EDP 362T Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Social Exchange Theory, Physical Attractiveness
Chapter 8:
Marriage:
▪ Strong patriarchal heritage. Many countries, women are still regarded as property
of husbands. Most women still adopt husband’s name upon marriage.
▪ Is a personal relationship and a scripted social institution, even though is a legal
status, perceived by US culture to be about love and relationships.
o Implicates LGBT marriage rights and dissolution of marriage = divorce.
▪ Not all enduring commitments take the form of marriage:
o Lesbian couples are fighting for the right to marry.
o More heterosexual couples live together without marriage.
Who Marries & When?
▪ >90% people in W. societies marry at some time in their lives. (bias = studies on
white, middle class people).
▪ Women tend to marry earlier than men = tend to be younger than men. Different
trend in US where couples are delaying marriage.
o Women valuing higher ed, advances on contraception, availability of a
suitable partner = more experiences lead to increased development of self-
identity. Woman entering marriage at older age less likely to exchange
dependence on parents for dependence on husband.
Who Marries Whom?
▪ Women and men rate mutual attraction and love, dependable character, emotional
stability, pleasing disposition, as important characteristics in a potential marriage
partner.
o Culture influenced results more than gender.
o Across cultures, women were somewhat more likely to emphasize mate’s
earning capacity and ambition; men likely to emphasize good looks and
physical attractiveness.
▪ Other research found women’s preferences for men with material resources was
greatest in countries where women had least ability to gain social power on their
own.
▪ Marriage gradient: tendency for women to marry up and men to marry down (man
higher prestige and income potential).
Types of marriages:
▪ Traditional: husband and wife agree husband has and should have greater
authority. Husbands work, women caretaker. Have separate leisure activities.
Usually sanctioned by religion and socially conservative families.
▪ Modern: spouses have near-peer relationship. Wives employed but job less
important than husbands. Wives do second shift every day at home = physical and
mental load. Usually wouldn’t move across the country for wife’s job.
▪ Egalitarian: partners have equal power and authority. Share responsibility equally
without gender typed roles.
o Post gender relationships: partners have moved beyond using gender to
define their marital roles.
o In research, roles are more like 75:25 vs ideal of 50:50 egalitarian. Not in
absolute sense in terms of dividing work down the middle – mainly about
perception of these roles being equal.
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Document Summary
Many countries, women are still regarded as property of husbands. Most women still adopt husband"s name upon marriage. Is a personal relationship and a scripted social institution, even though is a legal status, perceived by us culture to be about love and relationships. Implicates lgbt marriage rights and dissolution of marriage = divorce: not all enduring commitments take the form of marriage, lesbian couples are fighting for the right to marry, more heterosexual couples live together without marriage. Who marries & when: >90% people in w. societies marry at some time in their lives. (bias = studies on white, middle class people), women tend to marry earlier than men = tend to be younger than men. Different trend in us where couples are delaying marriage: women valuing higher ed, advances on contraception, availability of a suitable partner = more experiences lead to increased development of self- identity.
