Influence of Culture

Question 1

What are the 4 areas in which romantic relationships vary between cultures?

Answer 1

1) Arranged marriages
2) Individualism Vs collectivism
3) The importance of love
4) Continuity & discontinuity

Question 2

Outline arranged marriages in Western cultures

Answer 2

Predominantly urban settings with relatively easy geographical and social mobility so larger pool of availables as voluntarily interact with a large number of people (Filter Theory) - so there tends to be a high degree of choice in relationships

Question 3

What are the figures for arranged marriages in Western Cultures?

Answer 3

1063 reports of forced marriage in the UK in 2009
This is only 0.0017% of the population
85% of these were women/girls

Question 4

Outline arranged marriages in non-Western cultures

Answer 4

Fewer urban centres so less geographical and social mobility so less choice about who they interact with on a daily basis - relationships frequently tied to other factors like family or economic resources

Question 5

In which continent are arranged marriages more prevalent?

Answer 5

Asia

Question 6

Name a country in which a lot of arranged marriages occur

Answer 6

India

Question 7

What has happened to arranged marriages in China?

Answer 7

They have declined from 70% to 10% over the last 50 years

Question 8

What is the rate of arranged marriages in India?

Answer 8

90% of all marriages are arranged

Question 9

In terms of arranged marriages, what happens in Surma (Ethiopia)?

Answer 9

99% of marriages are arranged and in their culture, men pay cattle for the young girls and the amount of cattle paid is determined by the size of a clay ring in the woman’s lip

Question 10

Outline Rockman (94)

Answer 10

In cultures practising arranged marriages, families often use similar criteria as to what individuals themselves would use if they had choice - this contradicts the assumption that those in arranged marriages are unhappy with the choice of partners and have no influence in the process

Question 11

Name 2 studies associated with arranged marriages

Answer 11

1) Rockman (94)

2) Umadevi (92)

Question 12

Outline Umadevi (92)

Answer 12

Looked at female student preferences for love marriages and arranged marriages in India - found arranged seen as positive as long as the 2 partners consented and also found love marriages positive as long as parental approval which demonstrates the importance of opinions of entire family in Indian society

Question 13

Outline individualism Vs collectivism

Answer 13

Individualist tend to focus on the individual rather than the group and collectivist see the group as primary concern (interdependent not independent) - this tends to mean relationships in individualist are based on freedom of choice whereas those in collectivist tend to have more to do with the concerns of family or group

Question 14

Name the 2 studies associated with individualism Vs collectivism

Answer 14

1) Li (06)

2) Heine (02)

Question 15

Outline Li (06)

Answer 15

Compared attitudes towards various types of relationships for people from individualist societies like Canada and collectivist cultures like China & India - found very few differences between Canadians and Chinese but found more differences between Chinese and Indian results

Question 16

What is a big disadvantage of Li (06)

Answer 16

The lack of cultural differences could be due to methodological issues

Question 17

Outline Heine (02)

Answer 17

Suggested a ‘reference-group effect’ which means people tend to evaluate themselves by comparison with members of their reference group - individual members of a collectivist culture may think they are not particularly interdependent when comparing themselves to other more collectivist members of their culture

Question 18

What is the main study associated with the importance of love?

Answer 18

Levine (93)

Question 19

Outline Levine (93)

Answer 19

Asked young people from 11 countries if they would marry someone they didn’t love, provided they had all the qualities desired in a marriage partner - more people in collectivist than individualist cultures said yes - 49% of Indians said yes, 3.5% Americans and 7% of English which suggests people from traditionalist cultures marry for reasons other than romantic love, whilst Western cultures idea of marriage is that it is symbolic of love

Question 20

Outline the role of divorce in cultures for continuity & discontinuity

Answer 20

Almost all cultures have provision for divorce but there is greater stigma attached to divorce in cultures with traditional arranged marriages

Question 21

What is the divorce rate in the UK?

Answer 21

42% of marriages end in divorce (2013)

Question 22

What is the divorce rate in South Korea & Japan?

Answer 22

30-33% of marriages end in divorce

Question 23

What is the divorce rate in India?

