Relationships - explain the role of culture in forming and maintaining relationships

Question 1

culture

Answer 1

• set of attitudes, behaviours and symbols shared by
  a large group of people
• usually communicated from one generation to the next

Question 2

cultural factors in formation of relationships

Answer 2

individualist vs collectivist

• Duck (1999): individualistic cultures prioritize love, while collectivist cultures consider other factors, e.g. social standing, religion, wealth, etc
• in collectivist cultures, social networks motivate marriages – families can decide marriage partners „for the young

study: Levine et al. (1995), Buss et al. (1990)

Question 3

Levine et al. (1995)

Answer 3

• asked college students from 11 different countries whether they would marry someone they did not love, yet had all the ideal qualities they desired in a partner
• over 90% of students from individualist countries said no
• but around 50% of students from collectivist countries said yes

Question 4

Buss et al (1990)

Answer 4

• cross-cultural study investigating effects of culture and gender on„ mate preferences in 33 countries
• all cultures and genders agreed that love and mutual attraction are primary „factors in mate selection
• but in traditionalist (collectivist) countries men also placed high value on chastity, desires for children, cooking ability, and ability as a homemaker
• in the same societies, women valued good financial prospects, high social status, and ambition

Question 5

cultural factors in the maintenance of relationships

Answer 5

• in some Western countries up to 50% of marriages end in divorce
• whereas in collectivist countries divorce is extremely rare

factors:

• traditional gender roles
• arranged vs love marriage

Question 6

maintenance of relationships: arranged vs love marriage

Answer 6

Fiske (2004):

• arranged marriages usually last longer than romantic marriages
• possibly due to the fact that marriage in traditional societies is a contract between families, involving economic and social bonds that makes divorce disadvantageous

Epstein (2012):

• interviewed 70 couples and performed a meta-analysis of studies of arranged marriages
• concluded that arranged marriages last longer and are happier because feelings of love tend to increase gradually over time
• arranged marriages usually happen based on the recommendation that it will be a good match from a third party (e.g. parents)
• arranged marriages are based on emotion as well as mutual, intellectual respect
• whereas ‘love marriages’, where attraction is based on passionate emotions, are less stable as passion decreases over time

Question 7

maintenance of relationships: traditional gender roles

Answer 7

• refers to a model where the man provides financial stability, while the woman focuses on maintaining the home and caring for the children
• it appears that couples that follow traditional roles are more likely to be happier
• perhaps because traditional roles means following clear rules
• may also be due to innate differences as a result of
  evolutionary processes – where men are predisposed to provide resources from outside the home while women are predisposed to provide nurture inside the home

Hansen (2012):
- Norway has high levels of gender equality
- yet, divorce rates for couples who did equal amounts of housework is approximately 50% higher than that of more traditional couples where the woman did all the
housework (should be noted that they do so willingly)