Assignment 2

1. According to the functionalist theory, the definition of the "instrumental" leader is a leader of a group that discusses how to accomplish a task they had been assigned, while an "expressive" leader is the one that tried to keep up the group's spirit, either with the use of supportive words or jokes. The father was usually known as the instrumental leader, while the mother was the expressive.
2. The main demographic change that led scientists to be critical of the functionalist perspective was the fact that women were now entering the workforce a lot more than previous years. They feared that families with the sort of "breadwinner/homemaker" type of leadership was declining.
3. The main theme of the conflict theory is to focus on how individual people, whether alone or in families, can deal with issues and problems the come up in their daily lives.
4. Social exchange theory is based on ideas that economists use. Exchange theorists say that men are more "efficient" when it comes to working and earning a higher pay, and women are more efficient when in the home with children, so the exchange works better when families are organized this way.
5. Feminist theory is based on the ideas of both the exchange and symbolic interaction perspectives. 
6. Yes, in my opinion, the power of wives versus husbands in families is changing and has been changing over time. Today, most women are most likely not going to accept the "homemaker" status and stay home with the children and take care of the home. For one thing, financial issues can be big problem towards this, as only one income is hardly enough for a family to get by on today. With most women in the work force now, I would think that the theories with wives versus husbands in families have changed drastically.