1. According to the functionalist theory, an "instrumental" leader was present during the experiments that Robert Bales conducted using small groups. The main objective of the experiment was that each group was observed while discussing how to go about some tasks. The article states that an "instrumental" leader was someone who "led the group discussion about how to accomplish the task they had been assigned." The definition of an "expressive" or "socioemotional" leader is "someone who kept up the group's spirit with warm, supportive remarks and jokes." The reason the group was functional is because two people made efforts to take a leadership role which contributed to better performance. With relation to the family one adult member is seen as an instrumental leader and the other an expressive leader. The husband takes on the role of an instrumental leader because he is the breadwinner and provides financial support. The stay-at-home wife is the expressive leader because she is the homemaker and provides emotional support to all members of the family.
2. During the 1960s and 1970s there was a major demographic change that led theorists to be critical of the functionalist theory. This change was the fact that married women began to move into the workforce. This made the breadwinner-homemaker family lose its dominant position. Women were no longer staying at home and now had some part in the financial support of her family.
3. I believe that the main theme of the conflict theory is overall relationships between people and how domination comes into play. Men are seen as the more dominant figure in the family and women are less powerful. The reason men have more of this dominant power may be because they earn more money for the family. Competition is another main theme of the conflict theory.
4. The social exchange theory is based on ideas similar to those that economists use. Exchange theorists see that husbands have more of a bargaining power when they are the sole money providers in the family leaving the wives with fewer alternate sources for income. When wives earn money on their own they are less dependent on the husbands which means the husband's power over them decreases.
5. The main idea of the feminist theory is the domination of women by men based on the concept of gender. It also discusses the inequalities between women and men. For example, in a breadwinner-homemaker family women's direct access to money through paid employment is restricted in this type of household. This maintains women's dependence on men.
6a.I think the best way for me to get the most accurate information would be to study the family at a micro level. I think using this approach will enable me to look more closely at behavior patterns of the individual or group and how it is impacting their social conditions.
b. The methods that I would use to collect the data would be surveys, general observations and interviews. The general observation will be for me to overlook how the people are in their everyday settings. The surveys will allow me to compare the data of each individual and the interview will give me a one on one feel for the individual.
c. For my study I would like to have small groups of 20. There will be four groups: one of boys, one of girls, two mixed groups based on age.
d. My research question would be "how does age and gender come into play with social life?" My questions would be: 1. What is your age? 2. Are you married? 3. Do you consider your family to have a breadwinner and a homemaker? 4. Do you think that issues with social life can be blamed on the people around you?
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