Introduction to Family Studies

How has mate selection changed over time? The rise and fall of dating culture How do we meet our mates today?

CHARACTERISTICS THAT HAVE INCREASED IN VALUE SINCE 1939 (1996 RANKING IN PARENTHESES) FOR MENFOR WOMEN Love (1)Love (1) Education (5)Education (5) Sociability (7)Sociability (8) Good looks (8) Good looks (13) Similar educational background (12) Good financial prospects (13) CHARACTERISTICS THAT HAVE DECREASED IN VALUE (1996 RANKING IN PARENTHESES) FOR MENFOR WOMEN Desire for home and children (9)Ambition, industriousness (7) Refinement, neatness (11) Good health (9) Good cook, homemaker (14)Refinement, neatness (7) Chastity (16)Chastity (17) Buss & Shakleford, 2001 Note changes in characteristics that were more highly valued in 1939 compared to 1996

The top half of the table shows characteristics that have become MORE important over time: For BOTH Men and women LOVE is the #1 characteristic for a marriage partner and education is #5 But look at the importance of good looks for men (#8) vs. women # 13! The bottom half of the chart shows those characteristics that have decreased in importance: Chastity, neatness, good cook and homemaker

High school College? Clubs? Bars? Work? On-line? Through friends Though our families

Sociologists often study marriage in terms of the marriage market Thinking is similar to the employment market There are 3 components to this “marriage market” Supply – who is available Preferences – preferred characteristics Resources – individual characteristics that are attractive to others

The concept of the marriage market: unmarried individuals search for spouses with an acceptable set of desired characteristics What are some of these desired characteristics? 1. Propinquity (Proximity) 2. Religion 3. Education 4. Class 5. Race 6. Personal Traits

Proximity – where ones lives. Proximity is important as you actually have to come into contact with someone to meet them and start dating – A study in 1958 showed that people most like to marry lived within 2-3 miles of each other. The importance of proximity is weakening, especially with advances in communication like the internet, but still has some effect (according to more recent studies). Proximity still makes sense because neighborhoods are usually stratified by class, ethnicity, and race.

Religion – there is a strong tendency to marry within the same religious group – though this is also changing. Research has shown that:  Inter-marriages are less stable and more likely to end in divorce  Inter-marriage varies by gender and religion  Jews – males more likely to intermarry  Catholics – females more likely  When the less typical combination occurs, the marriage is more likely to end in divorce.

Education: women are becoming more educated so the old pattern of men marrying a wife with less education is no longer the norm. 1/3 of married women now have more education than their husbands But similar education is preferred, particularly because more education often means more earning potential, and this is now preferred by both men & women Educational attainment may also reflect social class.

Education: In the past, those who did NOT have a college degree were more likely to be married by age 30 Now college educated are more likely to postpone marriage today than their less educated counterparts. married-educational-attainment

Class: most people marry within their social class (measured by their occupation or their parents ’ occupation). Many people seek to marry up – this is called hypergamy Hypergamy is defined as: marrying up in social status. Women more likely to marry up, men down.

Race: most marry within their racial group In the past -- laws against inter-racial marriage (miscegenation) Still on the books in some southern states until the Supreme Court overturned them in 1967 Sociologists expect that inter-racial marriage will become more common

 Personal Traits - People tend to marry people like themselves  In what ways? 1) IQ - may be the result of a similar background 2) Physical similarities – which may also be from marrying within ethnic group 3) Physical attractiveness – similar measure of physical attractiveness. Research has shown that a marriage may be less stable when the partners are unequal in attractiveness

Dating has declined since the 1980s The marriage market is a way to look at how we choose a mate We tend to marry people like us in education, race/ethnicity, and religion Choosing a mate is complicated