Problem
A. Reflect on your experiences as a family member. How does your own family compare to other families in communication patterns and structure?
B. Describe your idea of the ideal family. How would your ideal family communicate? Is this different from your own family?
C. How easy was it to determine the different parts of the family life cycle?
D. What critiques would you have of the applicability of the family life cycle approach to this specific family?
E. Think about your own family's life cycle. Attempt to plot out the life cycle of your family through at least three generations: your grandparents (or equivalent), your parents (or equivalent), and yourself and any siblings (or equivalent).
F. Think about your sibling relationships. How would you describe your sibling relationships using the four different types of sibling relationships discussed by Shirley McGuire, Susan M. McHale, and Kimberly Updegraff? If you don't have siblings, think of a famous pair of siblings.
G. Think about your sibling relationships. What relational maintenance strategies discussed by Scott Myers and Keith Weber do you use with your siblings? If you don't have siblings, think of a famous pair of siblings.
H. Think about a marital relationship where you know the couple fairly well. Examining the three relational dimensions (conventional/nonconventional ideology, interdependence/autonomy, and conflict engagement/avoidance), how would you categorize this couple? Why?
I. Find a copy of Mary Anne Fitzpatrick's Relational Dimensions Instrument, have a married couple that you know to complete the instrument separately. How similar were their responses? How different were their responses?
J. Think about a marital relationship where you know the couple fairly well. Based on what you know about this couple, would you consider them traditional, independents, or separates? Why? Please be specific with your answer to demonstrate your understanding of these three marital types.