1. What is meant by homogamy? How are homogamous norms related to endogamy and exogamy?
2. Think about dating and mate selection in the United States as a game. What are the objectives for men and women? What rules govern the game? Who enforces the rules? What sanctions are applied if the rules are broken?
3. Describe the range of variation on the arranged marriage vs. free choice of mate continuum. What are the functions of arranged marriage? What selection criteria are important in arranged marriage? What factors constrain choice of spouse in the United States?
4. How does exchange operate in dating relationships? What is the central idea of exchange theories of mate selection? How do bargaining and exchange differ?
5. Explain Waller's "principle of least interest." What empirical evidence can you think of to support this idea?
6. How does steady dating differ from causal dating? What functions does steady dating fulfill?
7. How is cohabiting both an alternative to marriage and an alternative to traditional mate selection and dating? How do cohabiting couples differ from married couples and non-cohabiting engaged couples?
8. What functional values does nonmarital cohabitation have for college students and for the elderly? Does nonmarital cohabitation affect traditional gender roles?

9. Describe the different types of cohabiting relationships and tell how each is either an alternative to courtship or an alternative to marriage.
10. Why do you think couples marry today? What is the relationship between romantic love and marital love? are they compatible with each other?
11. Explain the theory of complementary needs. What does research show? What is the function of love in industrialized and non-industrialized societies? How does love affect the social structure in each type of society?
12. What factors are most likely to lead to marital conflict? Differentiate between content, value, and ego conflicts in marriage.
13. What is the marriage failure rate during the first two years? What do you think explains the high rate of failures during the first two years?
14. Why does sex lose its appeal for many newlyweds? What can be done about it?

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