College Students’ Attitudes Toward Common Dating Norms Based on Moral

Ideology

By: Annalisa BlackhamModified by Dr. Carol Albrecht

Purpose of Research

• To determine if gender norms about dating and marriage rituals are related to religious and/or moral ideology.

• Please note. The slides have been modified, and the data is fabricated. The results are not valid. It is to be used only as an example.

Literature Review

•Korman (1983) found that dating and marriage norms are shifting for college students as they become less committed to traditional religious ideologies.

•Rose and Frieze (1989) found that women who attend church less are less likely to adhere to traditional dating and marriage norms.

Data Collection Techniques

• Nonrandom, convenience sample of college students

• Self administered surveys

• IRB approved

Indicators of Concepts• Rank your religious/moral

ideology. Possible Responses

are:• 1—very conservative• 2—conservative • 3—somewhat

conservative• 4—moderate• 5—somewhat liberal• 6—liberal• 7—very liberal

*Note, in analysis, responses 1 through 3 were labeled as conservative and responses 4 through 7 were labeled non-conservative.

• How often it is acceptable for the woman to ask the man on a date. Possible Responses are:• 1—never• 2—almost never• 3—rarely• 4—sometimes• 5—often• 6—almost always• 7—always

Descriptive Table of Sample

Descriptive Table of Sample

Never 3.12

Rarely 1.56

Sometimes 21.88

Often 29.69

Almost Always 37.50

Always 6.25

Descriptive Table

Descriptive Table

Never 1.55

Rarely 15.63

Sometimes 15.63

Often 21.88

Always 45.31

Research Hypothesis [H1]

• An individual’s attitudes of how often men should ask the women on the dates is contingent on their religious/moral ideology.

Chi-Square Table for H1

Table 3: How Often is it Acceptable for Women to Ask Men for a Date by Religious/Moral Ideology

Frequency

Religious Ideology

Never

Rarely Sometimes OftenAlmost Always

Always TOTAL

Conservative 3.85 (1) 0.00 (0) 38.46 (10) 42.31 (11) 15.38 (4) 0.00 (0) 100.00 (26)

Non-Conservative 2.63 (1) 2.63 (1) 10.53 (4) 21.05 (8) 52.63 (20) 10.53 (4) 100.00 (38)

TOTAL 3.12 (2) 1.56 (1) 21.88 (14) 29.69 (19) 37.50 (24) 6.25 (4) 100.00 (64)

Chi-Square: 17.06****0.001<p<0.01 [p = 0.0044]

Note: Number in parentheses are the frequency or total for each cell

Conclusions for H1

• Non-conservative respondents are more than 3 times more likely to believe it is almost always acceptable for a woman to ask a man for a date. 10.53% of the non-conservatives compared to none of the conservatives indicated it is always acceptable.

• Based on my chi-square [17.06] and a probability of 0.0044 [level of significance], I conclude there is a significant relationship between attitudes toward dating norms and religious/moral ideology.

Research Hypothesis [H2]

• An individual’s attitudes of how often men should ask the woman for marriage is contingent on their religious/moral ideology.

Chi-Square Table for H2

Table 5: How Often is it Acceptable for Women to Ask Men to Marry Them.

How often men should ask the woman to marry

Religious Ideology Never Sometimes Often Almost Always Always TOTAL

Conservative 0.00 (0) 26.92 (7) 26.92 (7) 23.08 (6) 23.08 (6) 100.00 (26)

Non-Conservative 2.63 (1) 7.89 (3) 7.89 (3) 21.05 (8) 60.53 (23) 100.00 (38)

TOTAL 1.55 (1) 15.63 (10) 15.63 (10) 21.88 (14) 45.31 (29) 100.00 (64)

Chi-Square: 12.650.010<p<0.025 [p = 0.0131]

Note: Numbers in the parentheses are the frequency or total for each cell

Conclusions for H2

• Non-conservatives were almost three times as likely to indicate it is always acceptable for a woman to ask a man to marry.

• Based on my chi-square [12.65] and a probability of 0.0131, the relationship is significant.