Deck 6: Early Trajectories: Being Single, Choosing Partners

Question 1

The percentage of Americans who are never married:

A) Has remained essentially unchanged since the first waves of immigrants to the United States.
B) Decreased between 1980 and 2008.
C) Increased between 1980 and 2008.
D) Rose for men, but fell for women between 1980 and 2008.

Answer 1

Increased between 1980 and 2008.

Question 2

Comparisons of marital status across racial and ethnic groups reveals:

A) Among all racial and ethnic groups, Asians are most likely to marry.
B) Black women are most likely of all women to marry.
C) Hispanic women are less likely than white women to marry.
D) In all groups, men are more likely than women to marry.

Answer 2

Among all racial and ethnic groups, Asians are most likely to marry.

Question 3

Racial and ethnic differences in marital status reveal:

A) Differences in the pool of eligible men.
B) Different life expectances.
C) Different rates of imprisonment.
D) All of the above.

Answer 3

All of the above.

Question 4

_____ singles are those who have no plans to marry, have chosen and are satisfied with their choice to remain single

A) Involuntary.
B) Stable, voluntary.
C) Temporary, stable.
D) Those who feel pushed and pulled to the single life.

Question 5

Singles in the United States may face all of the following EXCEPT:

A) Higher rates of mortality than marrieds.
B) Lower crime rates than marrieds.
C) Lower levels of happiness than marrieds.
D) Prejudice and discrimination.

Question 6

Attraction is associated with:

A) Homogamy.
B) Propinquity.
C) Rating-dating.
D) All of the above

Question 7

A free choice mate selection system is associated with all of the following EXCEPT:

A) Arranged marriage.
B) An emphasis on individual autonomy.
C) An emphasis on personal happiness.
D) Romantic love.

Question 8

Cross-cultural research on couples in societies which have arranged marriage indicates:

A) The absence of romantic love makes these marriages less durable in the face of hardship.
B) The couples rarely express the kind of deep affectionate bonds characteristic of a romantic love union.
C) The may differ little from free choice marriages on marital satisfaction.
D) They have higher divorce rates than free choice marriages.

Question 9

Americans have traditionally been endogamous with respect to:

A) Age.
B) Race and ethnicity.
C) Social class.
D) All of the above.

Question 10

The idea that there is a single, perfect partner required to make a perfect relationship refers to:

A) Idealistic marriage.
B) Individualistic marriage.
C) The romantic love ethic.
D) Sexually determined bonds.

Question 11

_____ refers to the idea that in a relatively free-choice system will choose romantic partners not because of the extent to which others are psychologically similar, but rather on the extent to which they perceive that the other's personality will provide a balance to their own.

A) Complementary needs.
B) Heterogamy.
C) Mating-rating.
D) Romantic love ethic.

Question 12

According to psychologist Lindsey Wiernick:

A) As many as 30 percent of Americans use on-line dating sites.
B) The internet is a dangerous place to meet potential partners.
C) People should avoid using Facebook and other social media because of the risks involved.
D) Social networking has led to an increase in shallow, short-term relationships.

Question 13

The marriage premise involves:

A) Abstinence, double-standard, permissiveness.
B) Primariness, exclusivity, and permanence.
C) Romance and childbearing.
D) Sex, love, and commitment.

Question 14

With regard to gender:

A) Gender norms are no longer relevant in dating.
B) Men remain more traditional than women.
C) Twenty-first century norms are more egalitarian.
D) Women are now more likely than men to initiate dates.

Question 15

Research on dating among LGBTQ individuals:

A) Is, to date, sparse.
B) Finds lower satisfaction than among straight individuals.
C) Reveals that gay men have fewer partners than do lesbians.
D) Reveals that lesbians are more like straight men than straight women.

Question 16

Rates of cohabitation:

A) Increased dramatically in the 1970s.
B) Indicate that men in particular have lost confidence in marriage.
C) Spiked during the most recent recession.
D) All of the above.

Question 17

Compared to other couples, cohabitating couples tend to hold:

A) Less traditional views of gender.
B) More traditional views of gender.
C) Similar views of gender.
D) Research has not revealed an association between cohabitation and gender roles.

Question 18

Which of the following describes the most frequent reason for cohabitation?

A) Co-residential dating.
B) Securing a parent for a child.
C) A substitute for marriage.
D) A trial marriage.

Question 19

Couples who cohabit prior to marriage:

A) Are less likely to divorce if they cohabit for a longer (versus a shorter) period of time before marriage.
B) Have a lower likelihood of divorce than other couples.
C) Exhibit fewer communication problems.
D) Represent a select population who differ on important characteristics from those who do not cohabitate.

Question 20

Miller and Solot's arrangement can best be described as:

A) Cohabitation.
B) A long-term alternative to marriage.
C) A failure.
D) A way to avoid taxes.

Question 21

How accurately do some of the prime-time television shows reflect the single life?

Question 22

Are the factors that shape mate selection changing?

Question 23

What is the association between a free-choice mate selection system and the romantic love ethic?

Question 24

Describe the intimacy/commitment spiral and the marriage premise. In what ways in the path to intimacy and commitment gendered? Is the course of intimacy and commitment different for LGBTQ individuals?

Question 25

How is cohabitation reshaping the family?