2.6 Theories, Perspectives, and Key Concepts
Elizabeth B. Pearce
We will examine families from a variety of theories and perspectives. A theory is not just an idea that someone has but rather a structural framework, explanation, or tool that has been tested and evaluated over time. Theories are developed and put into practice through scholarship, research, discussion, and debate. Theories help us to understand the world in general and, in this instance, the ways in which families form, function, interact with, and experience the world.
Perspectives are similar to theories in that they are also important ways of understanding families and the world. They differ in that they may be more focused on understanding the relationships among ideas or on presenting a framework, rather than a single scientific hypothesis accompanied by research.
Because the study of families overlaps multiple disciplines, this text introduces several sociological, human development, psychological, and anthropological theories and concepts. Play the video and review the table to learn about some foundational theories related to the study of families and used in this text:
- Ecological systems theory
- Exchange (aka social exchange) theory
- Feminist (aka feminism) theory
- Life course perspective
- Postmodernism (aka modernity) perspective
- Structural Diversity framework
- Symbolic Interactionist theory
Figure 2.13 Theories and Concepts [YouTube Video]. This video introduces social exchange theory, symbolic interactionism, feminist, life course and postmodern theory. (It is recommended that you play it at 1.25x speed and disregard the references to chapter numbers).
2.6.1 Core Theories Used in Contemporary Families: An Equity Lens
Figure 2.14 is a summary table of the seven core theories used to study families in this textbook. For a more complete table of theories and perspectives that are used to study families in the fields of psychology, sociology, and human development and family sciences, see Appendix A.
| Theory/ Perspective | Major Principles | Relation to Family Life | Key Vocabulary and Concepts | Important |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ecological Systems | Individuals are part of a group of concentric systems that impact their development and growth. | Children are influenced by the people and environments in which they spend the most time,, as well as the greater social events, trends and values. | Micro, Meso, Exo, Macro, and Chronosystems. | Urie Bronfenbrenner developed this theory in the second half of the 20th century; he influenced the creation of HeadStart in the United States. |
| Exchange (aka Social Exchange) | Individuals have different strengths, resources and weaknesses and enter into relationships via the evaluation of benefits and costs. | Emphasizes the motivation for familial relationships: that each person is giving and gaining within the family. | The “breadwinner-homemaker family” is the classic example. | |
| Feminism (aka Feminist) | Society is structured in a way that privileges men over women; the theory works to understand and to transform inequalities. | This theory emphasizes the way that gender roles are constructed within the family including the socialization of children. | Gender differences are mostly socially constructed. This theory draws on the Conflict, Exchange, and Symbolic Interaction perspectives. | Different from the Feminist Activist movement! Read and listen carefully to avoid confusion. |
| Life Course | Pays attention to time including significant social and historical events and life transitions in their roles of shaping the trajectories of birth cohorts and the individuals in them. | Family life is impacted by large national and international events: wars, natural disasters, pandemics, economic depressions. In particular, children and adolescents in a given cohort will be impacted by these events over time. | Emerging Early Adulthood: the period of life when people shift into adulthood as they end their education, start a career and begin families. This period of life has become more varied and complex because of societal change. | Do not confuse this with the Lifespan theory which has a different emphasis! Read and listen carefully to avoid confusion. |
| Postmodernism (aka Modernity) | Choice and individuality are emphasized in the postmodern era. Humans are able to act in the way they choose with society and within institutions. | Individuals have a much greater choice than they did in the past about how they form their families, the roles they play and who is in their family. History, family, and tradition have decreasing roles in family life. | Reflexivity: the way in which people take in new information, reflect upon it, and adjust and act with new knowledge | This theory is a very broad one and applies to many aspects of work, societal, and family life. Social Theorist Anthony Giddens has written about this theory. |
| Structural Diversity | This approach examines the close connections between the inner workings of families and the social structures that shape all families, but in different ways. | Family diversity is constructed through interactions with social structures as well as the individual actions of family members | Social location: families are affected by the intersections of class, race, and gender which place them in differing social locations. Human Agency: the active shaping of family life by individual action. | This approach posited by Maxine Baca Zinn combines prior work in intersectionality with individual agency, family, and social structural factors. |
| Symbolic Interaction | This theory focuses on the changing nature of symbols and the ways we interact with one another based on those symbols. Humans see themselves through the eyes of others and this affects the roles they play. | Changing roles and symbols affect the ways family members interact with each other and with society. Societal expectations and social constructions of fathering and mothering roles have changed over time and this interacts with the way fathers and mothers actually behave. | Interpretation of shared understandings influences how humans respond and interact. | Has a basis in philosophy (George Herbert Mead) and in Sociology (Herbert Blumer.) |
Figure 2.14. Foundational theories related to the study of families that are most emphasized in this text.