Formation of Intimate Relationships

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Formation of Intimate Relationships
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Romantic Love

• Romantic love is closely associated with
  marriage, cohabitation, and sexual intimacy.
• The sociological definition of Romantic Love
• Romantic Love as a social invention

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The History of Romantic Love

• Ancient Greece
• Philos (or Storge)
• Agape
• Eros
• Other types Ludus, Pragma and Mania all listed
  in White et al.

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Homosexual Love

• Why did homosexual love occur?
• 1. Women as inferior in all aspects.
• 2. The best army contained love.

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Ancient Rome

• Love relationships as heterosexual.
• Arranged marriages
• Sex and romance in affairs only.
• The rise of Christianity

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The Rise of Christianity

• Idealization of women as non-sexual beings.
• Sexual women stigmatized.
• Middle Ages and Feudal Europe

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From 16th Century to Present

• 1. Protestant Reformation
• 2. Urbanization
• 3. Industrialization
• Breadwinner Family Model
• Philos, agape and eros are provided by women

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To cont.

• Four major factors connecting romantic love and
  marriage
• Varies cross-culturally India vs. Canada/U.S
• Theories of Romantic Love
• 1. Schacters Component Theory- The Stockholm
  syndrome.

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Schacters Theory cont

• Two opposing emotions can lead to romantic love.
• In order to experience romantic love it must be a
  prominent social symbol.
• Anger, fear and sexual arousal cause the same
  physiological responses
• Horror movies while dating..

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Wheel of Love Theory

• How love emerges within the life cycle of a
  couple.
• The four stages of romantic love
• 1. The rapport stage
• 2. The Self-Evaluation Stage
• 3. Mutual Dependency Stage
• 4. Basic Personality Stage

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Wheel of Love cont

• Evidence of the theory
• Less rapport
• Less self-revelation
• Less mutual dependency
• Less basic personality
• The major implication of Reiss theory the
  pluses.

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Throughout the 19th Century

• A steady decline in community and parental
  influence in mate selection
• 1. Urban/Industrialization
• 2. Romantic Love
• 3. Educational Reform
• 4. Rise of Consumer Economy
• 5. Individualism

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Since the mid 1960s

• Dating- flexible and extended
• 1. Earlier Age
• 2. Adulthood
• 3. Full years
• 4. Gender Equality
• 5. Contraception

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Dating cont

• Average of 10 to 15 years of dating with 20 or
  more people
• Contemporary dating
• Dating extended to the mid 20s
• The functions of dating

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Theories of Mate Selection

• 1. Parental Image Theory
• Psychoanalytic theory
• The Oedipus and Electra Complex
• The opposite parent complex
• Cases of clinical population

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Complimentary Needs Theory

• Robert Winch
• Mate selection is homogonous
• Opposites attract
• Is it true?

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Value Theory

• Choosing people who are similar
• The role of values in mate selection
• Validation of ourselves
• Marital homogeny explained
• Values Theory holds that
• 1. Similar backgrounds
• 2. Mutual reward
• 3. Desire to continue relationship

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Role Theory and Exchange Theory

• Roles are
• Role consensus as a crucial factor
• Role discrepancies less chance of marriage
• Exchange Theory
• Goal oriented
• Reciprocity
• Lack of a better alternative

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Stimulus-Value Role Theory

• Bernard Murstein
• Mate selection as a three stage process
• 1. Stimulus stage
• 2. Value comparison stage
• 3. Role stage

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Various other elements in mate selection

• Race/ethnicity
• Age
• Religious affiliation
• Sexual orientation
• Homosexual men
• Homosexual women

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Internet dating

• A level playground without restraints and limits
• Lawson and Leck
• Feeling of inhibition
• Abilities to control
• Reduction in anxiety

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Premarital Sex Standards

• Abstinence
• Double standard
• Permissiveness with affection
• Permissiveness without affection

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Why??????

• Family is built upon theories of dating and
  marriage patterns.
• Family structure and dynamics.