Oppenheimer (CP):

1. What does the term "assortative mating" mean?

2. Oppenheimer argues that there are two paths to a successful marriage - what are they? Has the relative importance of these two paths changed over time? How and why?

3. What is a "marriage squeeze"? Why is it unlikely that a marriage squeeze is of great importance in explaining recent changes in marriage timing?

4. How are gender differences in economic roles related to gender differences in age at marriage?

5. How is the convergence of men's and women's roles in society and the family related to marriage timing in Oppenheimer's framework?

6. What are some of the important similarities in looking for a job and looking for a spouse? What are some of the important differences?

7. How is women's economic independence related to marriage in the "new home economics" model of marriage timing?

8. Why does the pool of "attractive" mates decline more sharply with age for women than it does for men?

9. The improving economic status of women is generally thought to promote later marriage. According to Oppenheimer, how might it actually promote earlier marriage?

10. Why does Oppenheimer suggest that men's occupation is related to their marriage timing (i.e., men in lower-skilled occupations marry earlier and men in higher skill occupations marry later)?

11. How might employment affect women's marriage market opportunities?

12. How might economic resources (i.e., better job, higher wages) be related to women's definition of a "suitable" mate?

13. How are increasing employment opportunities related to the feasibility of post-marital socialization?

14. How does Oppenheimer think that changing economic roles of women may be related to divorce?

15. How is the economic independence argument (i.e., that increasing economic independence reduces the attractiveness of marriage for women) attractive to the two sides in the family debate that we have talked about earlier in class?

The Ties that Bind -  (Cherlin):

1. Cherlin summarizes evidence inconsistent with either the "new home economics" model of marriage or the structural-functionalist model of marriage. What alternative explanations have been offered in place of these "standard" models of marriage?

2. What evidence does Cherlin cite to suggest that cohabitation is not becoming a substitute for marriage in the U.S.?

3. Often sociologists draw upon (but of course usually are unable to provide any evidence) for a biological/evolutionary explanation for certain behaviors. In this chapter, Cherlin suggests that the cultural "requirement" that men be economically stable in order to marry is an example of such. He also suggests that the increased ability to monitor sexual fidelity may be seen as an advantage of marriage from an evolutionary perspective. What do you think about such bio-evolutionary explanations?

4. Both the Cherlin chapter and the Blau and Ferber chapter you read for the last class criticize the economic model on the grounds that it assumes men's and women's interests are identical. What exactly do they mean? What modifications do they suggest?