Deck 2: Studying Marriage and the Family

Question 1

The rules of critical thinking call for

A)personal experience.
B)objectivity.
C)values.
D)opinions.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Maria believes the costs of her marriage exceed her rewards.According to exchange theory, Maria is likely to

A)stay married as long as her husband's costs are greater than his rewards too.
B)stay married as long as she perceives her rewards are greater than her husband's rewards.
C)get a divorce.
D)get a divorce if she perceives greater rewards in some alternative and the costs of leaving are not too great.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

All of the following are common stereotypes related to marriage and family EXCEPT

A)Nuclear families are best.
B)Stepfamilies are unhappy.
C)Latino families are poor.
D)Children from two-parent homes are always well adjusted.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

The core concepts in ecological theory include

A)environment and adaptation.
B)environment and socialization.
C)mesosystem and exosystem.
D)microsystem and macrosystem.

Question 5

Social exchange theory has been criticized for

A)assuming that we are all rational, calculating individuals.
B)assuming that we are all irrational individuals.
C)not recognizing that exchanges can be cooperative
D)not recognizing that exchanges can be competitive.

Question 6

Examining how the sense of self is maintained in the process of acquiring social roles is fundamental to

A)social exchange theory.
B)family development theory.
C)symbolic interaction theory.
D)structural functionalism.

Question 7

Symbolic interaction theory

A)examines how people interact with each other.
B)looks at how each individual functions within the family unit.
C)examines resources and power.
D)focuses on the exchange between people who love each other.

Question 8

The portrayal of family life that results from soap opera families and daytime talk shows is

A)realistic and highly negative.
B)realistic and highly positive.
C)unrealistic and highly negative.
D)unrealistic and highly positive.

Question 9

The concept "marital happiness" is transformed from a concept to something measurable such as "a score of 80 or above on the Spousal Satisfaction Scale" in a process called _____.

A)deductive research
B)inductive research
C)conceptualization
D)operationalization

Question 10

Exchange theory predicts that we will stay in an unhappy marriage when

A)the costs of leaving are equal to the costs of staying.
B)the costs of leaving are greater than the rewards of leaving and/or the costs of staying.
C)the costs of leaving are equal to the rewards of leaving.
D)none of the above, exchange theory predicts we will always leave an unhappy marriage.

Question 11

Kate has not seen or heard from her mother since Hurricane Katrina hit the Louisiana town where her mother lived.She does not know for sure if her mother is dead or alive.Kate feels her mother's psychological presence even though she is not physically with her.Pauline Boss uses the term _____ to describe what Kate is feeling.

A)mental illness
B)delusional affect
C)ambiguous loss
D)trauma-induced psychosis

Question 12

As of 2002, _____ percent of U.S.households had television sets.

A)100
B)99
C)98
D)90

Question 13

Equity is a key component of _____ theory.

A)symbolic interaction
B)structural functionalism
C)social exchange
D)family systems

Question 14

Mistaken beliefs that everyone has the same experiences and values as oneself and therefore should think the same way one does are called

A)ethnocentric fallacies.
B)egocentric fallacies.
C)egotistical fallacies.
D)ethnologic fallacies.

Question 15

All of the following statements are true regarding social exchange theory EXCEPT

A)We consciously measure most of our actions and relationships.
B)We use a cost-benefit analysis in our relationships.
C)Exchanges between people have to balance out or the relationship is likely to end.
D)Cooperation is necessary for stability.

Question 16

Which of the following is a criticism of symbolic interaction theory?

A)It places too much emphasis on the role of power in relationships.
B)It does not fully account for the psychological aspects of human life.
C)It places too much importance on duty, responsibility, and other family values.
D)It overemphasizes the effects of outside forces such as economic discrimination.

Question 17

In Bronfenbrenner's ecologically based theory the _____ contains the most immediate influences with whom individuals have frequent contact.

A)microsystem
B)mesosystem
C)exosystem
D)macrosystem

Question 18

According to _____ theory, when the emotional costs of a relationship outweigh its benefits, we are likely to feel uncomfortable, angry, or distressed.

A)social exchange
B)structural functionalism
C)symbolic interaction
D)family systems

Question 19

A statement such as "Everyone should get married" is an example of

A)a value judgment.
B)an objective statement.
C)an ethnocentric fallacy.
D)a stereotype.

