Family Communication CollageCMS 332Matt Egan

November 17th 2011

FAMILY The Family I have chosen to do this assignment on is the family

from That 70's Show. That 70's Show is an American TV series that ran for 8 seasons

(1998-2006). That 70's Show is.. “A comedy revolving around a group of

teenage friends, their mishaps, and their coming of age, set in 1970s Wisconsin.” (IMDB)

Family Type

The type of family from That 70s Show is 2 parent biological.

Red and Kitty are the parents. Laurie and Eric are the two kids.

Family RolesThe roles in this family are pretty

stereotypical for this type of family. This is a family that communicates a lot and their roles stem from communication. “ Roles are inextricably bound to the communication process. Family roles are developed and maintained through communication.” (Galvin, Bylund, Brommel, 2012, p. 151)

Red – Father, financial provider, disciplinary, handy man, very hard on the kids, especially Eric.

Kitty – Mother, financial provider, and cook. Makes a lot of jokes. The kids look to her for nurturing. Keeps the house clean and does the laundry.

Family RolesEric – Son and student. Would

rebel from his parents but at the same time try to be a good son. Friends had a big influence on him.

Laurie – Daughter and student. Not very smart and lazy. Always tries to get Eric in trouble.

Family Themes“A theme may be viewed as a pattern of

feelings, motives, fantasies, and conventionalized understandings grouped around a particular locus of concern.” (Galvin, Bylund, Brommel, 2012, p. 39)

The Forman's family theme is “Love and respect”. There is a mutual love and respect amongst everyone in the family, regardless of how they treat each other sometimes. They look to each other for love and support.

Family Rituals“Family Rituals range from those

tied to the overall culture to those known to only two or three members.” (Galvin, Bylund, Brommel, 2012, p.115)

Some family rituals the Formans have...

Eating breakfast and dinner together.

4th of July BBQ.

Communication FunctionsFrom looking at the 4 categories of

communication functions, I would have to say that the Formans are cohesive.

They are close emotionally. When push comes to shove, they are loyal to each other. There is a sense of togetherness with this family. They also emphasize on individuality.

Decision Making

“Decision making is the process by which family memebers make choices, reach judgments, or arrive at solutions that end uncertainty”(Galvin, Bylund, Brommel, 2012, p. 194)

Most of the decision making in the Forman family is made by Red. Kitty has a lot of influence in his decisions. Eric tries to step out and make his own decisions, which don't always work out in his favor.

Typology“Consensual families are high in both

conversation and conformity strategies with their communication characterized by pressure for agreement, although children are encouraged to express ideas and feelings.”(Galvin, Bylund, Brommel, 2012, p. 173)

I would have to say that for Forman's are this type of family. They are all very open with each other for the most part. Kitty facilitates a lot of it.

Conflict Management“Members of a family systems develop

implicit and explicit rules governing the communication of conflictual messages.” (Galvin, Bylund, Brommel, 2012, p. 220)

Conflicts within the Forman family usually result in Eric getting in trouble. Most of the conflicts are between Eric and Red.

Eric almost always ends up in trouble. Red is very strict and this paired with a rebelling teenager leads to many conflicts. In the end though they get over it.

The Family...Plus Others!