Name: Krupa Uchil

Subject: Psychology

Topic: Attitudes

Title: To study attitudinal differences

regarding Marriage.
 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that this research project entitled “To study attitudinal differences regarding

Marriage.” is the work done by Krupa Sameer Uchil, during the period 2022-2023,

Signature

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 INDEX

SR.NO CHAPTER PAGE NO.

1 INTRODUCTION 4

2 REVIEW OF LITERATURE 11

3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 14

4 DATA INTERPRETATION 16

5 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 19

6 CONCLUSION 23

7 APPENDIX 24

8 REFERENCES 27

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 AIM

To study attitudinal differences regarding Marriage.

3
 INTRODUCTION

Attitudes are lasting evaluations of and beliefs about aspects of the social and physical world
such as objects, people, or issues. We form attitudes through experience or when, for
example, we are rewarded by our parents, teachers, and friends for expressing the correct
views. Attitudes refer to the set of subject-object relationships that the individual builds up in
repeated encounters with objects, person groups, social values, and institutions through
interaction episodes focussed on such objects. In short, attitudes define the positive and
negative relatedness of the individual to everything with motivational relevance to him.
According to Thurstone (1946), Attitude is the intensity of positive or negative effects for or
against a psychological object.
According to Fishbein and Ajzen (1975), an attitude is a “learned predisposition to respond in
a consistently favorable or unfavourable manner concerning a given object.”
Attitudes generally involve an emotional or affective component (for instance liking or
disliking), a cognitive component (beliefs), and a behavioural component (tendencies to act
toward these items in various ways). An attitude toward any given object idea or person is an
enduring orientation with cognitive, affective, and behavioural components. The cognitive
component consists of all the cognition the person has about the particular object – the facts,
knowledge, and beliefs concerning the object. The affective component consists of all the
possible effects or emotions toward the object. The behavioural component is the person’s
readiness to respond or tendency to act regarding the object.
The cognitive component – one feature of many attitudes is cognitive complexity. We have a
great many thoughts and beliefs about the object. They may not be factually correct, but the
cognitions are numerous.
The affective component – in the case of attitudes, the affective component refers to the
emotions that we associate with various people and situations. Attitudes once established are
much more resistant to change than beliefs in facts. People do not change their attitudes
without putting up a fight and being exposed to a considerable amount of pressure. The
affective component is more durable and central than the cognitive component. The affective
component also tends to have more influence over attitudes and behaviour than the cognitive
component.
The behavioural component – the third component of an attitude concerns behavioural
tendencies. Much research in social psychology suggests that actual behaviour is quite
inconsistent with attitudes. This component includes the intention to respond in particular
ways to the target of a given attitude. If you have a positive attitude towards a politician, the
behavioural component might include your intentions to vote for that particular person.
All three components often interact collectively to determine our experiences. At other times
only one or two of these components may be operating. It seems logical to assume that the
cognitive component of an attitude comes first, succeeded by emotions and behaviours.

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CHARACTERISTICS
Direction: a favorable attitude implies that behavior is directed towards bringing the
individual into a closer and prolonged experience with the object. In other words, it means
that a positive attitude involves approach tendencies whereas a negative attitude involves
avoidance tendencies.
Attitudes are learned - Attitudes are acquired or learned as a result of our direct or indirect
experience with objects. Direct experience seems to be the most important factor in the
formation of attitudes. When we eat vanilla ice cream, we find that the taste is delightful and
develop a positive attitude toward it. Indirect or vicarious experiences may also lead to the
formation of positive as well as negative attitudes. Someone else’s description of strawberry
ice cream or a devastating account of a college education may develop negative attitudes
toward it.
Stability - attitudes are relatively stable; that is, they are neither fluid nor changing as to be
unpredictable from moment to moment, nor are they so fixed or rigid as to be unchangeable.
The very fact that they are the result of experiences tells us that as long as an organism can
accumulate further experience, there is a possibility that its attitudes will undergo some
change.
Attitude clustering - another important characteristic of an attitude is that only a few attitudes
can be thought of as existing by themselves, in complete isolation. Most of them are clustered
with other attitudes. In other words, the attitudes will tend to be organized and structured in a
way that is highly interconnected to other related attitudes.
Salience - another characteristic related to the centrality of attitudes is known as salience, or
the importance assigned by an individual to certain attitudes about other attitudes. For some
individuals, their attitude towards religion may be so strong that they dominate their
perceptions and actions when there is scope for its expression.

