Praxis Family and Consumer
Sciences (5122 ) Questions &
Answers 100% Correct!!
Individuation is the process through which a person comes to think of himself or herself as a distinct
person despite being a member of a family. - ANSWER Children at first identify entirely with the
mores, norms, and values of their family; it is only after prolonged exposure to other people outside
the home that a child will begin to question his or her upbringing and perhaps modify his or her
belief system. A fully individualized person is able to maintain a coherent personality without
renouncing membership in a family with which he or she may have some disagreement.
Agrarian societies are more likely to live with their extended families. - ANSWER An extended family
is comprised of more than one adult couple. For instance, it might include a man and a woman, their
children, and their grandchildren. Agrarian societies in which people tend the same land for their
entire lives are more conducive to the maintenance of the extended family. This is in part because it
is more difficult for a large group to move around together. In modern, industrial, urban, and
nomadic societies, it is more common for people to be grouped together in nuclear families (one
adult couple and their children)
Financial Stability is NOT necessary for a person to commit emotionally to a marriage. - ANSWER
Despite money being a main issue for divorce, it is more important for partners to have good self-
esteem, empathy, a feeling of permanence in the relationship, and strong personal identities. Solid
marriages weather the inevitable hard times with a mixture of humor, empathy, and habit. The idea
of empathy is particularly important in marriage because it implies that each partner may not fully
understand the other. Nevertheless, a loving spouse with try to help whenever possible.
Having a child between the ages of 2 and 4 has little to no effect on job satisfaction. - ANSWER
Research suggests that parents often feel some strain as they occupy multiple roles, but this is offset
by the enjoyment they derive from their work. Having a newborn, on the other hand, has a
noticeably damaging effect on job satisfaction. The demands of caring for a newborn, as well as the
desire to spend as much time as possible with this new child, make it unpleasant to be away from
home for any reason. Flexible scheduling, high wages, and intellectual challenge are all directly
correlated with job satisfaction.
,Accepting that the marriage is over is the first step a person should take after divorce. - ANSWER
Psychologists estimate that it takes most people at least two years to accept divorce entirely. Until
this is reached, the divorcee should not initiate a new relationship. The best way to complete the
process of acceptance is to establish an individual identity. This may include developing a balance
between being single and being a parent. It is appropriate to plan for the future, but people should
be aware that it is impossible to predict what they will want once they have fully processed the
finality of the divorce.
Sibling rivalry is most pronounced in same-sex siblings within three years of age. - ANSWER In the
first eight to ten years of life, siblings tend to alternate between cooperation and competition. As
they grow older, they will often spend little time together for a few years, but during adolescence will
gradually develop empathy for one another. Most research suggests that adult relationships between
siblings simply exaggerate the tone of the relationship of the youth; that is, good relationships get
better and bad relationships get worse.
Married women typically earn a lower wage than single women. - ANSWER This is an exception to
the general trend, which is that married people are healthier, wealthier, and more content than their
single counterparts. Married men are less likely to abuse alcohol and drugs, and less likely to become
depressed. Married women are healthier and more likely to report satisfaction with their home lives.
One reason why married women may earn less money is that they are more likely to be raising
children, and therefore less focused on professional development. Despite reports about the decline
of marriage, an overwhelming majority of Americans will marry at least once during their lives.
Accepting a stepparent is hardest for adolescent girls. - ANSWER The bond between a stepparent,
particularly a stepfather, and an adolescent girl takes the longest to form. One possible reason for
this phenomenon is that stepfathers tend to be less engaged with stepdaughters than with stepsons.
The effect of remarriage on children is much the same as divorce because it involves a fundamental
restructuring of the family concept. Nevertheless, stepparents who work to engage with their
stepchildren can develop positive relationships over time.
Both the content and the style of family communication are important. - ANSWER The members of a
family should work on communicating positively. The decisions made by families tend to reinforce
the status quo in the interest of conformity and conflict avoidance. For reasons both genetic and
environmental, the members of families are likely to struggle with the same sorts of problems in life.
Despite a general tendency toward stability and consistency, families inevitably change in response
to the aging of each member and to pressures from the environment. Finally, it is a central tenet of
family science that it is impossible to understand a family member without understanding the family
as a whole.
According to John Gottman, humor is the best response to criticism by a spouse. - ANSWER When
the criticized partner responds to criticism by deflecting or soothing the other person, tempers are
quelled and the partnership remains strong. Gottman's research suggests that there is a classic
, pattern of degenerating communication in an unsuccessful relationship. The pattern begins with
criticism that is not directed at a certain behavior, but at the other person as a whole. In other words,
the criticism of unsuccessful couples tends to lean toward character assassination. Eventually, these
negative interactions lead to contempt, in which one partner openly disparages and disrespects the
other. The inevitable response to contempt is defensiveness, followed by stonewalling or a total lack
of communication. When couples stop communicating, the relationship is not likely to endure.
The greatest amount of variation between people of the same age is found during early adolescence.
- ANSWER The onset of puberty may occur at any time over the span of five years, though it typically
occurs earlier in females than in males. The changes brought on by puberty are monumental and can
cause rapid changes in personality, physical development, and emotional maturity. Teachers need to
be aware of these changes, particularly when working with middle-school children. Family and
consumer science teachers may need to act as liaisons between parents and their children, as family
relationships can become strained during early adolescence.
When two children have a dispute and agree to settle it according to their mother's opinion, they are
engaging in arbitration. - ANSWER In arbitration, two conflicting parties agree to rely on the advice
of a supposedly impartial third party. Sometimes, the parties will also establish guidelines for the way
a decision is to be reached. In parenting, it can be difficult to settle a dispute with arbitration, since
children are unlikely to honor a decision that goes against their interest. Conciliation is a method of
settling disputes in which the conflicting parties are simply asked to meet and converse, with the
idea that a resolution will naturally occur as a result of this meeting. In mediation, the conflicting
parties decide to enlist the aid of an impartial third party as they attempt to settle their differences.
The parties in mediation do not agree to follow the advice of the third party. In negotiation, two
parties try to agree on terms that are acceptable to both. Negotiation in family life is a bit like
compromise. A restorative justice system is where the person who has been wronged gets some kind
of compensation from the wrongdoer. When the parents force one sibling to apologize to the other,
they are essentially using restorative justice.
In general, when a mother works, her children have more self-esteem. - ANSWER There is no one
reason for this phenomenon, although one can speculate that girls might be inspired by the positive
example of a successful working mother. The daughters of working mothers tend to be more
independent, and they are likely to have a more egalitarian view of gender relations. When the sons
of working mothers are unsupervised, their performance in school tends to decline. It is important
for both parents to have a positive attitude about maternal employment, and it is especially
important for husbands to support their wives in ways that can be perceived positively by children.
During times of conflict, family members will take sides to consolidate power. - ANSWER Although
this process is natural, it can become problematic if the groups last for too long or create a
permanent imbalance of power. The idea that family life is a series of actions and reactions is an
assumption of Milan systematic family therapy. This approach to family therapy emphasizes patterns
of behavior that lock family members into their roles, therefore inhibiting their personal growth.
Behavioral family therapists assume that bad behavior persists when it is reinforced. These therapists
