Thursday, May 9, 2013

Family Theories

In class this week we discussed some interesting theories constructed about the family. The four main theories covered included the conflict theory, the symbolic theory, the exchange theory, and the family systems theory. Through reading and discussing these various theories I feel that I am most drawn to two of them, the symbolic interaction theory and the family systems theory. I think I associated with the symbolic interaction theory most because I realized how often I rely on symbolic interaction to communicate with others and to understand others. I realized that, as hard as it may be to accept, not everyone interprets, or uses the same symbolic interactions that I do. I think that now that I have discovered this I will be able to improve my existing relationships with my close friends and family, but also keep an open perspective when meeting new people.

I also found the family systems theory to be very interesting and helpful because it helped to explain some interactions that exist between the members of my family. One of the main points of this theory is that " the family as a whole is greater than the sum of parts." I can definitely see this being true in my family, as when one person is separated even for a short time from our home, there is a different feeling to the entire atmosphere, it feels incomplete. I have discovered since leaving home, how drastically things can change when one family member is absent. After returning home to visit in between semesters I found that the dynamic of my family had changed slightly. My younger siblings who I had cared for my whole life, had become more self sufficient and had stepped up to make up for my absence. Not to say that I had been keeping things running all on my own before I left, but I held a lot of responsibility being the oldest. I find it very interesting to see this family systems theory at work, and hope that I will be able to continue to learn about it in more depth.

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