Chapter 3 - Finding a Significant Other

Question 1

What are the two types of mate selection?

Answer 1

Arranged marriage and self-chosen marriages.

Question 2

What are the developmental tasks associated with mate selection?

Answer 2

First is the establishment of intimacy, in the sense of a close emotional relationship with another. The second is realigning a new relationship with each partner’s family and friends, creating a new social network.

Question 3

Define: marriage

Answer 3

A socially, legally, and/or religiously recognized union of people who commit to one another, most people marry at some point in their lives.

Question 4

Define: romantic love

Answer 4

Emotional attachment often including a mixture of sexual desire, tenderness, affection, and playfulness.

Question 5

Define: mate selection

Answer 5

The process by which partners are selected.

Question 6

What are the various ways that society encourages marriages?

Answer 6

Some ways include: family pressure, subtle hints in the media, in adulthood social life becomes organized around couples.

Question 7

How does each of the sociological perspectives explain mate selection?

Answer 7

SF: mate selection, regardless of the method used, is necessary to maintain social order and perpetuate society Conflict: the norms of mate selection reproduce the existing class structure, involves exploitation and the exercise of power
Feminist perspective: women often considered objects of exchange; mate selection reduces women to objects largely based on appearance and disregards their other statuses, ex. personal achievements
SI: focuses on the communication that occurs between couples as they develop and maintain the relationship

Question 8

What are the building blocks of intimacy?

Answer 8

Intimacy involves both people in a relationship feeling understood, cared for and valued by the other.

Question 9

What are some examples to show that the acceptance of relationships that do not include marriage is growing?

Answer 9

The amount of couples cohabiting is increasing, a person no longer has to be married to have kids, acceptance and openness about homosexuality is growing.

Question 10

Define/explain: complementary need hypothesis

Answer 10

Individuals feel most attracted to potential partners who complement them, opposites attract, ex. dominant to submissive, young female to rich older male.

Question 11

Define/explain: social exchange theory

Answer 11

Individuals evaluate the potential success of a relationship based on a number of comparisons, ex. men show of material assets while dating, women show of physical attributes while dating. As long as both partners feel they are getting something positive from the relationship, they will stay together.

Question 12

Define: field of eligibles

Answer 12

People who are considered acceptable as potential partners, both by the individual and by society, ex. an individual decision to pick someone with a university degree.

Question 13

Define: incest taboo

Answer 13

A social norm that prohibits mating between closely related individuals.

Question 14

What are some of the legal barriers to marriage?

Answer 14

Legal barriers to marriage can include laws against homosexuality, laws against bigamy (you can only be married to one person at a time) and laws against incest.

Question 15

At what age are people more likely to engage in romantic relationships within their immediate social groups?

Answer 15

Adolescents are more likely to engage in romantic relationships within their immediate social groups, as opposed to searching for mates outside of their social circle.

Question 16

Explain Freud’s theory of the link between romantic attraction and one’s parents.

Answer 16

Men are more likely to choose women whose personality resembles their mothers, and women are more likely to select men like their fathers.

Question 17

Define: assortative mating

Answer 17

The process of choosing a mate on the basis of certain traits.

Question 18

Define/explain: status-caste exchange theory

Answer 18

A theory proposed in the 1940s that blacks of low SES would hardly every marry whites, but high SES blacks would sometimes marry lower-status whites. Support for this theory was found in the US but not Canada.

Question 19

True/False: Most people prefer to marry someone from their own racial group

Answer 19

True. Most people prefer to marry someone from their own racial group.

Question 20

In couples with a substantial age difference, which sex spouse tends to be younger?

Answer 20

When there is a substantial age difference, women tend to be younger than their male partners.

Question 21

Do homosexual or heterosexual people tend to serious courtship later?

Answer 21

Homosexual individuals often enter serious courtship later than heterosexual people.

Question 22

Define: homogamy

Answer 22

The process of marrying someone similar to oneself.

Question 23

Which people/groups are more likely to marry across racial and ethnic lines?

Answer 23

Members of second and third generations are more likely to marry across racial and ethnic lines, as well as those with more ethnically diverse friendships, and those who are Japanese.

Question 24

When and why did the practice of dating begin?

Answer 24

After WW1 and by 1918 Canada had become an industrial nation. For the first time young men and women went out alone together without any particular intention of marrying each other.

Question 25

What are the 4 main goals of dating?

Answer 25

1. Intimacy: pursuit of committed, exclusive relationships that foster self-disclosure, emotional intimacy, interdependence, emotional attachment.
2. Status: a way to enhance social status, social validation of the self.
3. Sex: initiation into sexual experience and fulfillment.
   - involves self-exploration and identity formation

Question 26

Who are the main disadvantaged in love?

Answer 26

1. People of size
2. Those with visible physical differences
3. Older people

Question 27

Define: sexual double standard

Answer 27

The social principle that men are allowed more sexual freedom than women.

Question 28

Define: polyamory

Answer 28

having more than one romantic relationship at a time

Question 29

In what decade did attitudes towards premarital sex become the most permissive?

Answer 29

Attitudes towards premarital sex continued to become more permissive until the 1980s and leveled off since then.