THE FUNCTIONS OF ATTITUDES

Attitudes facilitate adaptation to the environment. Researchers continue their attempts to
identify the functions served by attitudes and to investigate their role in the formation and
consequences of attitudes. Among the functions recognized by most theorists are the value-
expressive function, the knowledge function, the ego-defensive function, the social-adjustive
function, and the utilitarian function.
Knowledge function- Individuals' attitudes give reference points or patterns for
comprehending and interpreting the world around them. Individuals have a keen desire to
know and recognize people and things with whom they interact, especially if they believe
they have the potential to affect their actions.

Ego defensive function - This function aids in the protection of an individual's ego or
personality from hurt, and embarrassment. A person wishes to retain his or her self-image.
However, he may experience feelings of regret or shame in some situations. In such cases, the
person adopts ego-defensive mindsets to reduce their feelings of shame or guilt. The ego-
defensive function refers to holding attitudes that protect our self-esteem or that justify

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actions that make us feel guilty. This function involves psychoanalytic principles where
people use defense mechanisms to protect themselves from psychological harm. Mechanisms
include denial, repression, projection, rationalization, etc.

Value-expressive function - Attitudes are a manifestation of a person's overall beliefs, way of

life, and viewpoint. If a customer group has a great mentality about being part of the fashion
industry, high fashion apparel and accessories may be viewed as emblems of that culture.
Whereas ego-defensive attitudes are formed to protect a person’s self-image, value-expressive
attitudes enable the expression of the person’s centrally held values. Central values tend to
establish our identity and gain us social approval thereby showing us who we are, and what
we stand for. Some attitudes are important to a person because they express values that are
integral to that person’s self-concept.

Attitude formation – Social psychologists have identified several ways in which attitudes are
learned. Many of these reflect basic learning principles that psychologists have studied for at
least a century. We acquire many of our attitudes through observational learning. This type of
learning takes place when we watch and imitate other people. Early in life, we learn many
attitudes by watching our parents and other adults. Our social attitudes and views about how
to treat other people and even many of our interests are likely to coincide with those of our
parents. This is not to say that parents and children will always see eye to eye. But if you have
a certain liking for sports or believe that everyone deserves respect, it is likely you recall a
close family member or friend expressing a similar attitude. Others also learn attitudes from
us.
Other types of learning can also affect the development of attitudes. Operant conditioning
also explains attitude development. In this type of learning, studied mostly by BF Skinner, the
behaviour comes to be controlled by its consequences. If engaging in a behaviour and the
outcome is positive we are more likely to engage in that behaviour again. On the other hand,
if the outcome is negative, we are less likely to behave that way again. In social interaction,
intangible rewards or punishments are the norms. when it comes to attitudes, the rewards and
punishments that others dole out can be quite influential. One of the reasons that our attitudes
are so strongly entrenched is that we all tend to interact with people who have similar views.
The result of surrounding ourselves with like-minded people is that our attitudes often are
reinforced more than they are punished.
Classical conditioning is a form of unconscious learning that was popularized by Ivan Pavlov,
a Russian physiologist. Today, classical conditioning is often used as a therapeutic technique
to change or modify negative behaviors, such as substance use. It was popularized by
physiologist Ivan Pavlov after he accidentally stumbled upon it during an unrelated
experiment using dogs. The theory maintains that people can be directed to unconsciously
respond to a certain stimulus different from what would trigger the response naturally. The
idea of classical conditioning has been used in various real-world applications, especially
mental health. Others include the education system, advertising, pet training, placebos, and
taste aversions.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOUR

