American Marriage Institutionalization Deinstitutionalization

Costs and Benefits: Relationships involve costs and benefits. Interactions persist if both individuals derive social and psychic rewards. If costs outweigh rewards, interactions cease.
Homogamy:
- Definition: The tendency of like to marry like.
- People with similar attributes (age, race, religion, etc.) tend to pair more frequently than by chance.
Heterogamous Marriages:
- Definition: Marriages in which spouses differ significantly in characteristics such as race, age, or religion.
- Reference: Hughes and Kroehler (2013:230)

Matching Hypothesis: Individuals with similar levels of physical attractiveness are more likely to pair. This increases mutual satisfaction (payoff) and reduces rejection risk.
Complementary Needs Theory: Opposite personality traits create balance and completeness in relationships, enriching the partnership.
- Reference: Hughes and Kroehler (2013:318)

Definition: Adherence to traditional marriage roles and patterns, viewing marriage as a dominant cultural institution.
Characteristics:
- Limited focus on compatibility or love between partners.

Definition: Based on sentiment, friendship, and sexuality.
Companionate Love: A form of love that develops gradually and is based on rational assessment, rather than pure sexual passion.

Definition: Flexible marriage focusing on personal identity and emotional needs.
Characteristics:
- Partners aim for personal satisfaction and self-development, rather than fulfilling traditional roles.
- Moving away from roles of a good parent or loyal spouse.
- Reference: Cherlin (2004:853)

Definition: Coined by Andrew Cherlin, it refers to the weakening of social norms related to marriage.
Implications: Couples are uncertain about marriage formation, leading to more experimentation with intimate and sexual relationships.
- Reference: Ritzer (2015:284)
- Source: Cherlin, Andrew. 2009. The Marriage-Go-Round: The State of Marriage and the Family in America Today. New York: Knopf.