Cultural Expectations and Theories of Mate Selection
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Presentation Transcript
Chapter 7 Mate Selection Key Terms
Endogamy • The cultural expectation to select a marriage partner within one’s own social group, such as race, religion, and social class. • Exogamy • The cultural expectation that one will marry outside his or her own family group.
Homogamy • The individual initiative toward sameness. • Marriage squeeze • The imbalance of the ratio of marriageable-age men to marriageable-age women.
Mating gradient • The tendency for husbands to be more advanced than their wives with regard to age, education, and occupational success.
Complementary-needs theory • Complementary-needs theory states that we tend to select mates whose needs are opposite and complementary to our own • Exchange theory • Exchange theory emphasizes that mate selection is based on assessing who offers the greatest rewards at the lowest cost.
Principle of least interest • Theory that the person who has the least interest in continuing the relationship could control the relationship. • Sociobiology • Suggests a biological basis for all social behavior—including mate selection.
Prenuptial agreement • The primary purpose of a prenuptial agreement is to specify ahead of time how property will be divided if the marriage ends in divorce or when it ends by the death of one partner.