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Not surprisingly, attitudes influence behaviour. The strength of the link between particular
attitudes and behaviour varies, of course, but generally, people strive for consistency between
their attitudes and their behaviour. Furthermore, people have consistent attitudes.
Inconsistencies between attitude and behaviour are also surprisingly common. And this
occurs because attitudes represent generalized tendencies whereas behaviour is affected by
the demands and limitations of the immediate situation. Two researchers, Icek Ajzen and
Martin Fishbein reviewed many decades of research on the link between attitudes and
behaviour. They explained that early research in social psychology seemed to show that
people’s attitudes did predict what they would do in specific situations, but that researchers
soon began to recognize that what people reported about their attitudes was often very
different from how they behaved. People hold complex relationships between attitudes and
behavior that are further complicated by the social factors influencing both. Behaviors
usually, but not always, reflect established beliefs and attitudes. Studies have demonstrated
that, in some cases, pointing out inconsistencies between attitudes and behavior can redirect
the behavior. In the case of the school supporter, showing that their actions (i.e., not voting,
not attending parent-teacher organization meetings) are harming rather than helping efforts to
improve education in their town may influence them to reevaluate their behavior so that it
reflects their attitudes.
CHANGING ATTITUDES TO CHANGE BEHAVIOUR
Attitude and behavior are woven into the fabric of daily life. Research has shown that
individuals register an immediate and automatic reaction of "good" or "bad" towards
everything they encounter in less than a second, even before they are aware of having formed
an attitude. Advertising, political campaigns, and other persuasive media messages are all
built on the premise that behavior follows attitude, and attitude can be influenced with the
right message delivered in the right way.
CHANGING BEHAVIOURS TO CHANGE ATTITUDES
In 1955, clinical psychologist and educator George Kelly introduced his psychology of
personal constructs. Kelly's constructs were based on the idea that each individual looks at the
world through his or her own unique set of preconceived notions about it (i.e., constructs).
These constructs change and adapt as the individual is exposed to new and different
situations. At the heart of Kelly's theory is the idea that individuals can seek new experiences
and practice and adapt new behaviors in order to change their attitudes (or constructs)
towards the world. He recommended that therapists encourage their patients to try out new
behaviors and coping strategies; he and others that followed frequently found that patients
would adapt these useful new behavior patterns and subsequently change their attitudes.

THEORIES OF ATTITUDES
The main theoretical approaches to attitudes are as follows. The learning approach sees
attitudes as habits, like anything else that is learned; principles that apply to other forms of
learning also determine the formation of attitudes. Motivational theories, of which the
relevant version is incentive theory, hold that a person adopts the attitude that maximizes his
or her gains. Finally, the cognitive consistency approach asserts that people seek harmony in
their attitudes and between attitudes and behaviour.

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Learning: the learning approach is most closely associated with Carl Hovland and others at
yale university. The basic assumption behind this theory is that attitudes are learned much the
same way as other habits. People acquire information and facts; they also learn the feelings
and values associated with these facts. Learning can also occur through reinforcement. If you
take a class in psychology and get an A in it and enjoy it, the act of taking psychology is
reinforced and you will be likely to take more in the future. Finally, attitudes can be learned
through imitation. People imitate others, particularly if those others are strong, important
people. One of the most important sources of basic political and social attitudes in early life is
the family. Children like to imitate their parents’ attitudes.
Cognitive consistency: the cognitive approach grows out of the cognitive tradition, it depicts
people as striving for coherence and meaning in their cognitive structures. This approach
includes several somewhat similar theories. They all assume that people seek consistency
among their cognitions. There are two main variants of the cognitive consistency idea.
The first is the balance theory which involves consistent pressures among the effects of a
simple cognitive system. In the psychology of motivation, balance theory is a theory
of attitude change, proposed by Fritz Heider. It conceptualizes the cognitive
consistency motive as a drive toward psychological balance. The consistency motive is the
urge to maintain one's values and beliefs over time. Heider proposed that "sentiment" or
liking relationships are balanced if the affect valence in a system multiplies out to a positive
result.
A second version of the consistency approach is that people also try to make their cognitions
consistent with their effects. That Is, our beliefs, our knowledge our convictions about the
facts of the matter are determined in part by our affective preferences.
The Dissonance theory states that attitudes will change to maintain consistency with overt
behaviour. Its main expression is cognitive dissonance theory, first proposed by Leon
Festinger (1957). Originally proposed, dissonance theory focussed on two principal sources
of attitude-behavior inconsistency: the effects of making decisions, and the effects of
engaging in counter-attitudinal behaviour. Examples of such inconsistencies or dissonance
could include someone who litters despite caring about the environment, someone who tells a
lie despite valuing honesty, or someone who makes an extravagant purchase, but believes in
frugality. Experiencing cognitive dissonance can lead people to try to reduce their feelings of
discomfort —sometimes in surprising or unexpected ways. According to psychologists, our
actions are likely to produce a higher amount of dissonance if they involve the way that we
see ourselves and we subsequently have trouble justifying why our actions didn’t match our
beliefs. Psychologists usually assume that people figure out their attitudes by reviewing the
various cognitions and effects in their consciousness.

