Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Chapter 7: Premarital and Non-Marital Relationships

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Socio-Cultural Context of Non-Marital Relationships Non-marital and premarital relationships have become increasingly ambiguous. –Process is filled with uncertainty and risk. –Norms regarding mate selection are changing. –More emphasis on the expressive self; less emphasis on institutional regulation.

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Love Love is a socially constructed concept because it takes on different meanings, importance, and behaviors according to the social context in which it is used. Love that supports marriage and family has emotional, cognitive, relational, and behavioral aspects.

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Individualistic Explanations of Partner Selection Instinctive and biological theories are rooted in evolutionary instinct, genetic similarity, and unconscious needs and drives. Parental image theories assume that individuals select mates similar to their opposite-sex parent. Complementary needs theories assume that people choose others who meet their psychological needs.

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Socio-cultural Explanations of Partner Selection Value Theory—Interpersonal attraction results from having similar values. Role Theory—People who share similar role definitions and expectations are more likely to partner. Exchange Theory—Persons will partner when benefits outweigh costs for each. Sequential Theories—view movement toward marriage or cohabitation as a series of changing criteria, stages, or patterned regularities.

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Stimulus-Value-Role (SVR) Theory Couples pass through three stages prior to marriage. –Stimulus–Individuals are drawn to each other based on external characteristics. –Value–If mutual attraction occurs, partners compare values. –Role–If values are similar, partners begin to confide in each other, fulfill tasks, and evaluate each other as potential spouses.

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. From Single to Married The process is youth-centered and competitive. It occurs in a series of stages with differing commitment levels. The rules, goals, and strategies of the “game” are different for males and females. Communication often takes the form of nonverbal cues, signs, gestures and other symbolic movements.

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Hooking Up and Dating Traditional dating is becoming more infrequent. Hooking up, physical contact or intercourse without commitment, is becoming more common. Hanging out in a group where individuals do not make their interests in each other explicit is also becoming the norm.

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Hooking Up and Dating New forms of partner connections, such as Internet chat rooms or personals ads are emerging. Dating scripts still tend to be fairly traditional, with men exerting greater control. Waller’s Principle of Least Interest suggests that the partner who is less interested in continuing the relationship controls the relationship.

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Engagement Engagement is the final transition in the process from single to married. It is a ritual that: –Implies dating exclusiveness; –Reinforces the importance of the couple relationship; and –Involves a financial and symbolic commitment.

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Non-Marital Cohabitation Non-marital cohabitation has become an important step in the courtship process. In 2006, there were 4.7 million unmarried heterosexual couple households in the U.S. More than half of first unions in the 1990’s were cohabiting, rather than marriage.

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Methodological Concerns Self-selection bias may influence findings on cohabitation. The meanings of cohabitation are less clear than the meanings of marriage.

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Interactional Patterns Compared to married persons, cohabitors: –Have more liberal gender roles; –Are more likely to keep finances separate; –Less likely to own homes; –More likely to experience relationship violence; –Have a lower desire to marry; and –Are less likely to ever marry.

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Cohabitation and Marital Stability Cohabitation does not serve as a successful trial for marriage. Married couples who cohabited previously report lower-quality marriages and are more likely to divorce (may be due to self- selection bias).