family
two or more individuals living together who are related by birth, marriage, partnership agreement, or adoption
family consellation
the many variables that describe a family group
primary group
people who have close personal relationships
single-parent family
family household in which one parent resides with the children but without the other parent
household
comprises all persons who occupy a housing unit
stepfamilies
families in which one or both parents reside with children from prior marriages or unions
blended family
any nontraditional configuration of people who live together, are committed to each other, and perform functions traditionally assumed by families
family functions
a wide range of caregiving functions, including nurturing and socializing children, providing material and emotional support, and assuming general responsibility for the well-being of all members
communication
clear expression of personal ideas and feelings even when they differ from those of other family members
family therapist
works with members of a family to improve communication and interaction among members and to pursue other changes and goals they wish to pursue
system
a set of elements that form an orderly, interrelated, and functional whole
homeostasis
the tendency of a system to maintain a relatively stable, constant state of balance
subsystem
a secondary or subordinate system, within a system
boundaries
repeatedly occurring patterns of behavior that characterize the relationships within a system and give that system a particular identity
input
the energy, information, or communication flow received from other systems
output
the energy, information, or communication emitted from a system to the environment or to other systems
feedback
a system's receipt of information from an outside source about its own performance or behavior
entropy
the natural tendency of a system to progress toward disorganization, depletion, and, in essence, death
negative entropy
the process of a system moving toward growth and development
equifinality
the idea that there are many different means to the same end
differentiation
a system's tendency to move from a more simplified to a more complex existence
learning theory
the theoretical orientation that conceptualizes the social environment in terms of behavior, its preceding events, and its subsequent consequences
respondent conditioning
responses that develop when a person learns to respond to a new stimulus that does not naturally elicit a response
unconditioned (naturally occurring) stimulus
a stimulus that naturally results in specific response
conditioned (learned) stimulus
a stimulus that does not result in a response naturally, but does result in a response after being paired with an unconditioned stimulus that elicits the response naturally (i.e. a person learns to respond to a conditioned stimulus)
systematic desensitization
the procedure whereby a person with a phobia practices relaxation while imagining scenes of the fear-producing stimulus, with the intent of decreasing that fear
modeling
the learning of behavior by observing another individual engaging in that behavior
operant conditioning
a type of learning in which behaviors are influenced primarily by the consequences that follow them
reinforcement
a procedure or consequence that increases the frequency of the behavior immediately preceding it
positive reinforcement
positive events or consequences that follow a behavior and strengthen it
negative reinforcement
the removal of a negative event or consequence that serves to increase the frequency of a behavior
punishment
the presentation of an aversive event or the removal of a positive reinforcer, which results in a decrease in the frequency of a behavior
extinction
the process whereby reinforcement for a behavior stops, resulting in the eventual decrease in frequency and possible eradication of that behavior
extinction burst
when reinforcement is initially stopped, a brief increase in the frequency or intensity of the behavior may occur
primary reinforcers
food, water, candy, and sex are examples of ___________________
secondary reinforcers
have values that are learned through association with other reinforcers
material reinforcers
specific objects or substances that can be used as rewards to increase specific behaviors
activities
tangible events whose value has been learned
Premack Principle
the opportunity to engage in a high-probability behavior as a consequence for a low-probability behavior will increase the low-probability behavior but never vice versa
social reinforcers
words and gestures used to indicate caring and concern toward another person
token reinforcers
designated symbolic objects reflecting specific units of value that an individual can exchange for some other commodity that he or she wants
continuous reinforcement
to reinforce a particular behavior every time it occurs
intermittent reinforcement
when a behavior is not reinforced every time it is performed, but is reinforced only occasionally
schedules of reinforcement
various procedures of how frequently or in what order reinforcement should be administered
baseline
the frequency with which a behavior occurs before behavior modification begins
active listening
the process in which the receiver of a communication pays close attention to what the sender of the communication is saying, and subsequently reflects back what was heard to make sure the message has been accurately understood
time-out
previous reinforcement is withdrawn, with the intended result being a decrease in the frequency of a particular behavior
permissive parents
very nondirective and avoid trying to control their children
permissive-indulgent parents
easygoing and unconventional, accompanied by high nurturance (warmth and responsiveness)
authoritarian parents
have definite ideas about how children should behave and do not hesitate to make rules and tell their children what to do, emphasizing control and conformity
authoritative parents
provide control and consistent support, but also involve their children in decision making and encourage the development of independence
soiometry
a common technique for examining children's interaction, involving asking children questions about their relationships and feelings toward other people
sociogram
a visual representation of relationships
self-fulfilling prophecy
students will perform to the level of expectation placed upon them
maltreatment
physical abuse; being given inadequate care and nourishment; deprivation of adequate medical care; insufficient encouragement to attend school consistently; exploitation by being forced to work too hard or too long; exposure to unwholesome or demoralizing
physical abuse
non-accidental injury inflicted on a child, usually by a caregiver, other adults, or sometimes, and older child
child neglect
a caregiver's failure to meet a child's basic needs; this may involve depriving a child of physical, emotional, medical, mental health, or educational necessities
physical englect
the failure to protect a child from harm or danger and provide for the child's basic necessities including adequate food, shelter, and clothing
inadequate supervision
situations in which children are without a caretaker or the caretaker is inattentive or unsuitable, and therefore the children are in danger of harming themselves or possibly others
Nonorganic failure-to-thrive syndrome (NFTT)
physical condition that can result from extreme neglect and occurs in infancy; characterized by infants who are below the fifth percentile in weight and often in height
psychosocial dwarfism (PSD)
physical condition that can result from extreme neglect and can affect children age 18 months to 16 years; emotional deprivation promotes abnormally low growth, are below the fifth percentil in weight and height, exhibit retarded skeletal maturation, and
psychological abuse
belittling, humiliating, rejecting, undermining a child's self-esteem, and generally not conducive to creating a positive atmosphere for a child
psychological neglect
passively failing to meet children's emotional needs, nurturing, or emotional well-being
Child Protective Services (CPS)
governmental units that receive reports of child maltreatment, investigate them, assess the extent of harm, determine safety of an environment, provide arrangement for appropriate placement and other services
petition
a written complaint submitted to the court that the alleged abuse or neglect has occurred
adjudication
a hearing where the alleged abuse or neglect is proven or discounted
disposition
a hearing in which the court determines what is to be done with the child
sexual abuse
any sexual activity with a child where consent is not or cannot be given
incest
sexual activities between a child and a relative
pedophile
someone who prefers children for sexual gratification
engagement phase
the perpetrator will experiment with the child to see how close he can get and how the child will react
sexual interaction phase
where sexual activity in various degrees of intimacy occurs
secrecy phase
after sexual activity has occurred, and the abuser uses manipulations to hold the victim ensnared in the abuse
suppression phase
feelings of denial on the part of the perpetrator, guilt and insecurity on the part of the victim, and anger on the part of other family members
post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
a condition in which a person continues to reexperience an excessively traumatic event such as a bloody battle experience or a sexual assault
disclosure-panic phase
the first phase of sexual abuse treatment characterized by strong feelings
assessment-awareness phase
the second phase of sexual abuse treatment in which the family acknowledges that the abuse has occurred and struggles to deal with its consequences
restructure phase
the final phase of sexual abuse treatment in which the family regains emotional health