MARRIAGE
 “Marriage is the committed union between two souls who wish to live in love, joy, and
happiness to the end of their lives, learning how to love each other unconditionally”.
Marriage is the process by which two people make their relationship public, official, and
permanent. It is the joining of two people in a bond that putatively lasts until death, but in
practice is often cut short by separation or divorce.

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The universality of marriage within different societies and cultures is attributed to the many
basic social and personal functions for which it provides structure, such as sexual gratification
and regulation, division of labour between the sexes, economic production and consumption,
and satisfaction of personal needs for affection, status, and companionship. Perhaps its
strongest function concerns procreation, the care of children and
their education and socialization, and regulation of lines of descent. Through the ages,
marriages have taken a great number of forms.
The main legal function of marriage is to ensure the rights of the partners with respect to each
other and to ensure the rights and define the relationships of children within a community.
Marriage has historically conferred a legitimate status on the offspring, which entitled him or
her to the various privileges set down by the traditions of that community, including the right
of inheritance. In most societies marriage also established the permissible social relations
allowed to the offspring, including the acceptable selection of future spouses.
Changes in marriage.
The present day situation is a stark contrast of the 1950s and some years after. The need to
obtain higher education qualifications means that women can stay unmarried until they are in
their thirties. Additionally the present society does not condemn remaining single. So while
remaining single in the American society in the past was undesirable, the situation seems to
be the order of the day in the present time (Bleu). Since women have been getting more
independence in the recent years, they no longer consider marriage as a very important
institution. This has probably contributed to the high rates of divorce in the United States. It is
also interesting that while being pregnant and single was abhorred in the United States
particularly among whites during the 1950s (Bleu), the position today has changed and there
are very many cases of single mothers.
1. A live-in relationship is when two people live together before tying the knot. It is an
unmarried couple's residential habitation. A live-in relationship is defined as a
partnership in which two individuals opt to stay together as a married couple but
without getting married. These individuals share a room for an extended period.  They
also have physical contact with one another.
2. The wider category of mutually consensual non-monogamous partnerships includes
open relationships. They are partnerships wherein one or both parties can engage in
intimacy with other individuals, as well as emotional bonds. Swinging, in which
couples have intercourse with other persons at parties and the relations are entirely
sexual, differs from open partnerships. They also differ from polyamory, which allows
people to be in several committed relationships at the same time. Open relationships
are sometimes regarded as a kind of compromise between swinging and polygamy.
3. People are also choosing to pursue their careers before committing to the institution of
marriage. Along with this, a lot of couples also have decided that they do not want to
have children. This has created a lot of backlash from society.

Types of marriages
Monogamy
Monogamy is a form of marriage in which one man marries the woman. It is most common
form of the marriage found among in the societies around the world. According to

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Westermarck monogamy is as old as humanity. Monogamy is universally practiced providing
marital opportunity and satisfaction to all the individuals. It promotes love and affection
between husband and wife. It contributes to family peace, solidarity and happiness.
Monogamous marriage is stable and long lasting.
Polygyny
Polygyny is a form of marriage in which one man married more than one woman at a given
time. Polygyny is more popular than polyandry but not as universal as monogamy. It was a
common practice in ancient civilizations. At present it may be present in primitive tribes like
Crow Indians, Baigas and Gonds of India. Polygyny is of two types:
Sororal polygyny
It is a type of marriage in which the wives are invariably the sisters. It is often called sororate.
The Latin word Soror stands for sister. When several sisters are simultaneously or potentially
the spouses of the same man the practice is called sororate. It is usually observed in those
tribes that pay a high bride price.
Non-sororal polygyny
It is a type of marriage in which the wives are not related as the sisters.

Polyandry
Polyandry is the marriage of one woman with several men. It is practiced among the
Marquesan Islanders of Polynesia, The Bahama of Africa, and the tribes of Samoa. In India
among tribes of Tiyan, Toda, Kota, Khasa, and Ladakhi Bota it is still prevalent. Polyandry is
of two.