Question 20

Jeff is surprised anytime someone disagrees with his opinion on an important topic because on some level he expects everyone to have the same values he has.Jeff's belief illustrates

A)ethnomania.
B)egocentric fallacy.
C)ethnocentric fallacy.
D)egomania.

Question 21

According to _____, the family experience is shaped by gender.

A)the masculine perspective
B)the feminist perspective
C)family systems theory
D)family development theory

Question 22

Traits that encourage competitiveness, coolness, self-confidence and rationality are

A)structural.
B)dysfunctional.
C)expressive.
D)instrumental.

Question 23

Family systems theory is a combination of

A)structural functionalism and symbolic interaction theory.
B)structural functionalism and social exchange theory.
C)social exchange theory and symbolic interaction theory.
D)family development theory and structural functionalism.

Question 24

All of the following are true about surveys EXCEPT

A)they are the most popular data gathering tool in marriage and family studies.
B)they may be conducted in person, over the phone, or through written questionnaires.
C)they cannot offer complete anonymity.
D)they gather information from a small representative group of people and infer conclusions valid for a larger population.

Question 25

Four important sources of power in relationships are

A)love, money, education, age.
B)love, money, legitimacy, physical coercion.
C)physical strength, money, beauty, gender.
D)physical coercion, education, age, status.

Question 26

The feminist perspective has been criticized because it

A)is not a unified theory.
B)ignores other disadvantaged groups.
C)does not focus enough on power.
D)does not focus enough on economics.

Question 27

The most recent idea used to examine the dynamic nature of the family by family development theorists is the

A)individual development of each family member.
B)family life cycle.
C)family career.
D)family life course.

Question 28

Dr.Williams uses data collected by the U.S.Census Bureau in her research on families.This research method is called

A)survey method.
B)borrowed data technique.
C)recycled data utilization.
D)secondary data analysis.

Question 29

Case studies and in-depth interviews are examples of

A)qualitative research.
B)quantitative research.
C)secondary data analysis.
D)triangulation.

Question 30

Conflict theory has been criticized for

A)assuming behavior is characterized by self-sacrifice.
B)assuming behavior is characterized by cooperation.
C)putting too much emphasis on the power of love.
D)assuming that differences lead to conflict.

Question 31

The feminist agenda is to

A)get equal pay for equal work.
B)minimize the contributions of men in family systems.
C)raise society's level of awareness regarding the oppression of women and all other disadvantaged groups
D)raise society's level of awareness regarding the oppression of women only

Question 32

All of the following are beliefs of family systems theorists except

A)Interactions must be studied in the context of the family system.
B)The family has a structure that can be seen only in its interactions.
C)The family is a purposeful system; it has a goal.
D)Each family system stays the same over time.

Question 33

Dr.Gunter uses case studies in her research on strengths of single-parent families.She is conducting

A)quantitative research.
B)qualitative research.
C)an experiment.
D)a meta analysis.

Question 34

Examining what needs the family meets for its individual members is an aspect of

A)conflict theory.
B)structural functionalism.
C)social exchange theory.
D)the feminist perspective.

Question 35

Conflict theory assumes

A)that differences lead to conflict
B)only certain people in the family have power.
C)conflict is abnormal.
D)money is the only source of power in the family.

Question 36

The feminist perspective maintains that traditional gender roles are not

A)a social construction.
B)created oppressive conditions and barriers to opportunity.
C)the result of biological conditions.
D)created to maintain the power of men over women.

Question 37

What method of research deals with large amounts of information?

A)qualitative
B)comparative
C)quantitative
D)meta-study

Question 38

Family systems theorists

A)focus on the patterns of interaction between various family members.
B)compare the family to the solar system.
C)see subsystems with blurred boundaries as functional.
D)focus on how a couple reacts to cultural influences.

Question 39

Family development theory has been criticized for

A)assuming the sequential processes of intact, nuclear families.
B)placing too much emphasis on diversity.
C)being too complex.
D)ignoring the contribution of children to family processes.

Question 40

Dr.Walker believes that life involves discord.Dr.Walker is a _____ theorist.

