Systems of Mate Selection

1
Systems of Mate Selection

• Arranged Marriages, Autonomous Marriages, and In
  Between Marriages

2
Arranged Marriage Societies

• Parents or other relatives select your spouse for
  you. You may have little or nothing to say about
  it.
• Usually, the adult males in the family of a
  potential bride and a potential groom arrange the
  marriage

3
Autonomous Marriage Societies

• Theoretically, offspring select who they want to
  marry. However, . . .
• Parents often directly or indirectly influence
  who their children marry

4
In Between Societies

• Your parents select a spouse for you, but you
  have veto power
• You select a mate for yourself, but your parents
  have veto power
• Developing countries are the ones most likely to
  have an in between system of mate selection.

5
What Parents Take into Account in Deciding who
Their Children will Marry

• The amount of the bride price (also referred to
  as a bride wealth), groom service (sometimes
  referred to as a bride service), or dowry.
• Bride Pricewealth a man or his parents have to
  give a womans parents before he can marry her
• Groom Servicethe husband-to-be has to work for
  the bride-to-bes parents for some period of
  time.
• Dowrywealth a womans parents give to the couple
  getting married or to the mans parents before
  she can marry him.
• Bride price/groom service as compensation for a
  loss
• Marriage on the installment plan

6
What Parents Take into Account in Deciding who
Their Children will Marry (continued)

• The potential marriage partners reputation
• The potential marriage partners social status

7
Other Facts about Arranged Marriage Societies

• The Sororate Phenomenon
• Sororate refers to a situation I which a wife who
  has died or run away is replaced with one of her
  sisters or other female kin
• The sororate phenomenon is most common in
  societies that have a high bride price.
• The sororate phenomenon functions to maintain
  friendly alliances between two families

8
Other Facts about Arranged Marriage Societies
(continued)

• The Levirate Phenomenon
• Levirate refers to the marriage of a dead mans
  wife to one of his brothers or other male kin.
• The levirate phenomenon ensures that women and
  children are protected

9
Explanation for Systems of Mate
SelectionBackground Information Rules of
Residence

• PatrilocalThis rule states that the couple
  should live with or near the parents of the
  husband after marriage
• MatrilocalThis rule states that the couple
  should live with or near the parents of the wife
  after marriage
• NeolocalThe couple should live away from both
  sets of parents.
• AvunculocalThe couple should live with or near
  the husbands mothers brother. (The husbands
  maternal uncle)
• AmbilocalThe couple should live with or near the
  husbands or the wifes parents.

10
Explanation for Systems of Mate SelectionMore
Background Information

• Extended families have three generations living
  together
• The senior (grandparent) generation
• The married offspring of the senior generation
• The children of the married offspring (the
  grandchildren generation)
• Nuclear families have two generations living
  togetherthe parent and offspring generations

11
More Background Information

• In societies characterized by extended families,
  the rule of residence is almost always
  patrilocal.
• Whether the residence rule is patrilocal or
  matrilocal, the married offspring live with
  either the husbands (in the case of patrilocal
  residence) or the wifes (in the case of
  matrilocal residence) parents

12
More Background Information

• In societies characterized by nuclear families,
  three rules of residence are common
• Neolocal (married children do not live with
  anyones parents)
• Patrilocal (married children live in the same
  general area as the husbands parents)
• Matrilocal (married children live in the same
  general area as the wifes parents)

13
More Background Information

• Arranged marriages are much more common in
  societies characterized by extended families
• Autonomous marriages are much more common in
  societies characterized by nuclear families

14
The Explanation for Systems of Mate Selection
Answers Two Questions

• Why are arranged marriages most common in
  societies that have extended families?
• Why are autonomous marriages most common in
  societies that have nuclear families?