Jessica Crutchley 9467

MYSELF AND MY FAMILY

Jess Crutchley

Definition of the word FAMILY

The word family has many definitions.a social unit living togetherprimary social group; parents and childrenclass: a collection of things sharing a common attributepeople descended from a common ancestorsyndicate: a loose affiliation of gangsters in charge of organized criminal activities an association of people who share common beliefs or activities

Different types of Family

There are many different types of family in today's modern society although they are not the same as what they used to be.In times on by, families were large and they were always headed by the father figure who would stay with the mother until death did them part. As time went on families got smaller and they also changed the sole provider to single parent families or same sex parent families or families that aren’t headed by either parent or a biological parent.

Different types of Family

It is now becoming more and more frequent to have one or two children rather than nine and it is not uncommon to have two mothers or fathers, or even just a mother or just a father.This is a reflection of how society has changed in our country and the morals have been slackened to show that now change is more socially acceptable.

The Different Types of Family

Family is now more than ever a new and changing concept.As with other traditions and stereotypes they all meet the modern world and twist the rules and push the boundaries as it becomes acceptable for people to question the moulds and change what is ‘normal.’

The Different Types of Family

When a family is shown on the television they are seen as happy, with a mother and a father and a boy and a girl. The perfect family, however this is not always what a family really is, there are different types of family but they aren’t always recognised as a family because of the differences they have from what is expected.

The Different Types of Family

Some of the different types of family are:SOURCE [http://sixthsense.osfc.ac.uk/sociology/family/index.asp]

Nuclear Family – Mother, Father and ChildrenExtended Family – Grandparents, Parents and ChildrenSingle Parent Family – Mother or Father and Child or ChildrenReconstituted Family – [Step Family] where the mother and or father have divorced then remarried so they have stepchildren.Household – people who live under the same roof [unrelated]

Social Aspects of FamilyThere are certain families that stake a claim of hierarchy based on their family name. In some countries having a certain name or being from a certain household can give you a certain reputation.‘Family Honour’ is very big in eastern countries and in Asia, however it is thought very highly of in muslim religion.Other accounts where having a certain name means something would be in the case of the Royal family, with the name Windsor.Being part of a certain family gives you a certain superiority because you would be from a long line of ‘pure bloods' which some would feel gives you an upper hand in society.

Family Labels

When you are part of a family it becomes very easy to be prejudged based on what people know or think they know about your household. It is very common for people to have an opinion formed about you based on who your mother or father or siblings are and these perceptions can be hard to shake off.

For example, you meet someone called Georgina Windsor, without knowing her you automatically think she is from a posh background and is very polite, respectful and well mannered.

Mother

Father

Brother

Sister

Cousin

Nan

Granddad

Aunty Uncle

Step-MumStep-Dad

Niece

Nephew

My Own Family

I live with my immediate family in my family home and I have lived like this my whole life.I live with my biological Mother and Father and my sister and we all live –mostly- in harmony.

My mother and father got married when they were younger and they then had two children, me first and then my sister.

My family have had a huge impact on who I am and they have shaped my views and they have helped me to see the world how I see it today.

My Family and my Values

Families heavily influence our tastes, values, morals and identity.They play a huge role on who we are and what we become, because we grow up in these situations at such an impressionable age it enables them to shape our views and turn us into respectable people in the future.

Nature vs. Nurture

The way that we are brought up by our families gives us an identity and a they help us to incorporate ourselves into society effectively so that we are not outcasts.

Family Influence

Based on the Pygmalion Effect that states that in theory people will live up to the expectations that you apply to them, this applies in no way more intimately than with in the group dynamics of a family situation.Some examples of where this is present is:The expectations of behaviour in the house.The expectations of behaviour outside the house.

Group Dynamics of the Family

The days of the traditional mother, father and children family are behind us and now extended family and family from past relationships are everyday occurrences, this all adds to the group dynamics.

This image shows the families in the TV Show ‘Modern Family’Family One consists of a mother and her child and her new husband.

Family Two consists of a mother, father, two daughters and a son.

And Family Three consists of two fathers and their adopted baby,

1 2 3

Modern Family.Please press to view.

Group Dynamics of the Family

My family I feel has a very average group dynamic structure.My father works full-time and provides mainly for my family.My mother also works but she works part-time and is the carer in my family, she looks after me and my sister and keeps the house running smoothly.I am a student, and I go to school, along with my younger sister we play the same roles within the family.

Group Dynamics of the Family

In a broader picture, my immediate family is also very close with my uncles and aunties and cousins. Our relationships with these people add to the dynamics of my immediate family because they contribute greatly to our relationships and the social upbringing of myself and my sister.

Family Contribution to Values

Because my family has had such a influence on me from a young age, they have contributed greatly to my tastes and values. I have been brought up with a set of values that mean that I am accepted socially.

Family Contribution to Values

I was brought up around people that are at both ends of the wealth spectrum, these people are my parents friends and this has given me a great acceptance of different set ups and it has given me the point of view to not better anyone based on wealth because we are all equal. This is just one of the strong values that I have been given and will no doubt pass on to my own children and the others that I have influence.

My Identity

My identity has been created for me subconsciously through my family, although I have been given the choices to chose I have always been influenced by my family to some extent.My identity in regards to a linguistic analysis my speech has been influenced greatly by my family.I speak the same as my family do, using the same tones. Although I do not notice it too much because everyone around me speaks the same I speak with a West Midlands accent. Some of the words that are say are only said in this region and some of the phrases that I use are things that I have picked up from my mother.

My Identity- Self Image

Part of my self image is my social role within society.I am a daughter, a friend and a student and these roles that I play have a huge impact on who I am as a person and how I am perceived. Another part of my self image are my personality traits such as I am honest and I am hard-working have a huge impact on the person that I think I am.Based on Kuhn and McPartland’s 1954 experiment on 7-year olds and undergrads I am more in the category of the undergrads, because I would state more personality traits than my social roles.

Daughter

Friend

Student

My Identity- Ideal Self

My family has contributed to who I think my ideal self is or who my ideal self should be, although when I am around my family o do more gatekeeping than I do when I am with my friends. This is because I feel that my family get a kind of level one public self, then my friends get a level two public self verging on private self, but I could show my family my most private self but not my core self.

Private Self

Public Self

Core Self

Rogers’ concentric circle model