Annotated Bibliography
Research Question: Most people spend many years of their life looking for the right person to settle down with and spend the rest of their life with. It would be a whole lot easier if one could tell whether or not a person was right for him or her the moment he or she met another person. I am going to research what attracts people to other people in the American culture. What are the rules of attraction both physical and emotional attraction? What does it take to make a relationship last? What should a person look for in a potential life partner and what keeps a partner around for good?
Botwin, Michael D., David M. Buss, and Todd K. Shackelford. "Personality and Mate Preferences: Five factors in mate selection and marital satisfaction." Journal of Personality 65.1 (1997): 107-36. PsycINFO. EBSCO. U of
This journal takes a look at a few traits among dating and married couples and how they sometimes change. For instance, dating couples did not have a strong correlation in politics, but married couples did. This is probably because once married couples usually go through some changes such as change of views on politics and religion. According to this study males ranked reliable, warm, fair, intelligent, and knowledgeable as the top 5 traits for a mate. Women ranked warm, reliable, fair, intelligent, and knowledgeable as their top five traits. This shows that men and women basically look for the same traits in mates.
This is a scholarly source from a peer reviewed journal, so it is okay to use it in my paper. I like the way this journal looks at wanted traits between dating couples and married couples. It is going to be important for me to note the differences among dating and married couples’ traits in my paper. I have found a few sources that look into these differences, and I will put them all together to discuss the differences among couples.
Buss, David, et al. “A Half Century of Mate Preferences: The Cultural Evolution of Values.” Journal of Marriage and Family 63.2 (2001): 249. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. U of
The qualities that people deemed as important in 1939 are not the same as they are now. Research has concluded that the main quality that has changed the most is domestic skills. Men once deemed this as a pretty important quality for women to have, but now it is not as high up on the list. Both men and women increased the importance of good-looks for their partner as well as financial stability. Men, more than ever, see financial prospect as an important trait in women.
Dryer, D., and Leonard Hororitz. “When Do Opposites Attract? Interpersonal Complementarity Versus Similarity.” Journal of Personality & Social Psychology 72.3 (1997): 592-603. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. U of
This studies focuses on why opposites attract. It shows that people who are dating someone who compliments them are more happy in the relationship. A submissive person dating a dominant person is more satisfied than a submissive person dating a submissive person or a dominant with a dominant partner. This is because submissive people like to have someone there to help and or guide them in a certain direction. When two submissive people are together, there is no one to push or guide. A dominant person finds satisfaction in helping a submissive partner. A dominant person likes when he or she is allowed to dominate over things.
Friedlander, Laura J., et al. “Biological, Familial, and Peer Influences on Dating in Early Adolescence.” Archives of Sexual Behavior: 36.6 (2007): 821-30. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. U of
This study examines middle school children and their dating habits. The results showed that boys were less likely to date if their parents knew what they were doing. Early dating for both boys and girls have been linked to pubertal maturation, peer delinquency, and peer dating.
Glad, John. “Female Attractiveness Evolutionary Psychology's Unfinished Business.” Mankind Quarterly 47.3 (2007): 75-90. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. U of
This article takes a look at what attracts men to women. It points out that most of the attractable characteristics are universal throughout many cultures. This makes us believe that what attracts males to females may be a little genetic. On the other hand, some characteristics such as the preference of weight of females varies a lot among cultures pointing out that this attraction queue is not genetically based. Males are often attracted to a female whom they think will be a good mother. Someone strong with child bearing hips.
Grant, Ruth. “Couple Similarity and Marital Satisfaction: Are Similar Spouses Happier?” Journal of Personality 74.5 (2006): 1401-20. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. U of
This journal discusses some of the important factors that may or may not contribute to a successful partnership. It showed that couple similarity is highly related to marital satisfaction. The study shows that similarity on gender roles and personality is more important than religious similarities. “Presumably, discrepancies in values and traits between spouses may stimulate marital conflicts and negative emotions of anger and resentment.” This is why couples with many things in common are often happier in their relationships.
Grover, Kelly J., et al. "Mate Selection Processes and Marital Satisfaction." Family Relations 34.3 (1985): 383-6. PsycINFO. EBSCO. U of
This journal looks at the importance of the length and quality of dating when related to marital satisfaction. Research found that the age at marriage and the number of break-ups while dating had no significance in the quality of marriage. This study found that couples who dated for two or more years were on average happier in their marriage than people who dated for less than two years. A longer period of dating usually gives couples time to figure out what they like and do not like about a partner and whether or not he or she can live with them.
This is a scholarly, peer reviewed journal article. I think it will be helpful in my paper when I talk about the dating process and how important it is. I will summarize the information in this article about people dating for more than two years being happier. I can also talk about why this is probably true.
Leck, Kira. “Correlates of Minimal Dating.” Journal of Social Psychology 146.5 (2006): 549-67. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. U of
This article investigates college students who don’t date much. Shyness, introversion, attractiveness, social self-esteem, and loneliness correlate to women not dating. For men, physical attractiveness, observer-rated social skill, social self-esteem, and loneliness correlated minimal dating.
