Family scholars have offered a host of formal definitions of family with little consensus. One reason scholars may have trouble reaching agreement is that rather than having a classical definition, there may be a variety of features and forms of family that people consider more typical than others. Three studies were undertaken to gain a better understanding of laypeople's concept of family. Study 1 indicates that people have central features and attributes that they ascribe to the concept of family. Study 2 likewise reveals that certain forms of family are considered more exemplary than others. Study 3 brings the elements of features and forms together and provides evidence of a possible underlying structure of family in which central features are matched with central forms. Research, measurement, and social policy implications for the study of family are discussed.
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