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Monika Wrobel, Ph.D.
M17. People Across Cultures: An Introduction to Cross-Cultural Psychology

#6

LOVE AND

LOVE AND

MARRIAGE ACROSS

MARRIAGE ACROSS

CULTURES

CULTURES

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Sternberg

Sternberg

’

’

s

s

triangular

triangular

theory

theory

of

of

love

love

Passion

Intimacy

Commitment

time

P

I

C

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The universality of love

The universality of love

–

–

Sternberg

Sternberg

’

’

s theory revisited

s theory revisited

Individualist cultures

a lot of emphasis put on

romantic love (movies, magazines, talk shows, soap
operas, etc.)

Jankowiak and Fisher (1992)

86 different cultures

they analysed pop songs and found the idea of love in 88%
of them

in collectivist cultures songs usually described love
entangled in social relationships

love seen as a bitter-

sweet experience

Western and Eastern kettle metaphor of love.

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Arranged vs. love marriages

Arranged vs. love marriages

(1)

(1)

Are arranged marriages less happy than
marriages out of love?

Gupta and Singh (1992)

a sample of 50 couples (25 in arranged, 25 in love marriages)

arranged marriages

: felt less love at the start of their marriage

than those who had married for love, but the level of love
increased over the first 5 years of marriage and was
maintained at this high level over the following 5 years

love marriages

: the degree of love started at a higher level

and was maintained over the first 5 years, but by 10 years had
fallen well below the level experienced by those in arranged
marriages

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Arranged vs. love marriages

Arranged vs. love marriages

(2)

(2)

love marriages:

it is

important to nurture feelings
between each other

arranged marriages:

it is

more crucial to adjust to
each other

Probably people in arranged marriages and
love marriages are equally satisfied, but this
satisfaction has different basis:

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Ethnically mixed marriages

Ethnically mixed marriages

People in mixed marriages get divorced more
often than people in unicultural marriages.

They have to find answers to hundreds of
questions, such as:

How to raise their children?

In what country to live in?

What language and tradition to maintain?

What religion to choose?

Assimilation vs. integration strategy.

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Problems faced by mixed

Problems faced by mixed

marriages

marriages

Cultural differences

Language problems

Ethnic stereotypes

Legal problems