A)social exchange
B)structural functionalism
C)conflict
D)family systems

Question 41

The research method that is used in most marriage and family studies is

A)the interview method.
B)the survey method.
C)the clinical experiment method.
D)the covert observation method.

Question 42

Which of the following is not a major problem in using the survey method in family research?

A)Research participants may under-report undesirable behavior.
B)The sample may not be representative.
C)Research participants may not understand their own behavior.
D)Questionnaires are one of the most expensive and difficult research methods.

Question 43

Based on what is known about the media's portrayal of the family life, the best advice if looking for accuracy is to

A)watch soap operas.
B)watch daytime talk shows
C)watch reality television
D)turn off the television

Question 44

The emphasis of family ecology theory is on how families are influenced by and in turn influence the wider environment.

Question 45

Popular culture is a key source of accurate information on families.

Question 46

Defining the family as a "unity of interacting personalities" is critical to conflict theory.

Question 47

Stereotypes are fairly resistant to change.

Question 48

Symbolic interactionists study how the sense of self is maintained in the process of acquiring social roles.

Question 49

In the hypothesis, "marital status is influenced by race," marital status is the

A)independent variable.
B)dependent variable.
C)intervening variable.
D)dummy variable.

Question 50

Interviews can be advantageous compared to surveys because they

A)enable cause and effect relationships to be determined.
B)minimize the effects of bias in interpretation of responses.
C)permit probes of greater depth and can follow paths suggested by the interviewee.
D)elicit more honest responses.

Question 51

Biases are strong opinions that may create barriers to hearing anything that is contrary to our opinion.

Question 52

Dr.Byron is conducting research in order to find out if a new parenting program being used at an agency is effective.This best illustrates

A)basic research
B)deductive research
C)applied research
D)grounded theory

Question 53

In family ecology theory the macrosystem consists of interconnections between microsystems.

Question 54

Combining observational data with data obtained through other methods such as surveys or secondary analysis is a process referred to as

A)data expansion.
B)triangulation.
C)operationalization.
D)conceptualization.

Question 55

A scientist wants to conduct research to determine which variable causes another variable.Which method should the scientist use?

A)clinical
B)correlational
C)survey
D)experimental

Question 56

Clinical research examines

A)people randomly selected from a large population.
B)large groups.
C)only patients who are hospitalized.
D)people who come to a psychiatrist, psychologist or social worker.

Question 57

Clinical studies have been very beneficial in

A)providing a model of the normal family.
B)developing insights into family processes.
C)making inferences to the population in general.
D)proving the cause of family dysfunctions.

Question 58

Ambiguous loss and post-traumatic stress disorder are not the same thing.

Question 59

Pauline Boss uses the term ambiguous loss to describe a loss that you feel both happy and sad about.

Question 60

Grounded theory develops using induction.

Question 61

The feminist perspective is a unified theory.

Question 62

Clinical studies are of value because we can use them to make inferences about the general population.

Question 63

Social exchange theory addresses equity and fairness.

Question 64

Family development theory looks at the changes in the family that typically commence in the formation of a series of stages.

Question 65

Most of us are consciously aware of calculating benefits and costs when making decisions in our relationships.

Question 66

A family systems approach assumes that the family has a structure that can only be seen in its interaction.

Question 67

Structural functionalists believe social stability is in the best interest of society.

Question 68

Experimental research involves using dependent and independent variables.

Question 69

Secondary data analysis involves interviewing the same person twice before analyzing the data.

Question 70

Explain the high rate of divorce in the U.S.using two different theoretical perspectives discussed in the text.

Question 71

Feminists extend their concern for greater sensitivity to all disadvantaged groups.

Question 72

Discuss three of the four principal research methods discussed in the text.Describe each method and discuss its major advantages and disadvantages.

Question 73

According to family systems theorists, the family seeks homeostasis, which makes change difficult.

Question 74

Reality television is more representative of familial reality than are daytime talk shows.

Question 75

Self-help and child-rearing books are typically value-free.

Question 76

The most popular data-gathering technique in marriage and family studies is the case study method.

Question 77

Applied research is used to measure the effectiveness of policies and programs.

Question 78

Write an essay discussing families in the media.Include a discussion of how families are portrayed by the media along with some specific examples.Also address the commonalities amongst various programs in the advice/information genre and how you can evaluate information the media presents to you.