Research Project 1 The Marriage Quiz

Figure 15.4 of Life-Span Development presents Jeffry Larson's Marriage Quiz. Larson used this to demonstrate that college students have relatively unrealistic views of marriage.

Do you agree? Do your peers have similarly unrealistic expectations of marriage? Find out by using the items from the quiz listed below. Make a copy (or copies) of the quiz and have as many college men and women that you know respond to it. If you can, get equal numbers of men and women, and representatives of first through last year college students.

Score respondents’ answers using the answer key given at the end of Chapter 15. Then determine the mean score (sum of scores/total scores). If you know how, also compute a standard deviation for the scores. If you were able to obtain responses from men and women in some or all different college classes (e.g., first through senior year), compute means (and standard deviations) for each group. Then prepare a table that displays these means. With the table as a base, write a brief report in which you indicate whether Larson's claims apply to your college or university. Be sure to answer these questions in your report:

1. On average, how many items did your respondents pass? 2. How did women compare to men?

3. How did younger respondents compare to older respondents?

4. Can you think of other comparisons to make, or other questions to ask, that would yield interesting ideas concerning young adults’ expectations about and knowledge of marriage?

Marriage Quiz Items

1. A husband's marital satisfaction is usually lower if his wife, is employed full time than if she is a full-time homemaker.

2. Today most young, single, never-married people will eventually get married.

3. In most marriages, having a child improves marital satisfaction for both spouses.

4. The best single predictor of overall marital satisfaction is the quality of the couple's sex life.

5. The divorce rate in America increased from I960 to 1980.

6. A greater percentage of wives are in the work force today than in 1970.

7. Marital satisfaction for a wife is usually lower if she is employed full time than if she is a full-time homemaker.

8. If my spouse loves me, she/he should instinctively know what I want and need to be happy.

9. In a marriage in which the wife is employed full time, the husband usually assumes equal share of the housekeeping.

10. For most couples, marital satisfaction gradually increases from the first years of marriage: through the childbearing years, the teen years, the empty nest, and retirement.

11. No matter how I behave, my spouse should love me simply because she/he is my spouse.

12. One of the most frequent marital problems is poor communication.

13. Husbands usually make even more life-style adjustments in marriage than wives.

10. Couples who cohabited before marriage usually report greater marital satisfaction than couples who did not.

11. I can change my spouse by pointing out her/his inadequacies, errors, etc.