In this question you should outline and evaluate elements such as the degree to which cultures are voluntary or non-voluntary, the involvement of family, norms and rules. Make sure your AO2 content is explicitly AO2 rather than just descriptive.
Relationships in Western and
non-Western cultures differ in the degree to which they are voluntary or non-voluntary. Western
cultures generally have a high degree of social & geographical
mobility, allowing frequent interaction with a large number of people and
thus a high degree of choice in romantic relationships. Non-Western
cultures have less social and geographical mobility and people therefore
have less choice about whom they interact with; Interactions with strangers
are rare and are often tied to other factors such as family or economic
resources.
Cultures also differ in the
degree to which relationships reflect the interests of the individual or the family. In
individualist cultures, individual interests are deemed more important
& romantic relationships are more likely to be formed on the basis of
love & attraction. In collectivist cultures, relationships are more
likely to reflect the interests of the entire family.
Cultures differ greatly in
terms of the norms that apply to the development of romantic relationships. These
norms act as guidelines for appropriate behaviour within a culture &
dictate how people relate to and communicate with each other in the
development of romantic relationships. For example, Ma studied
self-disclosure (revealing your motives and intentions) in internet
relationships and found that American students self-disclosed sooner
than East Asian students.
Cultures differ in terms of
the rules
that apply to the development of romantic relationships. These rules can
include courtesy and social intimacy. Argyle et al. studied relationships rules
in the UK, Italy, Hong Kong and Japan, and found that different relationship
rules applied to each of these cultures. However, some rules such as the
showing of courtesy towards a partner were present in each culture.
Although it might be expected
that more voluntary relationships based on love would produce more
compatible partners and therefore be more successful, this is not necessarily the
case. In cultures where families play a key part in arranging a marriage,
parents may be in a better position to judge compatibility as they are not
‘blinded by love’.
There is research support for
this idea that non-voluntary relationships can work as well as, if not
better than relationships based on love. Epstein found that in cultures with reduced social mobility, non-voluntary relationships appeared to work very
well, with lower divorce rates than Western marriages. However, this may be
due to different cultural attitudes towards divorce. Marital satisfaction was
the same for voluntary and non-voluntary relationships, suggesting that
they work equally well.
In contrast to this finding,
a Chinese study by Xiaohe & Whyte found that women who had freedom of choice and who
married for love were happier than women in arranged marriages. This study
appears to support the claim that freedom of choice – which is more common
in Western cultures – promotes marital stability.
Unlike the cultural approach,
the evolutionary approach to romantic relationships suggests that
relationships are largely universal and thus that culture should have
little effect. This claim is supported by Jankowiak & Fischer, who found clear evidence of
romantic love in most of the 166 pre-industrialised societies studied,
suggesting that it is universal & therefore a product of evolutionary
rather than cultural factors.
The claim that cultures
differ in their norms relating to romantic relationships has been
supported by a study by Moore & Leung. They found specific differences between Anglo-Australian
& Chinese-Australian students in their attitudes to romantic
relationships. This shows that cultural norms influence ideas of the
development of romantic relationships.
Argyle et al.
found support for their predictions of cultural differences in some relationships
rules (e.g. rules regarding intimacy) but not for others (e.g. the
prediction that Japanese people place a greater emphasis on formalised
gift exchange during the development of relationships). This suggests that
many of the perceived differences between cultures are not supported by
research.
There is a cultural
bias in Argyle et al.’s research. The problem is
that the list of rules being tested was put together in a Western culture.
This may have resulted in a failure to include rules specific to
particular cultures. This represents a cultural bias where a culturally
specific idea is applied to a culture where it is less relevant: an
imposed etic.
There may also be a historical
bias in much of
this research. There has been a significant increase in the number of
voluntary & temporary relationships in the West in the past several
decades, perhaps due to the increased urbanisation. This would also
explain the significant increase in voluntary relationships in non-Western
cultures such as India and China.
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