Commune - Answers Group of adults and perhaps children who live together, sharing aspects of their
lives. Some communes are group marriages, in which members share sex; others are communal families,
with several monogamous couples, who share everything except sexual relations and their children
Domestic Partnership - Answers Arrangement in which an unmarried couple registers their partnership
with a civil authority and then enjoys some rights, benefits, and entitlements, traditionally reserved for
marrieds.
Civil Unions - Answers Legislation that allows any two single adults-including same-sex partners or blood
relatives, such as siblings or a parent and adult child-to have access to virtually all marriage rights and
benefits on the state level, but none on the federal level. Designed to give same-sex couples many of the
legal benefits of marriage while denying them the right to legally marry.
Intermittent Cohabitation - Answers Relationships in which parenting couples in together, then out, then
back in.
Selection Effects - Answers When individuals "select" themselves into a category being investigated
Consensual Marriages - Answers Heterosexual, conjugal unions that have not gone through a legal
marriage ceremony
Cohabitation - Answers Living together in an intimate, sexual relationship without traditional, legal
marriage. Sometimes referred to as living together or marriage without marriage, cohabitation can be a
courtship process or an alternative to legal marriage, depending on how partners view it.
Boomerangers - Answers Adults who leave home and then return to live with their parents
Living apart together (LAT) - Answers Emerging lifestyle choice in which a couple is committed to a long-
term relationship but each partner maintains a separate dwelling.
Emerging adulthood - Answers Fairly new life cycle stage typically defined as young adults ages 18 to 29
who spend more time in higher education or exploring options regarding work, career, and family
making than in the past.
sex ratio - Answers The number of men per 100 women in society. If the sex ratio is above 100, there are
more men than women; if it is below 100, there are more women than men.
Individualistic - Answers Society in which the main concern is with one's own interests (which may or
may not include those of one's immediate family).
Collectivist - Answers A society in which people identify with and conform to the expectations of their
relatives or clan, who look after their interests in return for their loyalty. The group has priority over the
individual. Also known as communal society
, Communal - Answers A society in which people identify with and conform to the expectations of their
relatives or clan, who look after their interests in return for their loyalty. The group has priority over the
individual. Also known as collectivist
individualism - Answers The cultural milieu that emerged in Europe with industrialization and that values
personal self-actualization and happiness along with individual freedom
Swinging - Answers A marriage agreement in which couples exchange partners to engage in purely
recreational sex.
Polyamory - Answers A marriage system in which one or both spouses retain the option to sexually love
others in addition to their spouses.
Expectations of sexual exclusivity - Answers The cultural ideal according to which spouses promise to
have sexual relations with only each other.
Polygamy - Answers A marriage system in which a person takes more than one spouse
Expectations of permanence - Answers One component of the marriage premise, according to which
individuals enter marriage expecting that mutual affection and commitment will be lasting
Marriage Premise - Answers By getting married, partners accept the responsibility to keep each other
primary in their lives and to work hard to ensure that their relationship continues
Marriage Gap - Answers Disparity in marriage rates between the poor and those who are not poor
Heteronormativity - Answers The idea that gender is binary-a person is either male or female-and that
heterosexuality is the only normal, acceptable, or "real" option for all individuals
Individualized marriage - Answers concept associated with the argument that contemporary marriage in
the United States and other fully industrialized Western societies is no longer institutionalized. Four
interrelated characteristics distinguish this: 1. it is optional, 2.spouses roles are flexible (negotiable and
renegotiable),3. its expected rewards involve love, communication, and emotional intimacy, and 4. it
exists in conjunction with a vast diversity of family forms
individualistic society - Answers society in which the main concern is with one's own interests (may or
may not included those of one's immediate family)
Marital sanctification - Answers A religious belief system that encourages spouses to see their marriages
as ordained by God and hence having divine significance
role-making - Answers Improvising a course of action as a way of enacting a role. We may use our acts to
alter the traditional expectations and obligations associated with a role. This concept emphasizes the
variability in the ways different individuals enact a particular role