Deck 1: What Is a Family

Question 1

Which of the following does NOT represent a societal trend relevant to families today?

A) Stepfamilies continue to increase through marriage and cohabitation.
B) Number of single-parent families continues to increase.
C) LGBTQ families continue to increase.
D) Divorce rates continue to increase.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Which statement best reflects the book's definition of a "functional family"?

A) Families are functional if they are able to adapt to stresses and contexts.
B) Families are functional if they match traditional family forms.
C) Families are functional if they fit typical or "normal" patterns of behavior.
D) Families are functional if they do not exhibit any symptoms of psychopathology.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Following the birth of their second child, the Graham family experienced some changes in their typical patterns of behavior. They decided to try to keep their routines and rules as stable as possible so their older children would not feel disrupted. According to systems theory, they are using what form of calibration?

A) Maintenance feedback
B) Change-promoting feedback
C) Positive feedback
D) Equifinality

Answer 3

A

Question 4

______ refers to the idea that families are greater than the sum of each member considered separately.

A) Equifinality
B) Interdependence
C) Wholeness
D) Openness

Question 5

______ refers to the idea that if one family member changes, that change will affect other family members, which will then affect the initial member and family.

A) Triangulation
B) Interdependence
C) Interactive complexity
D) Wholeness

Question 6

According to systems theory, what is the process of interrupting sequences of behaviors in order to give them meaning (e.g., cause-effect)?

A) Coalition
B) Equifinality
C) Self-regulating patterns
D) Punctuation

Question 7

Which of the following statements best reflects equifinality?

A) Whole is greater than the sum of its parts
B) Many paths to arrive at the same outcome
C) Family members mutually influence each other
D) Boundaries separate the family from the world

Question 8

Erik's mother-in-law and nephew live with him and his wife in their home. Which category of family does this scenario best illustrate?

A) Single-family
B) Extended
C) Blended
D) Partners without children

Question 9

Which of the following definitions is the most inclusive?

A) A family is a blood relationship.
B) A family is a socializing unit recognized by law and religion.
C) A family is a group with a past history.
D) A family is created when individuals consider each other as members and share and care for one another.

Question 10

Steve exhibits a communicative behavior similar to that of his grandfather and his father. This is an example of which family communication principle?

A) The definition of family is normative.
B) Communication is a process of sharing meaning.
C) Multigenerational communication patterns exist.
D) Healthy family communication is dynamic.

Question 11

Communication is constitutive, which means...

A) Communication is the key to family happiness.
B) Communication constructs the relationships between family members.
C) Communication displays the family's interactions.
D) Communication patterns cross generations.

Question 12

Which types of families seem to be growing in the U.S.?

A) Cohabitating partners
B) Lesbian and gay families
C) Multi-generational families
D) All of the above

Question 13

Which of the following is NOT true about well-functioning families?

A) They value effective communication
B) They have the ability to manage conflict
C) They develop capacities to adapt to varying circumstances and challenges
D) They maintain relationships easily and comfortably, without effort

Question 14

According to the role lens of defining families, relationships that can be considered "family" relationships are those in which:

A) Relational partners feel and act like family
B) Relational partners are formally sanctioned by law
C) Relational partners share genetic material
D) All of the above

Question 15

The Taylors rely on one another and share skills to accomplish family tasks. This system characteristic is called:

A) Interdependence
B) Equifinality
C) Wholeness
D) Punctuation

Question 16

What is the function in a family system that regulates stability and/or change?

A) Morphostasis
B) Patterns and self-regulation
C) Interactive complexity
D) Calibration

Question 17

Al grew up in a family in which members did not talk about affection for each other. When he married Fatimah, she said, "Goodbye, I love you," every time she left him or her in-laws. After a few years, Al and his family began to do the same. This is an example of:

A) Maintenance feedback
B) Regulating feedback
C) System feedback
D) Change-promoting feedback

Question 18

When you punctuate a sequence of behavior to give it meaning, you are saying…

A) "Things started here."
B) "We need to continue this conversation."
C) "We need to find the guilty person."
D) "This has to stop."

Question 19

According to the systems theory principle of _________, family members should not blame each other for their behaviors because they all contributed to the behavior in some way, at some time.

A) Complex relationships
B) Interactive complexity/punctuation
C) Wholeness
D) Self-regulation

Question 20

More young adults are living at home for longer periods of time and returning to live at home after a departure (college or military service).

Question 21

There is an ideal, best way to be an effective family.

Question 22

Committed partners may be considered to be in a voluntaristic family.

Question 23

According to some scholars, families may be formed through constitutive means or defining themselves as family.

Question 24

Primary parents are those who raise children without the support or assistance of the other parent.

Question 25

The term "family-of-origin" refers primarily to the country in which one's ancestors were born.

Question 26

A family has a past, a present that includes some kind of sharing and contact, and a future that includes the expectation of continuing the relationships.

Question 27

Problems in relationships can relate back to the family-of-origin.

Question 28

The divorce rate continues to rise in the 21st century.

Question 29

Family communication patterns both construct and reflect family life.

Question 30

Each family generation constructs their own communication patterns, regardless of the communication patterns of prior generations.

Question 31

There is such a thing as a universal family type.

Question 32

"Discourse-dependent" families rely upon communication strategies to maintain members' internal sense of "we-ness" as well as to reveal or conceal information about the family to outsiders

Question 33

An example of a "blended family" is a family constructed through adoption.