Assignment 2A

1. According to functionalist theory, what was the definition of the "instrumental leader" and what was the definition of an "expressive leader." What family roles were connected to each of these leader definitions?
-- The instrumental leader is the one who leads the group in discussion and tackles the task they had been assigned. The expressive leader is the one who is supportive and emotional. The husband is said to be more of the instrumental leader because he was the financial provider. The stay-at-home wife/mom would then be the expressive one because she would be at home with the kids tending to their emotional needs.

2. What main demographic change during the 1960s and 1970s led theorists to be critical of the functionalist perspective?
-- During this time period is where theorists noticed that the married woman were going out into the workforce and the families were losing their dominant position in the family.

3. In contrast to functionalist theorists, in your own words, what is the main theme of conflict theory?
-- I believe the theme to the conflict theory is basically men vs. women. Men are looked at as the more dominant gender and that women are less powerful.

4. Social exchange theory is based on ideas from what discipline (not sociology). What do exchange theorists say about husbands bargaining power versus that of wives?
-- The power husbands have over their wives is that they are typically the bread-winner and their wife is better with dealing with children so in turn what she gets from staying at home, tending to the household, is relying on her husband's income. Since she is more dependent on his income then he is of her taking care of the home, he then has that power over her.

5. Feminist theory is based on what main idea?
-- The feminist theory basically comes from women fighting back against men. What I mean by this is that society kind of makes women out to be the lesser of the two genders. Feminists are usually the ones who push themselves that much harder and strive to do their best and prove that they are just as capable to do what any man can do.

6. After reading about the various methods or ways that we collect data to study the family, think of research question about family/relationship satisfaction. A. Do you want to study the family at the micro or macro level? B. What method will you use to collect data? C. How many people will be in your study? D. Devise 3-4 questions you will ask them to answer your research question.
-- I would like to study a family at a micro level. The methods that would be used are the exchange theory and gender theory. The family would consist of at least four people. Some questions I may ask are: Which roles would you say your family fit into? Would you say it is an equal partnership or no and why? Who generally takes care of the children? Does the same person that takes care of the children, also financially provides for your family?

Assignment 1

My name is Kathleen Dugan, but I go by my nickname Katie. I just turned 21 years old and I am a junior. My major is family and child studies and I am hoping to become a teacher for the k-5 grade level. I am the third of four born. I have an older sister, Emily who is 30 years old, married, and had her first child in June. This makes me an Auntie :). I have two brothers named Ray and Tommy. They are 28 and 14. My parents are still together and will be married 34 years in April. Two topics that I find appealing on the syllabus are love & sexuality and the role of gender in families.

Katie D.