development.
Contemporary adulthood can be described as a life spiral in which
individuals incorporate traditional and alternative roles and accommodate a
variety of lifestyle choices throughout their lifetimes.
VI. A Family of Individuals
Americans place a high value on the family. Family values such as family togetherness,
stability, and loyalty focus on the family as a whole. Placing family well-being over
individual interests and preferences is termed familism.
A. Families as a Place to Belong
1. Families create a place to belong by creating both physical and psychological
boundaries between themselves and the rest of the world.
2. Families create a place of individual and communal identity, or family
identity.
B. Familistic (Communal) Values and Individualistic (Self-Fulfillment) Values
1. Family members must negotiate balance between individual separateness
and family togetherness.
2. Opposing values of familism (including togetherness and family loyalty) and
individualism create tensions within individuals, between individuals and
within society that must be resolved.
3. Shifts in the balance of individuality and familism have meant that family
members have become less predictable than in the past.
VII. Marriage and Families: Four Themes
A. Personal decisions must be made throughout the life course.
B. People are influenced by the society around them.
C. Today’s society is characterized by increased economic, ethnic, and family diversity
where increased tension exists between family and individual values.
MARRIAGE, RELATIONSHIPS, AND FAMILY COMMITMENTS:
MAKING CHOICES IN A CHANGING SOCIETY
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
At the end of this chapter, the student should be able to do the following:
1. Address the complexities of defining the word family in our postmodern society.
2. Understand the concept of family as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau.
3. Discuss whether we are in an era of “family decline” or “family change.”
4. Explain the importance of current societal trends and their impact on the family.
5. Discuss the importance of making choices in relationships.
6. Address the difference between active, knowledgeable choices and choice by default.
7. Recognize that people’s decisions are both influenced by social constraint and at the
same time can be sources of change in the social structure.
8. Know the tension between individual and communal values, and how this tension
affects families.
9. Explain how change and development are a part of both individual and family life.
10. Understand the importance of the family in providing members a place of personal
identity.
LECTURE OUTLINE
I. Overview
A. Families are central to American society and to our everyday lives.
, B. Families are commissioned with a variety of tasks, including raising children and
providing members with intimacy, affection, and companionship.
C. Maintaining relationships today requires both commitment and knowledge.
II. Defining Family: The Postmodern Family
A. Traditionally, both law and social science specified that the family consisted of
people related by blood, marriage, or adoption. Some definitions of the family
specified a common household, economic interdependency, and
sexual/reproductive relations.
B. The U.S. Census Bureau defines a family as two or more persons sharing a household
and who are related by blood, marriage, or adoption.
C. America is increasingly postmodern. Ultimately, there is no typical family.
1. Until the last fifty years, the nuclear family was considered the modern
family.
2. As families have become less traditional, the legal definition of a family has
become much more flexible.
3. The text defines family as any sexually expressive, parent-child, or other kin
relationship in which people–usually related by ancestry, marriage, or
adoption–form an economic unit and care for any children or other
dependents; consider their identity to be significantly attached to the group;
and are committed to maintaining that group over time.
D. “Family Decline” or “Family Change?”
1. A discussion on “Family Decline” or “Family Change” explores the debate as
to whether current changes in the family are positive or negative according
to the views of social scientists and researchers.
III. Three Societal Trends That Impact Families
A. Advancing Communication and Reproductive Technologies
1. Communication by cell phones, internet sites and GPS facilitate constant and
global access to children, parents and extended family.
2. Internet access causes family boundaries more permeable.
3. Reproductive possibilities broadened and complicate family possibilities.
A. The New Faces of America’s Families: More People of Color
, 1. America is increasingly diverse ethnically due to immigration, refugees in
America, and higher fertility rates among racial and ethnic minorities.
2. Transnational and binational families add to America’s diversity.
3. President Obama symbolizes America’s acceptance of interracial unity.
B. Economic Uncertainty
1. The recession that began in 2008 has increased unemployment and caused
uncertainty and change in virtually all families.
IV. The Freedom and Pressures of Choosing
A. The best personal decisions are made knowledgeably. Social pressures, beliefs,
and values influence personal decisions. People can and do influence
society through individual and group opinions and participation.
B. Personal Troubles, Societal Influences and Family Policy
1. Because personal troubles often reflect societal influences, people must
understand themselves in the context of the larger society.
2. Individual choices largely depend on the alternatives that exist in society.
3. Individual choices are influenced by the speed at which societal changes
occur.
C. Social Influences and Personal Choices
1. Social factors limit choice options and make normative choices easier.
2. Sometimes, decisions are made by default.
3. Although social conditions limit choice options, conscious awareness of
these forces allow for more knowledgeable decision making.
V. Making Choices
A. Choosing by Default
1. People make decisions by default when they are not aware of all the
alternatives or they choose the easiest options (e.g., when spouses focus on
career success and neglect their family relationships, their decision is likely
the result of default).
B. Choosing Knowledgeably
1. Choosing knowledgeably involves rational consideration of many
alternatives and the recognition of the social pressures that influence
choices.
, 2. Knowledgeable decision making has respect for personal feelings and
includes regular testing of decisions against those feelings (as well as the
changes in the social environment).
3. Today, adulthood is viewed as a time for continued personal development.
Contemporary adulthood can be described as a life spiral in which
individuals incorporate traditional and alternative roles and accommodate a
variety of lifestyle choices throughout their lifetimes.
VI. A Family of Individuals
Americans place a high value on the family. Family values such as family togetherness,
stability, and loyalty focus on the family as a whole. Placing family well-being over
individual interests and preferences is termed familism.
A. Families as a Place to Belong
1. Families create a place to belong by creating both physical and psychological
boundaries between themselves and the rest of the world.
2. Families create a place of individual and communal identity, or family
identity.
B. Familistic (Communal) Values and Individualistic (Self-Fulfillment) Values
1. Family members must negotiate balance between individual separateness
and family togetherness.
2. Opposing values of familism (including togetherness and family loyalty) and
individualism create tensions within individuals, between individuals and
within society that must be resolved.
3. Shifts in the balance of individuality and familism have meant that family
members have become less predictable than in the past.
VII. Marriage and Families: Four Themes
A. Personal decisions must be made throughout the life course.
B. People are influenced by the society around them.
C. Today’s society is characterized by increased economic, ethnic, and family diversity
where increased tension exists between family and individual values.