Fraternal polyandry
When several brothers share the same wife, the practice can be called fraternal polyandry.
This practice of being mate, actual or potential to one's husband's brothers is called levirate. It
is prevalent among the Todas in India.
Non-fraternal polyandry
In this type, the husbands need not have any close relationship prior to the marriage.
The wife goes to spend some time with each husband. So long as a woman lives with
one of her husbands, the others have no claim over her. Polyandry has its own
implications. It gives rise to the problem of determining biological paternity of the
child. Among the Todas one of the husbands goes through what is called a bow and
arrow ceremony with the woman and thereby becomes the legal father of her child. 

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 REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Khojasteh, R. Mohammed, A.(2016) conducted a study on Married Students’ Attitude to

marriage: A Qualitative Study. The study aims to explain the attitudes of married students
towards marriage. This study was a qualitative study using content analysis in which data
were collected using purposive sampling, and in-depth semi-structured individual interviews
with 18 married students of Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Iran. Data was saturated
after conducting 18 interviews. Data analysis was carried out through conventional content
analysis; after the transcription of recorded interviews on paper and immersion in the data, the
initial codes were extracted. To determine the main categories, initial codes were reviewed
and classified in several steps. in total, 589 concepts in initial coding, 68 categories in the
open coding, and 12 classes in the axial coding were extracted. The main 12 classes and
themes consist of socio-cultural factors, early experiences and observing incomplete patterns,
awareness of and understanding each other, material and spiritual support, realizing the
sanctity of marriage, pressures for marriage, interference of parents and intergenerational
transmission, economic factors, proper coping strategies to attitude, perceived personal
development and willingness to marriage.  The 12 main classes and themes were recognized
as the effective factors in married students' attitudes toward marriage. In this study, changing
attitudes towards marriage is a fundamental factor in encouraging young people to marry,
which can be implemented by following a systematic approach (general scheme). Promoting
successful models of marriage in society, moral and material support by parents, teaching
coping strategies commensurate with the challenges of marriage, increasing marriage
preparation skills, and government support in forming counseling units run by committed and
professional family psychologists and counselors, are key items in this scheme.

Nam-Jo, K. and SangJin, K.(2018) conducted a study on Factors Influencing Attitudes

towards Marriage of Nursing College Students. The aim of this experiment was to investigate
the attitude towards marriage, gender role and having children among college students, and to
identify the factors affecting the marriage. The participants were 383 unmarried nursing
college students who live in D city. Data were collected from self-report questionnaires and
analyzed using the t-test, one-way ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficients, and stepwise
multiple regression using the SPSS 22.0 program. Gender was a significant variable
influencing attitude toward marriage. Moreover, the attitude toward marriage was negatively
correlated with gender role, and positively correlated with having children. Attitude toward
gender role was negatively correlated with having children. Regression analysis of the factors
affecting attitude toward marriage showed that gender (male), attitude toward gender role,
and attitude toward having children were significant influencing factors. Moreover, this
model explained 51.9% of variance in attitude toward marriage. Overall, it is necessary to
change individual values to solve the problem of low birthrate.

Khojasteh Mehr, R., Mombeini, J. and Aslani, K. (2013) conducted an experiment on A

Comparison Of Attitude Toward Marriage, Attitude Toward Divorce And Peer Attachment
Of Male High School Students In Divorced and Intact Families. The purpose of the present

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study is to compare attitude toward marriage, attitude toward divorce and peer attachment of
male high school students in divorced and intact families in Ahwaz. The population of this
study consisted of male students of divorced and intact families in Ahwaz. The sample
consisted of 240 male high school students, who were selected by multi-phase sampling. The
instruments used in this study were the Marital Attitude Scale (MAS), Attitudes toward
Divorce scale (ADS), and the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA). The results of
data analysis showed that the boys, in intact families had a more positive attitude toward
marriage and more negative attitudes toward divorce than those in divorced families. The
results also revealed a significant difference between peer attachment of the divorced and
non-divorced families.

