Deck 1: Defining the Family: Institutional and Disciplinary Concerns

Question 1

Sweden has been described as having one of the highest literacy rates and lowest infant mortality rates in the world.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Polyandry seems to be most prevalent in those few societies that practice male infanticide.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Using a relational definition, cohabiters or same-sex partners can be defined as families.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

The text states that the family consists of one female legally married to one male.

Question 5

Most men, even in highly polygynous countries, have only one wife.

Question 6

Polygamy refers to several or many husbands.

Question 7

Family scholars agree that families are inherently places of loyalty, love, and affection.

Question 8

According to contemporary doctrine, polygamy is an acceptable marriage pattern in the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints (Mormons).

Question 9

All conjugal families are nuclear families, but not all nuclear families are conjugal families.

Question 10

According to the Gallup organization, as a result of religious groups condemning homosexual relationships, the percentage of adults saying such relationships should not be legalized has increased over the past 25 years.

Question 11

The definition of family proposed by Jan Trost includes any system of dyads or set of dyads, including those who cohabit, siblings, friends, or even pets.

Question 12

Institutionalized behavior within the family system refers to any behavior that occurs in families.

Question 13

Cohabitation is becoming institutionalized in the United States.

Question 14

The desire for male children and the need to enhance their survival is greatly increased by polygyny.

Question 15

Women in polygamous marriages tend to have a higher rate of pregnancy than do women in monogamous marriages.

Question 16

Today, families are for the most part economic production units.

Question 17

Societies (including Sweden) in which traditional family patterns are not strong demonstrate a high level of negative outcomes for children.

Question 18

The text presents the argument that without primary group relationships such as exists in families, survival itself would be doubtful.

Question 19

In sociological analysis, the basic units of a marital or family system are interrelated statuses rather than persons.

Question 20

Throughout the world, monogamy is the only form of marriage that is universally recognized, and it is the predominant form even within societies where other forms exist.

Question 21

The basic units of a marital or family system are

A) statuses.
B) persons.
C) interpersonal relationships.
D) intimate networks.

Question 22

The term ideal type refers to:

A) what is good, best, or most valuable
B) ends, extremes, or poles on a continuum
C) concrete constructs
D) that which is socially approved

Question 23

Godparenting-or comadrazgo-has been essential in the successful adaptation of Mexican-American families.

Question 24

Polyandry

A) is more likely to be fraternal than polygamy is likely to be sororal.
B) is only about half as common as polygamy.
C) tends to lead to a greater fragmentation of land holdings than does polygamy.
D) tends to exist most frequently where male infanticide is practiced.

Question 25

Popenoe suggests that the family in Sweden is in a state of decline and decay.

Question 26

According to the discussion in the text,

A) institutionalized behavior is patterned and predictable.
B) extramarital intercourse would be one example of institutionalized behavior.
C) institutionalized behavior is any behavior that occurs within an institution.
D) All of the above three are true.

Question 27

The many ways in which a society can fulfill the same needs is called:

A) functional polyvalence
B) functional equivalence
C) organizational equivalence
D) organizational polyvalence

Question 28

The uniqueness of the family system lies in its:

A) structural factors
B) functional factors
C) relational factors
D) All of the above.

Question 29

Compared to women in monogamous marriages, women in polygamous marriages have

A) higher pregnancy rates.
B) lower pregnancy rates.
C) shorter birth intervals.
D) both A and C above

Question 30

Families that find themselves acting in multiple nations either as whole units crossing borders or as fragmented units with members living in different nations are known as:

A) Polynational families
B) Quasinational families
C) Multinational families
D) Global families

Question 31

The authors argue that marriages and families should not be viewed as

A) any close, primary, sexually bonded relationship.
B) any dyadic unit, including same sex partners, unmarried parents, or siblings.
C) dyadic units that fit traditional notions of what families should be.
D) a social system or social institution.

Question 32

The text suggests that the family is

A) a social institution.
B) a social system.
C) a social group.
D) all of the first three.

Question 33

In contrast to a primary group, the characteristic most likely to exist in a secondary group is

A) face-to-face contact.
B) goal orientation.
C) smallness of size.
D) All are characteristics of secondary groups

Question 34

All societies forbid marriage between certain kinship group members.

Question 35

The Middletown study suggests, as do most other kinship studies, that women are more active than men in maintaining kinship ties.

Question 36

The joint family is so termed because of the bonding that results between families upon the marriage of a child from each kinship grouping.

Question 37

Today, most family scholars agree that the family in the United States is basically an isolated nuclear unit.

Question 38

Dr. Vern Bengston argues that family relationships across generations are decreasing in importance in American society.

Question 39

In a consanguineous marriage, the two partners have at least one ancestor in common.

Question 40

Monogamy means

A) more than one husband or wife is impossible.
B) one husband is married to one wife at any one time.
C) there can be only one husband married to more than one wife or only one wife married to more than one husband.
D) all of the above in different cultures.

