MIDTERM 2

Any hints or tips?

Question 1

1. Describe in some detail the various theories of love put forth by social scientists as discussed in class and in the required readings? How do they differ from one another? How valid and useful do you believe each to be? Why? Which one do you believe most accurately describes the process of falling in love? Why?

Question 2

2. Discuss the ways in which societal factors interact with personal preferences in the prevailing pattern of partner selection in the contemporary United States. Describe and analyze at least two major theories of partner selection that were discussed in class or in the readings. Which makes more sociological sense? Why?

Question 3

3. In what way is courtship (a serious, committed intimate relationship) a “developmental process?” How does the concept of a “summatory process” contribute to our understanding of this process? What roles do “idealization” and “pluralistic ignorance” play in this process? Typically, at some point in an intimate relationship, partners are challenged to clarify and even redefine the depth of their commitment to it. What factors/events/situations are likely to lead to this clarification or redefinition? What did Waller mean by the “principle of least interest” and what is its significance?

Question 4

4. What is the importance of the “engagement?” What are the central “functions” of this period and how are they manifested? Describe in some detail the key “processes” of the engagement? What are some of the typical difficulties couples face at this time and how might they be dealt with? What are the sociological functions of the wedding? What are some of the theories that attempt to explain why there is such as thing as weddings? Which do you believe is most valid? Why?

Question 5

5. Describe in detail the social forces that provided the social context that led to the liberalization of sexual attitudes and practices in the 1960s and 1970s and contributed to this period being termed a “sexual revolution”. What are some of the important social consequences of these more liberal attitudes and practices? What factors served to restrain these attitudes and practices during the 1980s and 1990s? How did they do so? Is the current context more similar to the 1960s and 1970s or to the 1980s and 1990s in terms of sexual attitudes and practices? Why?