Khodarahmi, S., Shirmohammadi, M., Shirazi, M., Gandomani, J., and Tavakol, Z. did a
study on The effect of computer-based education on attitudes towards marriage in single
people with type 1 diabetes. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of
computer-based education on attitude towards marriage in single girls and boys with type 1
diabetes. Method: This quasi-experimental study was performed on 100 single individuals
who had been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes for at least one year and were attending the
Iranian Diabetes Association centers. Samples were divided into intervention and control
groups. The intervention in this study included an educational CD to promote the attitude of
people with type 1 diabetes towards marriage. The data collection tool was a researcher-made
questionnaire that contained questions about the personal characteristics of the participants
and their attitude toward marriage that was completed by both groups once before the
intervention and once eight weeks after the intervention. The maximum score of attitude was
125 and the minimum score was 25. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive and
inferential statistics, including Chi-Square, T-test, Paired T-test, Fisher, and covariance tests.
The mean score of the attitude in the intervention group after the training was higher than
before the training. But in the control, the mean score of the attitude after the study was lower
than before. Moreover, before the study the score of attitudes in the control group was higher
than the intervention group, but after the study, the score of attitude in the intervention group
was higher than the control group. Computer-based education significantly improved the
attitude of people with type 1 diabetes towards marriage. The use of this educational method
is recommended to improve the attitude of diabetic patients towards marriage.

Heidi, R., Dana, A., and Weiser, B (2008) conducted an experiment on Attitudes towards
Marriage : Embeddedness and outcomes in personal relationships. This study examines
marriage attitudes, attitude embeddedness, personal relationship outcomes, and parental
marital status and conflict using 400 undergraduate students. In a conceptual replication
of Prislin and Ouellette (1996), more embedded marriage attitudes are more predictive of
evaluations of general marriage issues and relationship scenarios than less embedded
attitudes. Consistent with findings that marriage attitudes influence relationship quality
(Amato & Rogers, 1999), more embedded attitudes predict relationship conflict,
commitment, desirability of alternatives, and expectations of relationship success.
Recollections of high parental conflict are associated with greater relationship conflict, and
individuals with divorced parents report more negative marriage attitudes. Future research on

12
relationship attitudes, their strength, and consequences of parental divorce and conflict for
offspring marriage attitudes is discussed.

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 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

AIM -. To study attitudinal differences regarding Marriage.

SAMPLE - Two generations (parents and children)
OPERATIONAL DEFINITION
 Independent variable: The questionnaire consisting of 15 questions regarding one’s
view about the various aspects of marriage serves as the independent variable.
 Dependent variable: The responses collected from the two generations comprising of
parents and children serves as the dependent variable.
 Control variable: the amount of noise created and the sample size of the experiment
was the control variable.

PROCEDURE AND INSTRUCTIONS:

The aim of the experiment was to study the attitudinal differences regarding marriage across
30. The experimenter kept all the necessary items ready. The subjects were handed a
questionnaire. Rapport was established with the subject and the following instructions were
given “the following questionnaire consists of 15 items based on marriage. You have to
answer all the statements. There are five possible modes of responses which are (strongly
agree- SA, agree -A, neutral - N, disagree -D, and strongly disagree- SD). Read each
statement and carefully mark your responses in the checkbox. Your responses shall be
confidential. There is no time limit to answering the questionnaire. If you have understood the
questionnaire you may begin to answer the questionnaire given to you”. The experimenter
then ensures that the subject has followed the instructions. The experimenter thanks the
subject and collects the response sheet. The scores were tabulated using the scoring key. The
experimenter scores each item and calculates the total score.
Test description: this list is designed to measure the attitudinal differences regarding
marriage between 2 generations. The questionnaire consists of 15 items based on marriage. 9
items were positive and 6 items were negative. For each statement there are five possible
modes of responses which are (strongly agree- SA, agree -A, neutral -N, disagree -D, strongly
disagree- SD). Each item consists of a five-point rating scale (Likert scale).

Scoring key:
Positive scale
STRONGLY AGREE UNDECIDED DISAGREE STRONGLY
AGREE DISAGREE

5 4 3 2 1

Negative scale
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 STRONGLY AGREE UNDECIDED DISAGREE STRONGLY
AGREE DISAGREE

1 2 3 4 5

Range
60-75 Extremely Positive Attitude
45-60 Positive Attitude
30-45 Moderate Attitude
15-30 Negative Attitude
0-15 Extremely negative attitude

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 DATA ANALYSIS

Analysis:
(i) Calculate mean attitudinal scores for each group and make inter-group comparisons.
(ii) Short, structured interview schedule constructed and administered to 8-10 students in
each group. The responses elicited can be used to draw inferences to explain the inter-group
differences if any.

parents (1st children (2nd

participants gen) gen)
1 56 51
2 54 52
3 51 45
4 48 48
5 49 52
6 47 48
7 47 42
8 54 61
9 53 49
10 43 56
11 58 45
12 51 57
13 48 52
14 52 59
15 55 52
Total 766 769

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The mean of the 1st generation, the parents is:

= 766/ 15
= 51.06

The mean of the 2nd generation, the children is:

= 769/ 15
= 51.26

Therefore, the mean of the parents is 51.06 and the mean of the children is 51.26. The scores
were found and their attitudes were determined by referencing the scoring key. The range of
the parents is ‘positive attitude’ and the range of the children is ‘positive attitude’ too.

