Effects of Culture on Adult Relationships Flashcards
What is culture?
Culture can be defined as the customs and beliefs acquired through being part of a specific social group or society. The role of culture in behaviour has been investigated using a framework categorizing countries as individualist or collectivist. The effect of culture can be seen in the formation of voluntary or involuntary relationships.
What is an individualist culture?
individualist cultures are typically western and industrialized e.g US and UK emphasize the person’s rights, goals and autonomy.
What is a collectivist culture?
Members of collectivist cultures e.g China and Pakistan are encouraged to be interdependent and prioritise the well being of the group v. the wishes of individuals.
What is a voluntary relationship?
Voluntary relationships are often seen in individualist, western cultures. Young people are expected to date, fall in love and then decide if they want to get married, with or without parental consent. Mate selection is voluntary, romantic love is considered the primary basis for marriage. This is linked to the search for personal fulfillment which can make relationships temporary.
Geographic/social mobility
an urban environment could influence relationships, where there is a
larger choice of partners and fewer restrictions. In this sense there may be an illusion of free will with
people thinking they can have more choice, though in reality, they are still limited by personal
characteristics, e.g. appearance, social status and ethinicity, as well as being restrained by the
chances of meeting someone they find attractive. In less urbanised areas, relationships are more
likely to be involuntary with fewer options for partners, where arranged marriage is more likely to
occur to establish family alliances.
Support STUDY: Huang
Individualistic ideals are increasing in
Asian countries resulting in higher divorce rate
because young people are reluctant to
renounce personal desires for family
Support STUDY: Simmel
Higher divorce rates = individualism
encourages search for what the individual
wants from a perfect partner/relationship
Support STUDY: Gibbons
Mexican students tend to be more
interdependent in their relationships due to
their upbringing in a collectivist society,
whereas the independence of the American
students is due to their individualistic society
upbringing.
Disadvantages of culture effects on relationships?
Oversimplification of cultures into only two
variations, where cultures tend to be more
diverse. The distinction may not be reliable
as cultures can change.
Internal validity: students may have been from a
particular sub-culture within their country of
origin rather than the dominant culture as a whole
that may have affected their interpersonal
relationships. Low population validity because of
only student sample.
Free will: little choice over who they can be with as
there are numerous factors limiting their
options, even in western society.
Disadvantages STUDY: Myers et al
Love may not be a good indicator
of success within a relationship. When couples in
arranged marriages from collectivist cultures were
compared with those from the US they found that
there were no major differences in marital
satisfaction. This occurred even though love was
shown to be less important for Indian marriages.
Disadvantage STUDY: Moghaddam and Gibbons
Cultural bias: ethnocentric views affect perspective due to
western ideals. Therefore, researchers who are
indigenous to the cultures being studied should be
involved to help limit the cultural bias
Disadvantages STUDY: Li et al
Few differences between relationship
attitudes from Canada (individualist) compared to
China (collectivist)
Disadvantages STUDY: Adar
Non-western relationships are
becoming less collectivist and group-based as
discovered in Kibbutz families in Israel.
Disadvantages STUDY: Collins and Coltrane
Western individuals may
marry for reasons other than love with nearly 50%
of Americans stating that they didn’t.
Disadvantages STUDY: Epstien
In conjunction with Collin and Coltrane, there can be romance in arranged marriage where more than half claimed that they had fallen in love with their partner, which may be related to the extremely low divorce rates in
such marriages.