Li, Norman, and Douglas Kenrick. “Sex Similarities and Differences in Preferences for Short-Term Mates: What, Whether, and Why.” Journal of Personality & Social Psychology 90.3 (2006): 468-89. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. U of
This journal did a study to see what characteristics are present in short term sexual relations and with long term relationships. It found that in short one night stands both males and females usually only look for an attractive partner. Females like tall muscular guys while males go for short pretty girls with a nice butt and breasts. For a female looking for a man to marry, she most likely looks for someone who is kind, intelligent, and resourceful. Men looking for a possible lifetime partner probably will look for someone is kind, smart, and attractive.
McNulty, James K., Lisa A. Neff, and Benjamin R. Karney. “Beyond Initial Attraction: Physical Attractiveness in Newlywed Marriage.” Journal of Family Psychology 22.1 (2008): 135-43. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. U of
This article takes a look at how physical attractivness in a partner relates to marital satisfaction later in life. This article’s research found that although physical attractiveness is an important factor when first meating someone, it does not play a significant role in how happy a couple will be when married. Research did find that both partners were more satisfied and positive if the wife was more attractive than the husband. This has to do with people treating and judgeing the woman more positiviely in social situations. Women tend to take more pride in appearance then males.
This article is a credible source written by three professor of psychology and published in a credible, peer reviewed source. I think it will be useful in my paper when I discuss how attractiveness plays a role in dating and marriage. I will probably include a quote about how “the importance of matched attractiveness to new relationships, similarity in attractiveness was unrelated to spouses' satisfaction and behavior. Instead, the relative difference between partners' levels of attractiveness appeared to be most important in predicting marital behavior.” I will then go on to talk about how both spouses are more positive in the relationship when the wife is more attractive.
Najman, Fake M., et al. “Sexual Partner Preferences: Evolutionary Imperative, Emotional Attachment or Hedonism?” Marriage & Family Review 40.1 (2006): 5-23. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. U of
An Australian survey surveyed men and women to find out what is desired in a sexual partner. The most desired quality is being with someone who cares for them and someone he or she can love. Also ranked high is that the partner should enjoy sex even if they do not enjoy sex themselves. People expressed similar preferences in sexual partners no matter age, sex, or marital status. Heterosexuals place more of an emphasis on physical beauty than non heterosexuals.
Shiota, Michelle N., and Robert W. Levenson.. "Birds of a feather don't always fly farthest: Similarity in Big Five personality predicts more negative marital satisfaction trajectories in long-term marriages." Psychology and Aging 22.4 (2007): 666-75. PsycINFO. EBSCO. U of
This article looks at the big five personality traits of extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness to experience and how they relate to marital satisfaction. This study found that extraversion “with lower initial levels of marital satisfaction in middle-aged couples but not in older couples.” Conscientiousness was linked to a negative slope in satisfaction for middle-aged couples but not in older couples. This article also explores why dating, middle aged, and older couples need different things in a relationship.
This article is credible because it was written by credible authors and published in a peer reviewed journal. This article will be useful in my paper to compare the different needs of different aged people. It will also help to define what and why people need certain things at different times in a relationship. I will summarize the information presented about how middle-aged adults need someone to share responsibilities with and older adults need someone that shares likes and dislikes and can be a true companion.
Sprecher, Susan, and Pamela Regan. “Liking Some Things (in some people) More Than Others: Partner Preferences in Romantic Relationships and Friendships.” Journal of Social & Personal Relationships 19.4 (2002): 463- . Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. U of
The research done is this study focuses on what traits differ among romantic relationships and friendships. The study found that, no matter what kind of relationship, it is important to find a partner with warmth, kindness, expressiveness, and a sense of humor. The amount of these characteristics varies among the type of relationship, but they are still the most highly valued traits.
Sprecher, Susan, Quintin Sullivan, and Elaine Hatfield. “Mate Selection Preferences: Gender Differences Examined in a National Sample.” Journal of Personality & Social Psychology Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. U of
This article researches the willingness of men and women to marry someone based on age, looks, race, religion, income, and whether they have been married before or not. Most of the data they collected was consistent with other studies. Youth and physical attractiveness were found to be more important for men than for women; earning potential was found to be less important for men than for women.
Wright, David W., et al. “Does a Marriage Ideal Exist? Using Q-sort Methodology to Compare Young Adults' and Professional Educators' Views on Healthy Marriages.” Contemporary Family Therapy: An International Journal 29.4 (2007): 223-36. EBSCO. U of
This article addresses the issue of whether or not young adults and professional educators agree on characteristics of successful relationships. Young adults believed that couples agree on most things and barely have disagreements. Older professionals were more realistic and realized that a relationship takes effort and good communication. Young people often see relationships as perfect and happy. As people get older, they begin to realize that relationships aren’t always perfect.
This article is a credible source from a peer reviewed journal. I think this journal will be useful in my paper when I talk about how people’s relationships change throughout life. Relationships start out peachy, but later take more effort to keep them going. It takes more than having things in common to keep a relationship alive throughout the years. Relationships start with attraction and similarities but later turn to good communication and understanding.
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