SOCI 2700H Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Patrilineality, Symbolic Interactionism, Structural Functionalism
Document Summary
Families are the most basic institution of any society because it within them that citizens are born, sheltered, and begin socialization. Socialization: the process where a child learns how to think and behave according to the ways of the society and the group he or she is born in. Institution: a recognized area of social life organized along a system of widely accepted norms that regulate behaviours: these elements allow for predictability; people know what to expect. Defining families is difficult and near impossible. Our society is always changing and experts do not agree on what constitutes a family. Emphasis should be on voluntariness (chosen) and the relational aspects of the relationships. A working definition of family: a social group, an institution, and an intergenerational group of individuals related to each other by blood, adoption, or marriage/cohabitation. A parent and their children or two parents with their children. Most basic and elementary type of family.