Question 41

A common type of family in Japan consists of two families in adjacent generations joined by economic and blood ties. This is best described as a __________ type of family structure.

A) stem
B) joint
C) modified extended
D) matrilineal

Question 42

Rights, obligations, and constraints that govern the relationships between individuals in societies based on ties of blood, marriage, or adoption are known as:

A) kinship systems
B) family sanctions
C) family law
D) none of the above

Question 43

Group marriage

A) is more common in Asian nations than anywhere else in the world.
B) is increasing in popularity and will become a common practice someday.
C) may never have existed as a viable form of marriage in any society.
D) Both A and B are true.

Question 44

According to the text, the conjugal family

A) is identical to the nuclear family.
B) must include a husband and a wife.
C) is exemplified by a single parent and child.
D) is exemplified by a brother and sister.

Question 45

Patterns of descent take on a special importance to many conflict theorists because

A) intergenerational conflict is the key source of change.
B) matrilineal systems give preferential treatment to females.
C) social inequality is perpetuated through successive generations.
D) many females assume their husbands name.

Question 46

The tsu in traditional China referred to

A) the wives of Chairman Mao.
B) a plague that killed millions of children in the 1920s.
C) a clan including all persons with a common surname descending from a common ancestor.
D) the belief that sons are subordinate to fathers and daughters are subordinate to mothers.

Question 47

The __________ community of New York State practiced group marriages.

Question 48

A family __________ consists of interrelated statuses such as husbands, wives, and children.

Question 49

The Oneida community

A) began in California as a result of the gold rush.
B) was an experimental polyandrous group.
C) believed in marital chastity, thus failed to survive.
D) believed in a spiritual equality for all persons: materially, socially, and sexually.

Question 50

Polygamy is described as having various forms. When one male has several wives, all of whom are sisters, this is known as __________.

Question 51

__________ types are hypothetical constructs based on pure, definitive characteristics.

Question 52

The family as a __________ group serves as the basic socializing agent and the basic instrument of social control.

Question 53

The most precise term for a family consisting of yourself, your spouse, and your children would be a

A) consanguine family.
B) family of orientation.
C) family of procreation.
D) nuclear family.

Question 54

Latino families in the United States today are perhaps most accurately described as

A) isolated nuclear families.
B) modified nuclear families.
C) modified extended families.
D) joint kin networks.

Question 55

A major difference between joint families and stem families is that joint families

A) share a common treasury.
B) pass on all property to the eldest son.
C) provide a home and economic support for the father as he grows old.
D) consist of the eldest son and his sisters' families.

Question 56

A __________ family must include a husband and a wife.

Question 57

Which statement is false about families in Sweden? Families have

A) a low rate of marriage.
B) a small household size.
C) a high rate of cohabitation.
D) a low rate of family dissolution.

Question 58

Of the following, which one was not listed in the text as a key function of the kinship system?

A) property holding and inheritance
B) education of children
C) housing and the maintenance of residential propinquity
D) affection, emotional ties, and primary relationships

Question 59

The nuclear family in which you were born and reared (consisting of self, siblings, and parents) is termed a __________.

Question 60

In an avunculocal system,

A) newlyweds live with the parents of the bride.
B) newlyweds live with the parents of the groom.
C) newlyweds establish independent households apart from other family members.
D) newlyweds live with a maternal uncle.

Question 61

Differentiate a family group from a family system. Illustrate.

Question 62

A ___________ family is based on blood ties:

Question 63

Distinguish between the family as an institution and the process of institutionalization of family behaviors.

Question 64

What is meant by an extended family? Describe two specific varieties or types of extended family forms.

Question 65

What is a family? How do these definitions vary depending on who is doing the defining? Can cohabiters be a family?

Question 66

The residence pattern in which the newlywed couple establishes a residence separate from either set of parents is known as __________.

Question 67

Differentiate institutionalized behaviors in families from behaviors that are non-institutionalized. Give examples.

Question 68

Define ideal type, and give examples of ideal types of families.

Question 69

What are the arguments for or against families in the United States being isolated nuclear units.

Question 70

What are the basic functions of kinship groupings? What does research indicate about the fulfillment of these in the United States?

Question 71

Feminist theorists focus primarily on sexual (female/male) inequalities in lineage inheritance patterns. What is the significance of lineage systems and inheritance patterns to conflict theorists?

Question 72

The system of descent most prevalent in the United States is primarily __________.

Question 73

In addition to monogamy, around the world the number of partners or spouses in a marriage takes a variety of forms. List three. Then select any one, give an example, and explain its occurrence.

Question 74

Jealousy among co-wives seems to be more frequent than jealousy among co-husbands. What reasons exist to explain this?

Question 75

Distinguish between primary and secondary groups, and discuss why and how the family is a primary group.
Chapter 2 U.S. Families: Historical Origins, Changes, and Contemporary Issues
2.1

Question 76

Families that include kin beyond the nuclear family are __________.