The Psychology of Marriage

An Evolutionary and Cross-Cultural View

Contributions by Carol Cronin Weisfeld, Glenn E. Weisfeld, Lisa M. Dillon, Regina Sousa Brito, Marina L. Butovskaya, Tara DeLecce, Ellen Fedon-Keyt, Stefan M. M. Goetz, Michael J. R. James, Elizabeth M. Hill, Bruce Howard, E. Olcay Imamolu, Samantha Lewis, Todd Lucas, Koyonne R. Mims, Ian J. Moore, Cheryl C. Munday, Carrie A. F. Nantais, Nicole T. Nowak, Kelly OKeefe, Yobany Pardo, Zhanna Rozenberg, Keila Rebello, Maria Faustina Samayoa, Emre Selcuk, Kraig S. Shattuck, Emilia D. Shinne, Mauro Silva, Annamaria Silveri, Richard B. Slatcher, Margaret Stack, Jiawen Wang, Keith M. Welker, Craig A. Wendorf, Ahmar Zaman Edited by Carol Cronin Weisfeld, Glenn E. Weisfeld, Lisa M. Dillon

Publication date:

17 November 2017

Length of book:

386 pages

Publisher

Lexington Books

ISBN-13: 9781498541244

From their location in the heart of Detroit, Michigan, the Weisfelds’ lab has reached out for thirty years to couples in long-term partnerships around the world. In living rooms in Detroit, London, Moscow, Beijing, and beyond, couples of all types and ages have shared their perspectives into adult romantic relationships. The Psychology of Marriage: An Evolutionary and Cross-Cultural View is a distillation of these findings, which have appeared in dozens of book chapters, journal articles, and conference presentations. This book provides new systematic comparisons that offer insights into the mysteries of marriage and other committed relationships. Scholars, professional counselors, and family therapists will find a helpful framework in the text for thinking about cultural similarities and differences in marital dynamics. Researchers will be introduced to a robust new instrument, the Marriage and Relationship Questionnaire (MARQ), which can be used in heterosexual and same-sex couples in virtually any cultural setting, along with ethical guidelines for conducting this research. Anyone who is interested in why committed relationships work (or do not work) will find the book filled with compelling new information.

Part I. Methodological Questions
Chapter 1: The Mysteries of Marriage: Its Function, Evolution, and Development, Glenn E. Weisfeld and Carol Cronin Weisfeld
Chapter 2: Getting Started: The Construction, Properties, and Applications of the MARQ, Carol Cronin Weisfeld, Ellen Fedon-Keyt, Michael J. R. James, Samantha Lewis, and Emilia D. Shinne
Chapter 3: Getting It Right: Why Invariance Testing with Respect to Gender and Culture Is Important, Craig A. Wendorf and Todd Lucas
Chapter 4: Looking at Dyads: A Primer on Actor-Partner Analysis in Marriage Research, Keith M. Welker and Richard B. Slatcher
Part II. Marriage in Various Cultures around the World
Chapter 5: Are Culture, Sex Differences, Similarity, and Personality Important in Marriage? Evidence from Great Britain and Elsewhere,Glenn E. Weisfeld
Chapter 6: Cultural and Self-Related Considerations in Relationship: Well-Being With Particular Reference to Marriage in Turkey, E. Olcay Imamoğlu and Emre Selcuk
Chapter 7: The Changing Family in China, Jiawen Wang and Carol Cronin Weisfeld
Chapter 8: The Changing Family in Russia, Marina L. Butovskaya and Zhanna Rozenberg
Chapter 9: Marriage in Brazil Preliminary Findings Using the MARQ, Keila Rebello, Kraig S. Shattuck, Mauro Silva, Jr., and Regina Sousa Brito
Chapter 10: The American Family in the 21st Century: Some Things are Changing, Some Not, Carol Cronin Weisfeld, Annamaria Silveri, and Ellen Fedon-Keyt
Chapter 11: From Machismo to Caballerismo: Mate Guarding Tactics in Latino Men, Yobany Pardo
Chapter 12: African-American Married Couples, Cheryl C. Munday, Koyonne R. Mims, Ahmar Zaman, and Bruce Howard
Chapter 13: Love Is Love: Same-sex Couples, Lisa M. Dillon
Part III. Cross-Cultural Patterns in Aspects of Marriage
Chapter 14: Beyond the Honeymoon: Physical Attraction and Its Role throughout Marriage, Annamaria Silveri and Maria Faustina Samayoa
Chapter 15: God Help Us: Spirituality and Religiosity in Marriage, Margaret Stack and Carrie A. F. Nantais
Chapter 16: Humor in Marriage, Glenn E. Weisfeld
Chapter 17: Sex and Infidelity, Lisa M. Dillon, Nicole T. Nowak and Glenn E. Weisfeld
Chapter 18: Sources of Conflict in Marriage, Tara DeLecce
Part IV. Conclusions and Future Directions
Chapter 19: Cross-cultural Social/Behavioral Research: Ethical Principles and Review Processes, Kelly O’Keefe, Ian J. Moore, and Elizabeth M. Hill
Chapter 20: Causes of Marital Conflict: Reflections from a Clinician, Margaret Stack
Chapter 21: Towards a Model of Marriage, Glenn E. Weisfeld, Carol Cronin Weisfeld, and Stefan M. M. Goetz

The Psychology of Marriage is a valuable addition to our field. It sheds light on both the culturally specific and the universal, generally adaptive properties of marriage. In their preface, the Editors write “This research has been conducted without any major grants” (p. x). The book demonstrates that much can be accomplished simply with persistence, an intellectual framework and a dedicated group of researchers. The book is an admirable step forward in articulating an evolutionary, multicultural perspective on marriage. [Reviewed by Daniel Perlman]