Chapter Seven: Family Relationships - Key Terms

Question 1

Attachment theory

Answer 1

Theory originally developed by British psychiatrist John Bowlby, asserting that, among humans as among other primates, attachments between parents and children have an evolutionary basis in the need for vulnerable young members of the species to stay in close proximity to adults who will care for and protect them.

Question 2

Authoritarian parents

Answer 2

Parenting style in which parents are high in demandingness but low in responsiveness; they require obedience from their children and punish disobedience without compromise, but show little warmth or affection toward them.

Question 3

Authoritative parents

Answer 3

A parenting style in which parents are high in demandingness and high in responsiveness; they love their children but also set clear standards for behavior and explain to their children the reasons for those standards.

Question 4

Autonomy

Answer 4

The quality of being independent and self-sufficient, capable of thinking for one’s self.

Question 5

bidirectional effects

Answer 5

In relations between parents and children, the concept that children not only are affected by their parents but affect their parents in return. Also called reciprocal effects.

Question 6

buddy relationship

Answer 6

Between siblings, a relationship in which they treat each other as friends.

Question 7

caregiver relationship

Answer 7

Between siblings, a relationship in which one sibling serves parental functions for the other.

Question 8

Casual relationship

Answer 8

Between siblings, a relationship that is not emotionally intense, in which they have little to do with one another.

Question 9

Critical relationship

Answer 9

Between siblings, a relationship characterized by a high level of conflict and teasing.

Question 10

custodial parent

Answer 10

The parent who lives in the same household as the children following a divorce.

Question 11

demandingness

Answer 11

The degree to which parents set down rules and expectations for behaviour and require their children to comply with them.

Question 12

differential parenting

Answer 12

When parents’ behavior differs toward siblings within the same family.

Question 13

disengaged parents

Answer 13

Parenting style in which parents are low in both demandingness and responsiveness and relatively uninvolved in their children’s development.

Question 14

disequilibrium

Answer 14

In the family systems approach, this term is used in reference to a change that requires adjustments from family members.

Question 15

divorce mediation

Answer 15

An arrangement in which a professional mediator helps divorcing parents negotiate an agreement that both will find acceptable.

Question 16

dual-earner family

Answer 16

A family in which both parents are employed.

Question 17

dyadic relationship

Answer 17

A relationship between two persons.

Question 18

familismo

Answer 18

Concept of family life characteristic of Latino cultures that emphasizes the love, closeness, and mutual obligations of family life.

Question 19

family process

Answer 19

The quality of relationships among family members.

Question 20

family structure

Answer 20

The outward characteristics of a family, such as whether or not the parents are married.

Question 21

family systems approach

Answer 21

An approach to understanding family functioning that emphasizes how each relationship within the family influences the family as a whole.

Question 22

insecure attachment

Answer 22

Type of attachment to caregiver in which infants are timid about exploring the environment and resist or avoid the caregiver when she attempts to offer comfort or consolation.

Question 23

internal working model

Answer 23

In attachment theory, the term for the cognitive framework, based on interactions in infancy with the primary caregiver, that shapes expectations and interactions in relationships to others throughout life.

Question 24

midlife crisis

Answer 24

The popular belief, largely unfounded according to research, that most people experience a crisis when they reach about age 40, involving intensive reexamination of their lives and perhaps sudden and dramatic changes if they are dissatisfied.

Question 25

nonshared environmental influences

Answer 25

Influences experienced differently among siblings within the same family, e.g., when parents behave differently with their different children.

Question 26

parenting styles

Answer 26

The patterns of practices that parents exhibit in relation to their children.

Question 27

permissive parents

Answer 27

Parenting style in which parents are low in demandingness and high in responsiveness. They show love and affection toward their children but are permissive with regard to standards for behaviour.

Question 28

primary caregiver

Answer 28

The person mainly responsible for caring for an infant or young child.

Question 29

reciprocal effects

Answer 29

In relations between parents and children, the concept that children not only are affected by their parents but affect their parents in return. Also called bidirectional effects.

Question 30

relatedness

Answer 30

The quality of being emotionally close to another person.

Question 31

responsiveness

Answer 31

The degree to which parents are sensitive to their children’s needs and express love, warmth, and concern for them.

Question 32

rival relationship

Answer 32

Between siblings, a relationship in which they compete against each other and measure their success against one another.

Question 33

secure attachment

Answer 33

Type of attachment to caregiver in which infants use the caregiver as a “secure base from which to explore” when all is well, but seek physical comfort and consolation from her if frightened or

Question 34

affective functions

Answer 34

Emotional functions of the family, pertaining to love, nurturance, and attachment.