Conflict Theory

Conflict Theory examines the ways in which groups of people disagree, struggle for power and compete for resources. Conflict is natural and is inevitable in all human interactions. When applied to family and marriage, conflict theory challenges the myth that families are harmonious, and instead focuses on the ability of the family to deal with differences, change, and conflict. Conflict in families is normal and the family dynamics can be understood by identifying the sources of conflict/power. The image I chose shows the inner conflict within the family structure, and how conflict can easily divide the family.

Ecological Perspective


When studying families and marriages, I find the Ecological Perspective to be the most holistic approach because it takes intersectionality into consideration.  Micro-systems incorporate symbolic interactionism: focusing on daily occurrences,individual relationships, and role expectations that affect individuals.  The meso-system in particular recognizes that the intersections between immediate settings and identities create innumerable results.  Thus...not one marital or familial relationship is experienced in the same way because people have intersecting identities and experiences that shape them uniquely.  The external and macro systems take into account large-scale effects of society and culture on marriages and families that extend beyond an individual's identity.  And, most importantly, the chrono system takes into consideration influences over time, a key measure in reaching valid and reliable theories.  Instead of trying to homogenize all marriages and families into a set of norms or stages, the ecological approach considers internal and external factors (both positive and negative) that construct multi-faceted notions of and experiences with marriage and family.  


The ecological perspective can be very helpful in explaining divorce, abuse, why different types of families exist, which factors make "successful" marriages "successful," decisions to have children or not, norms and values within families and marriages, and almost any other attribute of a particular family or marriage.  


The picture above is symbolic of the aforementioned intersectionality.  It is known as "Metatron's Cube" and contains an almost illusive number of circles, cubes, rectangles, triangles, hexagons, and hexagrams with multiple points of intersection and overlap.  Individual lines can be seen spanning across the different shapes.  The cube shows how complex familial and marriage entities are--interrelated but distinct, influencing one another from different vantage points.       

Developmental Theory

Developmental Theory suggests that families go through distinct stages over time, with each one of these stages having its own set of tasks, roles, and responsibilities. I feel this is the best theory to help explain the dynamics of family and marriage because the focus of this theory begins with the different experiences the family goes through. It would be an easy perspective to look at families and marriages because the center of this theory is on the distinct stages a family goes through primarily and then secondary factors would be the other social factors that affect the family. I choose this picture because it depicts different stages of life.

Ecological Nested Systems Theory

            I feel that this theory best explains how families and marriages work and function.  This theory states that there are many different systems that all work together and against one another to create the family unit.  There is the immediate micro level, the sytem where all those micro systems work and influence the others, the external system through which a person is indirectly affected, and the macro level which has to do with culture and society as a whole.
          This theory can be used to explain the problems of trying to balance work and family, since work can have an affect not only on the individual, but memebers of the family as well, through the meso system.  It can also explain issues such as health care, education, or gay marriage, all of these are macro system level institutions which affect individuals through the interaction of these systems.
         I chose the picture of an atom to represent this theory, because all the electrons circling the nucleus is sort of like the different systems that affect an individual, and if one of those systems changes, just like if an atom loses or gains an electron, it can change the indiviual, or the atom, entirely.

Ecological Perspective

Ecological Perspective best explains a family and the problems they can come across. This theory expresses the importance between the individual their social environment which can shape human development. An individual can constantly experience problems outside the family and when going home they can take it out on a wife, husband, or children. An individuals interconnected roles and behaviors can cause problems within the family such as the macro-level systems (laws and policies), external system which has an indirect effect on an individual. Stresses from work, school, bills, and money can cause imbalances within the family unit, for example people often get divorces due to money problems. In this picture the child is being being affected by his parents fighting even if he is not part of the conversation, their yelling can potentially give he child stress and anger towards his parents and essentially breaking the family unit.

Feminist Theory

I think feminist theory will be the best to explain problems in family and marriage because there is a big problem between power imbalances between men and woman or fathers and mothers. In this picture it shows just how mothers are portrayed as having to do the cooking, cleaning, and taking care of a child, while still having a smile on her face. The father looking as if he had just come home from work and is now ready for a hot meal. Woman in society are portrayed as having to do more of the housework and care giving. Men on the other hand, do less or even no housework at all and only focus there time on working and making money. Therefore, this results in broader inequality in larger society amongst woman. For example, since society views family as the father being the breadwinner and the mother being the housekeeper, woman are not taken seriously in the workforce and are paid less then men resulting in inequalities in men and woman.   

Sociological Imagination

Great job, everyone on signing up and trying to post!

I am very excited to start practicing our sociological imagination. The term was coined by the American sociologist C. Wright Mills in 1959, to describe the type of insight offered by the discipline of sociology. C. Wright Mills defined sociological imagination as "the vivid awareness of the relationship between experience and the wider society."

Our first task will be to choose one theory that you think fits the best to explain the issues of the family and marriage. Summarize your theory shortly, explain your choice of the theory and find the image that represents this theory. Please explain why do you think this image represent the theory and which topics or social problems related to family and marriages this theory can explain.

(C.Wright Mills)