Psyc 426 Unit 11 Arranged Marriages

Completely arranged

1. Family elders negotiate for spouses

i. Cooperative traditional

1. Individual or parents make selection, parental consent is essential

i. Collectivist cultures:

1. Lots interaction between conjugal pairs and family of origin 2. Widowed parents often live with children 3. Exchange goods, money, services within the family 4. Often patriarchal and gender-stereotyped 5. Emphasize value of immediate family/extended community

advantages and disadvantages of arranged marriages: i. Madathil and Benshoff: Asian Indian arranged marriages in US and India compared to Americans in marriage of choice

1. Measured loving, loyalty, shared values, and finances. Each participant ranked how important these variables were to them and also how satisfied they were with each of these in their own marriage Results: 2. Individuals with arranged marriages (in India and in US) rated most of these variables as significantly more important than did individuals with marriages of choice. 3. marriage satisfaction: in general, individuals in arranged marriages were significantly more satisfied than those in marriages of choice 4. People who lived in the United States with arranged marriages were consistently more satisfied with their marriages than people in the other two groups. 5. Individuals in the United States who chose their spouses were consistently the least satisfied with their marriages, according to these four variables.

i. Traditional arranged marriage

1. Parents and family choose the spouse

i. Modified traditional marriage

1. Parents and family select, individual makes the final choice

i. Individual cultures

1. Priority to goals related to personal identity

i. Complicating collectivist/individualist dyad

1. Rural verses urban affects many of the same variables 2. Turkey (collectivist) has been advocating mutuality and equality in marriage for 100 years

Hortaçsu study on arranged marriages

1. line between arranged marriage and love marriage is being blurred. Related to Bronfenbrenner's levels, she measured variables: at the level of the individual (feelings for spouse), at the level of the relationship between the individual and the spouse (division of labour, decision-making, conflict, how conflict is dealt with) at the level of the relationship between the individual and his/her larger environment (feelings for family of origin, frequency of contact with family of origin).

advantages and disadvantages of arranged marriages: i. Regan et al

1. no differences between marriage type in amount of passionate love, companionate love, satisfaction, or commitment 2. men reported feeling both significantly more passionate love and companionate love toward their partners than did women 3. Men also reported being more committed to their marriages than did women. 4. may have been a ceiling effect. Since most individuals reported that their marriages were happy, it may not have been possible to find differences among them

Hortaçsu study on arranged marriages: Summary

Individuals who choose their partners: had stronger feelings toward their spouse more likely to share housework tasks and decision-making had less conflict and more autonomy from their families of origin. This held no matter how long the couples had been married. Over time couples in choice marriages increased the amount of conflict they experienced and the husband decreased the amount of housework he did, while the opposite trend occurred in arranged marriages. Thus the two types of couples tended to converge in these areas. Overall, the author concluded that couples, especially women, who chose their own spouses tended to be happier.

Choice marriage

Not arranged Based on love and individual attraction

Hortaçsu study on arranged marriages: Results

a. Both sexes in choice marriages: deeper feelings for each other and less insecure attachment in comparison to their counterparts in arranged marriages. b. In arranged marriages there was a greater discrepancy between husbands and wives on feelings for spouse and comparative love (which was stronger for men in both cases). c. As predicted, couples that were married longer had weaker feelings toward the spouse, more insecure attachment, and more comparative love than did more recently married couples. d. As predicted, women in arranged marriages completed a greater percentage of the housework than did women in choice marriages. e. Husbands in arranged marriages reported feeling that their wives were quite satisfied with the amount of housework the men did, but the wives felt otherwise. e.5 There were no differences between couples in arranged marriages versus choice marriages in decision-making about the children and family. f. Couples in arranged marriages engaged in more conflict than those in choice marriages, but there were no differences as to how couples dealt with their conflict. g. There were no differences between marriage groups as to how often they interacted with their social network. h. Individuals in choice marriages felt more autonomy from their families of origin than did those in arranged marriages.

Hortaçsu study on arranged marriages: 1. Variables measured:

a. Feelings for spouse (love, satisfaction, commitment, network support) b. Insecure attachment (e.g., trust and anxiety with spouse) c. Comparative love (perception that spouse loves/does not love partner more than vice versa).

Companionate love (re: Regan et al)

companionate love measure was composed of items such as "I feel I can trust [my spouse] completely" and "I would forgive [my spouse] for practically anything.")

Hortaçsu study on arranged marriages: findings re: arranged marriage and education

couples in arranged marriages were significantly less educated than those in choice marriages. Greater difference in education between the husband and wife than with choice marriages. Arranged marriage couples also had more children, and wife was much likelier to be younger than her husband—and less likely to be working outside of the home.

Hortaçsu study on arranged marriages: findings re: influences of higher education

couples with higher education had stronger feelings for one another less interaction with their extended families and more independence from them. More highly educated men were more likely to engage in housework, subsequently women were happier with their participation. More highly educated women had more frequent interaction with their friends.

describe the variations in types of arranged marriage

i. Choice marriage (not arranged) ii. Autonomous: individuals select their own spouse iii. Completely arranged: iv. Traditional: v. Modified traditional vi. Cooperative traditional

Autonomous marriage

individuals select their own spouse