FHS 2400, Marriage and Family Relations (ID)
Credit Hours: 3.0
Course Description: Introduction to marriage and family. Personality, interpersonal relations, and society are examined within the context of the family life circle. Emphasis is placed on the impact of societal and personal choices on the family.
Assignment 1
Ricky Wadman
Jan. 28, 2011
Chapter 1 – What is a Family?
For this particular assignment, I interviewed two males and one female: my dad, my mom, and my future brother in-law. My dad, Robert Wadman, is 44 and married to my mom, Yasmina Wadman, who is 45. My future brother in-law, Dallan Hope, is 21 and is currently engaged to my older sister. I wanted them to answer the following question thoughtfully: what is a family?
My dad responded that a family is the most important unit of society. The family is also an important support group growing up in life. It is a unit where many kids learn basic principles from their parents. Family (parents and children) can be the source of great joy, and we believe that families do not end when we die. Family names can be a great source of pride and accomplishment.
According to my mom’s response, she said that a family is the most important organization in our society. A family is a place where people learn the basic qualities to be successful in life. It is important for a family to consist of a father and a mother to teach their children roles that nobody else can teach them adequately.
My future brother in-law responded that a family is a social unit where people are to support and to strengthen each other during hardships. The family also contains the basics of human life that are learned. It is the parent’s responsibility to provide physical and mental needs for their children. The children are to learn the basics needs for life in order to be successful from their loving parents. The family is the center of everything in life.
From hearing these responses, I think a family is the basic unit of society where it consists of a father and a mother and their children. The family is a way to interact with others in a nice way. It also contains a humble home, a place where we can be loved and cared for. We can learn basic principles and learn from our mistakes through the examples of our loving parents. The family can bring an everlasting joy to our lives because we can still be a family after this life here on earth.
Reflection
For this particular assignment, I wrote a 1-2 page paper about the definition of a family. In the assignment, I interviewed three individuals: my dad, my mom, and my brother in-law. With each individual, I wanted them to answer the question thoughtfully: what is a family? Throughout the interviews I had conducted, I thought the responses were pretty interesting and helpful because I can follow their advice and be able to apply to my own life.
A family, in my opinion, is the basic unit of society where it consists of a father and a mother and their children. Families help draw individuals closer together. We can learn the basic principles and learn from our mistakes through the examples of our parents. Families are so important because it is time where we can be loved and cared for. Parents help play a major role in a family because they influence their children and help become a better example toward them.
Assignment 2
Ricky Wadman
Feb. 28, 2011
Chapter 7 – Nonverbal Communication
Throughout our day-to-day life, the messages we send and receive contain both verbal and nonverbal components. Verbal communication expresses the basic content of the message, whereas nonverbal communication reflects more of the relationship part of the message. In most cases, a relationship is expressed nonverbally. In the textbook, there are three forms of nonverbal communication that have clear importance: proximity, eye contact, and touch. For this particular assignment, I was able to observe the nonverbal behaviors of singles and couples at various locations.
I saw the nonverbal behaviors of singles and couples at dances, school cafeteria, church, ballroom classes, and other public settings. Eye contact and touch play a huge role between males and females at dances, the school cafeteria, and ballroom classes. Males want attention to attract females, such as having a good sense of humor and being social. They also generally want to touch girl's hands. Females, on the other hand, want to attract the males because they want to be with them. They also have the desire to touch males, such as rubbing shoulders or massaging the back.
At church, the interaction between males and females is significantly different because it contains couples and singles. When couples show eye contact to each other, it shows that they are familiar with each other. When singles show eye contact to each other, they are showing interest with each other. Within males and females, there are different kinds of levels or degrees with touch. It can be a simple touch, such as a handshake, or a complex touch, such as rubbing on someone's shoulders.
Within other cultures, the nonverbal behavior has some different and similar characteristics of how to deal with proximity, eye contact, and touch. With proximity, couples engage in close gazing into each other's eyes, holding hands, and walking with arms around each other. In other cultural backgrounds, people can misinterpret the proximity negatively. Some people can get the wrong idea of eye contact as a simple greeting or a wanting to attract the opposite sex. Touch within males and females are distinct in most cultures. It often consists hugging and kissing, whereas a firm but more distant handshakes is accepted greeting in noncontact cultures. In conclusion, we convey feelings through a variety of nonverbal components, such as proximity, touch, and eye contact. Through shared nonverbal communication, we can bring success of relationships in cultures around the world.
Reflection
In this assignment, I wrote a 1-2 page paper about nonverbal communication. I learned that nonverbal communication reflects more of the relationship part of the message. I also learned that in most relationships couples use communication nonverbally. That is, they use proximity, eye contact, and touch.
Nonverbal communication is varied throughout the world. People of different cultures use nonverbal communication differently than what other people would normal use. Sometimes people of different cultures may not know what nonverbal communication is being used. They can sometimes misinterrpret it and get the wrong idea. It is important to use nonverbal communication to those that want it or know how to use it.
