Exam 7: The Path to Commitment: Attraction, Dating, Partnering, and Cohabitation

________ was a British scientist and environmentalist who became famous for his belief that nature selects the best adapted varieties of specifies to survive and reproduce.

________ refers to partners who are of different races, religions, and ethnicities. It also refers to partners of different ages.

________ are the benefits (the payback, profits, or compensations) that are exchanged in social relationships, or what bring pleasure, satisfaction, and gratification.

Which cultures exhibit the lowest levels of cohabitation and why?

The primary, evolutionary biological goal of males in mate selection is to find one life partner.

In a recent study that surveyed over 600 West Coast college students, the researchers found that of those that have hooked up, most had only done it once or twice.

Moral commitment refers to those commitments bound by institutions such as marriage.

Propinquity has a lot to do with partner selection. "Propinquity" refers to what?

Personal commitment refers to the feelings, thoughts, and beliefs we have about a spouse, life-mate, or significant other.

In certain mainstream religious denominations, this concept, which is seen as a reaction to contemporary dating, is making a comeback.

The text suggests four guidelines for internet dating. What are they? Please include examples/explanations.

In the process of mate selection we (consciously or unconsciously) filter or sort through certain variables to determine if the person is someone we desire to partner with. The text lists five variables. What are they?

According to Stephen Duck, we use different types of cues to sort interpersonal relationship information. If we find we want to spend more time with someone, we rely on ________ cues, which tell us more about a person than just a superficial, casual level. Based on these cues, we then determine whether any of these match who we are and what we need or desire in a life partner. At this point, after much self-disclosure and time, we decide to try to take the relationship to a deeper level and enter into a committed partnership.

Researchers contend that living together before marriage does not appear to be a substitute marriage (a long-term commitment between intimate partners that does not involve legal marriage), or a trial marriage (living together to see what marriage would be like). If cohabitation is not seen as an alternative to being married, then what is it?

Mark Knapp, communication studies author, studied interpersonal relationships to better determine how they develop. His work is oftentimes referred to as the relationship escalation model. List and explain his five points of progression for relationships.

________ or ________ are the terms used to describe two people who have regular sex with one another, but who do not relate as boyfriend and girlfriend.

How has the internet affected the way men and women connect romantically? How pervasive is it? Are there any risks?

Explain Darwin's concept of sexual selection.

The ________ refers to the fact that most of us want a "socially desirable person regardless of his or her own level of social desirability" (Sprecher, 1998). To put it another way, people who possess socially desirable characteristics (such as, beauty, wealth, status, and education) tend to partner with people who also possess these same desirable characteristics; their resources are equally matched.

Using a filter mechanism, individuals will sort out a potential mate from a group of eligible partners. This group is known as what?