Sociology

Sociology Study Guide

Societies also tend to differentiate between children born in wedlock (considered a legitimate birth) and those born out of wedlock (considered illegitimate births). Courtship and Marriage Patterns: Courtship allows potential partners to showcase or promote their assets, talents, and ambitions. Partners are generally attracted by similar characteristics like: age, social class, religion, education, goals, family plans, etc. Another stage that many couples explore before marriage is cohabitation, living together without a legal marriage. Romantic love is unique in that it involves physical and emotional attraction. Romantic love helps to shift loyalty from the family of orientation to a family of procreation. It also offers emotional support and promotes the idea of marriage. For successful relationships, romantic love must grow into rational love (communication, giving, receiving, and accepting). Compatibility, mutual support, and social similarityare necessary for a lasting relationship. Marriage is a social institution found in every society; it is also an economic arrangement between a man and woman that involves sexual intimacy. In this socially approved arrangement, procreation legitimizes offspring. It is most common for people to marry someone from the same social class (called endogamy ). This practice, largely unconscious, maintains ethnic norms. Some cultures, however, encourage exogamy, the practice of marrying someone from a different social class. In the United States, marital choice is limitless for the most part. Homogamy is the practice of marrying someone very similar to one’s self, according to race, ethnicity, social class, religion, etc., and is the choice ofmost Americans. While most marriages in the world consist of one man and one woman ( monogamy), there areseveral examples of relationships that include two or more partners. Polygamy is a formof marriage in which a person has more than one spouse simultaneously. Polygyny is when a man marries two ormore women. Polyandry is when a woman marries two or more men. Polyamory is group marriage of a union between more than one man with more than onewoman. Notes on Divorce: According to the Centers for Disease Control, the divorce rate in America is 3.5 per 1,000 total population. Currently, about 50% of marriages end in divorce. Typically, the longer a marriage lasts, the chance of divorce decreases, and most divorces occur within the first seven years. The likelihood of a marriage ending in divorce increases if any of the following conditions apply to the relationship: • The couple married young • The couple married after a short courtship • The couple lives in an urban setting • Friends/relatives of the couple disapprove of the union

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