The report contains a review of the literature related to Byrne's (1971) attraction paradigm, Rokeach's (1973) theory of human values, and the relationship of value consensus to marital adjustment. A void in the literature was found in two areas: (1) the effect of terminal and instrumental value system similarity on attributed marital adjustment, and (2) the effects of various degrees of value system similarity on attributed marital adjustment. The present study was designed to investigate those areas. A simulated design was utilized wherein the effects of three independent variables on attributed marital adjustment were investigated. The three independent variables were sex of subjects with two levels, value type with two levels (terminal and instrumental), and degree of similarity of the value profiles of a "bogus couple" with three levels (22% similar, 50% similar, and 77% similar). A total of 447 undergraduate students served as subjects. A packet, containing the value profiles of two couples, questions about the marital adjustment of each couple and a posttest questionnaire, was administered to each subject. The major statistical analysis consisted of fourteen 2 X 3 X 2 analyses of variance. The results indicated that in all cases degree of similarity was a highly significant main effect. Post hoc analyses specified that, generally, a linear relationship was present between degree of similarity and attributed marital adjustment. A significant main effect for value type was not found. Results from the post-test questionnaire are also presented. An interesting finding was that both males and females rated value similarity as important in marital happiness, although females rated it as more important than did males. The results are discussed in terms of an extension of Byrne's (1971) attraction paradigm, limitations of the study in terms of generalizability, and the lack of a significant main effect for value type. Conclusions and directions for future research are also included.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uottawa.ca/oai:ruor.uottawa.ca:10393/10523 |
| Date | January 1977 |
| Creators | Kindelan, Kevin M. |
| Publisher | University of Ottawa (Canada) |
| Source Sets | Université d’Ottawa |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 255 p. |
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