Romantic Relationships: Culture

Work experiences of over 100,000 employees in 50 different countries
Established terms 'Individualist' and 'Collectivist' 

Look at marriage in Collectivist cultures

Marriage often seen as union between families rather than a union of individuals

3 types of arranged marriage:

1. Planned: parents plan marriage based on family and community, bride and groom don't meet until wedding day
2. Chaperoned: children (usually males) tell parents their desires in a partner, then matched up
3. Joint-venture: both parents and children are involved in selecting a partner

166 hunting and gathering societies. Evidence of passionate and romantic love. Romantic attraction is a distinct emotional and motivational system present in all humans (innate), regardless of culture

• Only 1 society: no compelling evidence of romantic love
• Almost all societies: young lovers talked about passionate and romantic love, spoke of anguish of infactuation

US college students, asked "If a boy/girl had all the qualities you desired, would you marry this person even if you were not in love with him/her?"

• 14% of males would consider it
• 9% of females would consider it
• In the west, romantic love is a prerequisite for marriage

American, Japanese and Russian students ask the same question that Allgiert and Wiederman asked.

• Japanese: expressed reluctance to marry in absence of love (like the Americans)
• Russian: more practical about marriage, (particulary women) far more likely to settle for loveless marriage, provided all other 'requirements' were met

Only traditional, collectivist cultures (e.g. Thailand, Pakistan, and India)

• Students willing to compromise and marry someone they didn't love
• In such societies, extended families continues to be the primary importance
• Romantic love considered to be a luxury

Role of self-diclosure in relationship development on the internet. Korea, Japan, and US

• All: self-disclosure directly assiciated with online relationship development
• America: Increased s-d associated with increased levels of trust

Divorse in 160 countries, most common grounds of divorse (decending order):

• Infidelity: cheating, particulary women's
• Sterility: barroness, not being able to have children
• Cruelty: maltreatment, usually the husband towards the wife

Adaptive value of love

• Love is a species-specific adaptation
• Evolved to promote survival and repoduction