– psychological theory because it emphasizes the mental processes of perception and interpretation in determining the behavior of individuals. Language is the means by which individuals interpret and give meaning to their experiences of self and others in order to interact in relationships. Role taking is basis for human interaction.ģ.) People able to interact effectively if they can communicate using a common language shared symbols. This is what george mead (philosopher and psychologist) believed. – symbolic interactionism is based on 3 basic concepts:ġ.) Individual develops a self that has two parts “me” that consists of objective qualities (tall, student, female) and the “i” that is subjective awareness (good, shy, lonely) according to charles cooley, “i” is based on how feedback from other people is interpreted.Ģ.) People must take the attitude of the other to be able to anticipate what the other person will do and decide how they should respond. – mental processes are not visible, only the actions that follow them are – perceptions, or meanings that people give to their experience of the world that matter, not social facts – people experience their social world and define and interpret the experiences to give them meaning – psychological theory that attempts to explain how individuals choose how they will act based on perceptions of themselves and of others. – systems theory explains behavior of individuals as inseparable from the group. – family systems adapt when a change in one persons behavior causes the behavior of others to evolve, which result in new strategies. – strategies require collaboration of all members to continue – strategies defined as patterns of interaction that are repeated – develop strategies for achieving goals and functions of individuals and of the family, and for interacting with external society. personal subsystem comprised of interaction between the individual as self and as a member of the family interpersonal subsystems between individuals, ex: husband, wife or mother, sonģ. family unit subsystem of those members sharing a householdĢ. – larger family system contains sub-systems:ġ. – some theorists argue individuals continue to exert an influence on the behavior of others after they have left the family household, just like in divorce. Members can only leave the family by death. – families maintain a relatively stable size since members can be added to families only by birth, adoption, or marriage. – feedback implies give and take, so individuals within family system influence one another in a reciprocal way, which makes it difficult to trace the origins of influence or to describe organization of the family. – basic principle is feedback, a process by which the system informs its members how to interact to maintain the stability of the system. – Applies to the examination of family processes. – sociological theory that attempts to explain how groups of individuals interact as a system, a set of different parts that work together and influence one another in a relatively stable way over time. – functionalists make observations about role behavior and determine the rates at which various behaviors occur.
![structural functions systems theory structural functions systems theory](https://helpfulprofessor.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/family-systems-theory-examples-definition.jpg)
![structural functions systems theory structural functions systems theory](https://image5.slideserve.com/9348930/structural-functionalism-l.jpg)
– role: set of behaviors an individual is expected to demonstrate within a status. – status: specific position within a social group. – functionalists examine roles individuals play within an institution (eg family) – assumes that societies are stable when structures function in ways that benefit society. – These structures, for example: the law, political system, and family called institutions. It is the oldest sociological theory and is also used by anthropologists. This theory focuses on how the structures function within society. The sociological theory that ties to explain how a society is organized to perform functions effectively.