Allya Miramontes

Professor Welden

SOC MWF 3pm

11/7/2022

Family social institution:

In sociology, there are many institutions. To be specific, there are 7 institutions, and all

these institutions play a role in society's daily life. Each institution can affect people’s lives

whether it be the family, economic life, or society in general. These institutions affect society on

a macro and micro level. One sociological institution that is important in society is the family

institution. The family institution is important because it is the first institution we are exposed to

once we enter this world. Family is the focus where people gain who they are as a person. It

affects them even years later. Family as a definition can also change depending on each person’s

view of family. The family institution can affect society in many ways, which is why I think it is

the most influential institution in America.

A sociological institution is a group where people define how they affect society. An

institution shows how society can fit together to build a society with stability. This is why

Family is the main institution to look into. Out of all 7 institutions, family is the most influential

because family is something that people grow up in. Whether this family is close family,

extended family, adopted family, or even friends. The family has many different terms

depending on how people in society interacted with it. In either case, the family still affects

anyone in society on micro and macro levels. According to Noba, Thompson a professor in

psychology says, childhood personality and social skills come from who they grew up around.
(Thompson, 2022.) This makes sense because children are watching how parents and older

people interact with each other outside of the home. Even inside the home children are taught

certain behaviors that can be acceptable to society and behaviors/norms that are not acceptable.

This is why I think it is really influential because these social norms and skills we learn are

rooted in us as children. In some cases, it can be hard or seem off when we do actions outside of

what we people considered the social norm given to us as kids. While the other institutions do

play a role in affecting individuals’ daily life it is important to note that these institutions affect

family life as well. An individual can be affected by religion, education, media, etc., but as an

individual, they subconsciously and consciously look back to what they were taught when they

were growing up. According to Thompson, many personality developments happen as children

and then become affected by the outside world. Which leads individuals to learn and grow.

(Thompson, 2022.)

Family is the base of acquiring social norms and functions. This can start with forming

relationships with friends, teachers, peers, etc. Family can affect your personality traits, social

understanding, social skills, and emotional skills. All these traits can then affect an individual in

the real world. Thompson talks about this in early childhood from infants starting to develop

security in their caregivers. Then explains how the relationship between their child as the child

gets older and develops their own self. This is during the time when kids start to go to grade

school. Then they learn social norms on their own through their relationship with their

peers/teachers. Lastly, children learn their emotional and social skills through their parents.

Affecting them when they are interacting with other individuals outside the family bubble.

Overall, the family institution affects how individuals will see other social norms, institutions,

theories, etc.
 As of now, the current state of the family institution is seen through our sociological

imagination. The book Sociology in Action talks specifically about how the family is viewed in

society in its current state. The book's main focus was on how the family construct can be

changed or viewed differently as society changes. Just as the family can influence a lot in society

those institutions can also influence the family construct.

In the beginning family life was considered the pre-industrial period. Where the family

construct was seen as more of ownership. Males were in the headship role. Having a family

construct like this affects society a lot. During this time, it was mainly males making decisions

for the household. While the woman had little say. Their “job was to provide care. Later we see

the family construct change due to society changing. This family constructs changed into the

industrial family where reproduction and labor were the main goals of marriage. Her family

construction is evolving due to the necessity of the economy. This pushes the family to construct

to form something new. Then affecting how we view each person’s duty in the family. Women

start to gain more power” and work and family life are not together. The man is seen as the

breadwinner and the woman as the caregiver to the children. During the 1900s marriage began to

change into a symbol of partnership marriage based on romantic love. It was a big shift from the

50s and as time went on there were rapid changes. Now the ’70s and ’80s were a time of waiting

to get married and more divorce rates.

As of now, the family construct is way different than the years before. As more younger

people are staying single or living together yet not married. The family function can also be seen

in many theories. These theories are outlooks on the family function and how they see family

“playing” along with society. The two main theories are structural functionalism and conflict

theory. Structural functionalisms see the family construct as creating stability and harmony in
society. The family is a social agent which provides stability for children and is important in

regulating sexual behavior. For the conflict theory, the construct of the family is how the family

maintains stability through tradition. This theory also focuses on the inequalities in family life.

The Sociology in Action shows the current state of family life is caring. As a whole, the

family is people or groups of people that are caring for one another despite all the other

institutions in play. With this is also the “job” of meeting the needs of the children and change

once children change there’re needs. Needs need to be met in a family construct in order for it to

function at its best.

I think that the family construct will change 2-3 decades from now. Mainly because the

construct of the family is already in motion of change. We can see through many decades of the

family social construct changing. So, it will evolve or change along with society and society's

standards at the time. Who is to know what society has in place decades from now? Many social

institutions affect the family institution and vice versa. Making it a bound effect that any

construct including the family can be changed or will change.

More specifically, the family construct can change by having same-sex marriage,

allowing the queer community to marry as a social norm. Now the roles of the family are

different. With this many questions arrive. Who is the head of the house in a queer marriage?

Who is the mom? Dad? Etc. Or do these questions even matter? Are these questions still here

based on traditions? To make “society” feel as though the social norms have not changed much

since the 50s. That the roles can still apply.

 Work Cited:

“Social and Personality Development in Childhood.” Noba,

https://nobaproject.com/modules/social-and-personality-development-in-childhood.

Sociology in Action. SAGE PUBLICATIONS, 2021.