Answer 23

About 1 in 1,000 marriages end in divorce

Question 24

Name 3 studies associated with the continuity & discontinuity

Answer 24

1) Betzig (89)
2) Mckenry & Price (95)
3) Huang (05)

Question 25

Outline Betzig (89)

Answer 25

Studied divorce in 160 countries and found the most common grounds of divorce were:
1) Infidelity
2) Sterility 
3) Cruelty/maltreatment 
But also found some culturally specific causes like:
Witchcraft
Lack of male children
A bad dream/omen

Question 26

Outline Mckenry & Price (95)

Answer 26

Reported cultures where females become more independent and influential, divorce rates risen considerably - suggests lower divorce rates often seen in non-individualistic cultures not a reflection of happy marriages but of male dominance

Question 27

Outline Huang (05) - 4 points

Answer 27

Raid urbanisation & changing cultural norms in Asian societies - stress of modern life appears to have spilled over in marital relationships
Enhanced choice through educational/employment opportunities for Asian women - due to education and more independence they have more choice whether to leave abusive relationships
Importance of romantic love - led to a gradual decline of arranged and Western media is also an influence
Growth of individualism - through modernisation many economically prosperous Asan countries are moving in direction of individualism and so young people are less willing to sacrifice personal desires for their family

Question 28

Name the 3 studies associated with are arranged marriages better?

Answer 28

1) Epstein (02)
2) Myers (05)
3) Xiaohe & Whyte (90)

Question 29

Outline Epstein (02)

Answer 29

Divorce rates tend to be lower in arranged marriages and roughly half of those in arranged marriages admit to falling in love with their arranged partner

Question 30

Outline Myers (05)

Answer 30

Compared 45 individuals living in arranged marriages in India to individuals in choice marriages in US and found ‘no support for differences in marital satisfaction or love aspects of wellness in relation to arranged marriages’

Question 31

Outline Xiaohe & Whyte (90)

Answer 31

Sample of 586 married women in China and found wives in love marriages were more satisfied with marital relationship than wives in arranged marriages regardless of length of marriage - support that voluntary marriages are happier

Question 32

Explain what is happening in some rapidly developing countries in terms of arranged marriages

Answer 32

They are seeing noticeable increases in ‘love matches’ like in China

Question 33

Name 2 negative evaluative points for the influence of culture

Answer 33

1) Is there actually any difference between arranged and love marriages
2) Methodological issues

Question 34

Explain why there might actually be no difference between arranged and love marriages

Answer 34

We might expect relationships based on love to produce more compatible partners but this may not be the case as parents may be in a better position to judge compatibility in the long term, whereas young people may be ‘blinded by love’ and overlook areas of compatibility that will become apparent later - however Xiaohe & Whyte’s study suggests freedom of mate choice appeared to promote marital stability rather than instability

Question 35

What has been suggested to be a better explanation of attitudes towards love and relationships in different cultures?

Answer 35

Increasing urbanisation

Question 36

Explain the consequences of increasing urbanisation

Answer 36

Research has suggested attitudes may be better explained by greater urbanisation and mobility in Western cultures - for example there has been a sharp increase in divorce rates in India in recent years despite it generally being regarded as collectivist - most of those being divorced are members of the thriving middle class, suggesting aspirations and attitudes to relationships are radically different to those of their parents and grandparents

Question 37

Explain the methodological issues relating to the influence of culture

Answer 37

Research may be limited as methodology can be interpreted differently in different cultures creating cultural bias that can invalidate any conclusions about cultural differences from a cross-cultural study - for example, measures of love/satisfaction developed in Western cultures might not be valid in other cultures

Question 38

Name an IDA point for the influence of culture

Answer 38

Cultural bias in the representation of romantic relationships

Question 39

Explain cultural bias in the representation of romantic relationships

Answer 39

It is believed the influence of US romantic comedies creates a warped sense of ‘perfect’ relationships and presents a culturally-biased view of romance to young people - so create highly idealised views of relationships and can see them as normal which can have an adverse effect on their satisfaction with their future relationship

Question 40

Name the study associated with cultural bias in the representation of romantic relationships

Answer 40

Johnson & Holmes (09)

Question 41

Outline Johnson & Holmes (09)

Answer 41

Spent a year analysing 40 top box office films released 1995-2005 and asked hundreds to fill in a questionnaire to describe beliefs and expectations concerning romantic relationships - fans of certain films were more likely to have views of relationships reflected in themes portrayed in films - e.g. films suggest love and commitment exist the moment you meet whereas in real life, these are qualities that normally take years to develop