Range:
60-75 Extremely Positive Attitude
45-60 Positive Attitude
30-45 Moderate Attitude
15-30 Negative Attitude
0-15 Extremely Negative Attitude

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18
 RESULT AND DISCUSSION

the aim of this project was to study attitudinal differences in regarding marriage based on two
generations (parents and children). The total number of samples taken for this project was 30.
15 samples from each generation were taken making the sample size 30. I chose this
particular topic because marriage as an institution has undergone some major changes in the
past decades and so I could learn how views of people vary from one generation to another.
Another reason for choosing this topic was to see how well individuals adapt to the changes
that take place in major and minor aspects of their life.
The 15 questions asked in the questionnaire can be divided based on the nature of positive
questions and negative questions. A scoring key was assigned to both the positive questions
as well as the negative questions. The options for the positive questions were strongly agreed,
agree, neutral, disagree, and strongly disagree, and these were allotted a score of 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
These questions were number 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, and 15. For the negative questions, the
options were also strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree, and strongly disagree, however, the
scores allotted were 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 respectively. The negative questions were numbered 3, 5,
7, 9, 11, and 13.
There was a range created before the calculation of the scores to determine and classify the
attitudes obtained. The range table stated that if the mean scores fell under 60 to 75 then it
was said to be an ‘extremely positive attitude’, if it fell under 45 to 60 then it would be a
‘positive attitude’, if it fell under 30 to 45 then it would be a ‘moderate attitude’, if it fell
under 15 to 30 then it would be a ‘negative attitude’ and if it fell under 0 to 15 then it would
be an ‘extremely negative attitude’.
From the questionnaire, the statistical data derived stated that the mean of the first generation,
the parents, is 51.06, and according to the range created it is classified as ‘positive attitude’.
The mean of the second generation, the children, is 51.26 and according to the range created
is classified as ‘positive attitude’.
The first question was “Marriage as an institution is becoming outdated”. It was a positive
question. To this, the parents had a lower score of 45 while the children had a score of 55.
From this score, it can be seen that the children of today’s generation see marriage as an
outdated concept and are likely looking at other types of relationships like live-in
relationships while the older generation has some ideas and concepts of the institution of
marriage as a whole that has been embedded in their mindsets.
The second question was “Marriage is a public performance in the age of social media”. It
was a positive question to which the parents had a higher score of 56 as compared to the
children who had a lower score of 53. This was because people of the older generation are
seeing marriage being documented on social media which is something they aren’t used to
this concept. The individuals in today’s time spend a majority of their time on social media
and therefore do not see that marriage as a public performance.
The 3rd question was “The number of arranged marriages in India is not as high as they once
were”. It was a negative question. The 1st generation had a lower score of 27 whereas the
children had a higher score of 38. The 1st generation believes that love marriages are more
common today where love is given more priority as compared to the past decades. The

