A natural observation was made involving a family discussing where to eat lunch. Each individual played an intricate role in the exchange, either with his or her direct, or lack of, interactions with the other members of the family. I will apply the systems theory of family to the observation and discuss the concept of power, and how certain sources of power were drawn upon during the exchange.
The observation took place at a busy mall on a Saturday at 11:39 am until 12:03 pm after all parties left the area. The family was comprised of 8 individuals. The first was an older male approx. 55 years old, above average height, slightly overweight, wearing an Oregon Ducks shirt. Second, who will be called mother-in-law, was his female spouse approx. …show more content…
When the young woman asked the mother-in-law if the deal was alright with her, yet did not wait for a reply, the older man turned his back to the group and grinned to himself. The excitement the boy displayed over having a treat only after observing the excitement of his older sibling. The young man kissed his wife on the cheek briefly and placed his hand on her lower back with much more affection than his kiss displayed. The older man patted his son on the back and grinned when the older woman was out of …show more content…
The mother-in-law may be used to being the ultimate decision-maker. The young woman may also accustomed to making the final decisions within her family subsystem, which would not be a subsystem independent of the in-laws, but a family system of its own. The older man appeared to be pleased that his wife’s attempt to draw upon her social power failed. This was observed by the pat on the back he gave his son and the smile. It was ironic that the older man appeared pleased that the young woman was displaying the same social power that displeased him when displayed by the mother-in-law. It may be that by encouraging or accepting the young woman‘s power over her mother-in-law will lead to the same effect later, in that the young woman has a great sense of entitlement and will expect to be the final decision-making power over her children or future
The observation took place at a busy mall on a Saturday at 11:39 am until 12:03 pm after all parties left the area. The family was comprised of 8 individuals. The first was an older male approx. 55 years old, above average height, slightly overweight, wearing an Oregon Ducks shirt. Second, who will be called mother-in-law, was his female spouse approx. …show more content…
When the young woman asked the mother-in-law if the deal was alright with her, yet did not wait for a reply, the older man turned his back to the group and grinned to himself. The excitement the boy displayed over having a treat only after observing the excitement of his older sibling. The young man kissed his wife on the cheek briefly and placed his hand on her lower back with much more affection than his kiss displayed. The older man patted his son on the back and grinned when the older woman was out of …show more content…
The mother-in-law may be used to being the ultimate decision-maker. The young woman may also accustomed to making the final decisions within her family subsystem, which would not be a subsystem independent of the in-laws, but a family system of its own. The older man appeared to be pleased that his wife’s attempt to draw upon her social power failed. This was observed by the pat on the back he gave his son and the smile. It was ironic that the older man appeared pleased that the young woman was displaying the same social power that displeased him when displayed by the mother-in-law. It may be that by encouraging or accepting the young woman‘s power over her mother-in-law will lead to the same effect later, in that the young woman has a great sense of entitlement and will expect to be the final decision-making power over her children or future