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children however seem to disagree where they believe that arranged marriages still have the
same hold on society as they once did.
The 4th question was “Dating apps are a good way of searching for a partner”. It was a
positive question to which the parents’ generation had a higher score of 53 whereas the
children’s generation had a lower score of 45. This was because children today are more
aware of the risks that take place on different apps and sites while the older generation is
trying their best to adapt to technology and its new ways.
The 5th question was “Couple’s therapy is not a good way to help a marriage”. It was a
negative question. For this question, the 1st generation had a lower score of 46 and the 2nd
generation had a score of 60. This was because the adults have experienced marriage and
know the difficulties that come with the same. Teenagers and young adults on the other hand
have an idealised notion of marriage which on many levels is not true.
The 6th question was “Individuals should get married only if they are financially stable”. It
was a positive question. The children’s generation had a higher score of 59 whereas the
parents’ generation had a lower score of 57. There is not much of a difference in the scores
here which goes to show that both generations feel that financial stability and independence is
very important to sustain a successful marriage and avoid conflicts.
The 7th question was “same-sex marriages should not be legalised in India”. It was negative
question. The 1st generation had a lower score of 58 while the 2nd generation had a higher
score of 61. The idea of same-sex marriages is of recent emergence and has led a lot of people
to change their though processes. In this way, individuals of both generations seem to have
pretty similar views when it comes to the fundamental rights of individuals from the
LGBTQ+ community.
The 8th question was “Marital rape is prevalent in society”. It was a positive question. For this
question, the children’s generation and the parents’ generation had the same score of 61. This
goes to show that people are becoming more aware of the social issues in society that have
been undermined and overlooked for many years now. With the growth of social media,
awareness about injustice in various aspects of our lives have been brought to light, educating
people of all generations.
The 9th question was “The purpose of marriage is not procreation”. it was a negative question.
The parents had a higher score of 35 while the children had a lower score of 29. This is
because in the earlier days, children were required to make sure the family line goes on for
generations to come. Today, individuals focus more on their careers and their own mental
health and see children as more of a choice instead of an obligation.
The 10th question was “Marriage without communication is doomed to fail”. It was a positive
question. For this question, both generations had the same score of 71. This is the highest
score that was achieved and it shows that communication is what keeps relationships healthy
and alive. Without communicating the problems or issues in the relationship, one tends to
suppress it which in the end hurts the union more than one imagined. Both generations are
aware of this fact and therefore have produced the same score.
The 11th question was “Marriage is no longer an obligation but a choice”. It was a negative
question where the parents had a higher score of 32 while the children had a score of 27. This
was because the parent generation has seen marriage being forced on individuals in their time
which has reduced considerably today. Children, today, however, feel that marriage is
expected of them and is still more often than not a compulsion according to society.

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The 12th question was “Inter-religious/inter-caste marriages are accepted by society”. It was a
positive question. The parents’ generation had a higher score of 55 while the children had a
score of 41. Inter-religious/ inter-caste marriages have not been accepted readily by society in
our country. But with the influence of social media and other news coverages, it has been
found that as compared to the time of the 1st generation, Inter-religious/ inter-caste marriages
are accepted to some extent nowadays. The 2nd generation however doesn’t think so because
of the numerous news stories of honour killings and ostracism from society. Technology has
made us more aware of the crimes and misdeeds that are taking place in the world around us
but is also informing us in the ways the world has changed today.
The 13th question was “The woman should not be older than the man in a marriage”. It was a
negative question. The parents had a lower score of 60 whereas the children had a score of 61.
This shows us that people in today’s world see marriage as a union between two individuals
regardless of their age differences. Some people also agree that women who are older have a
sense of maturity which is what they look for in a partner.
The 14th question was “marriage requires understanding between two people and not two
families”. It was a positive question. The children had a higher score of 56 and the 1st
generation had a score of 52. Children today are more focussed on individuality and their own
mental health. They agree that it is in their better interest to put themselves first. The 1st
generation on the other hand has familial values imbibed in them and sees family as a core
part of an individual’s personality and life.
The 15th question was “Sex plays an important role in keeping a marriage intact”. It was a
positive question. For this question, the parents had a higher score of 57 while the children
had a score of 55. There isn’t much difference in the scores here which goes to show that
almost all the respondents agree that sex does play a key role in keeping a marriage intact.
This is most likely because of the belief that physical relations only increase the emotional
bond between partners and let them communicate in a way that is both personal and
vulnerable.
The total score of the 1st generation was 766 while that of the 2nd generation was 769. Due to
the scoring key stated, the lowest score of 27 was derived by vast majority of both
generations choosing the ‘strongly agree’ option that carried a score of ‘1’ for a negative
question. the highest score of 70 was derived by vast majority of both generations choosing
the ‘strongly agree’ option that carried a score of ‘5’ for a positive question. The parents’
generation had the highest score on the question about marital rape. This is because of the
ongoing awareness about marital rape being prevalent in society. It was a positive question
and therefore the respondents have chosen the ‘strongly agree’ option which had a score of 5
attached to it. The lowest score of the 1st generation was achieved on the 3rd question which
was a negative question where a large number of respondents agreed that arranged marriages
are not as high as they once were. They chose the ‘strongly agree’ option which had a score
of ‘1’ attached to it. The childrens’ generation had the highest score on the 8th question about
marital rape showing us that people of all ages are reading about the social issues that are
taking place around us. A vast majority of the respondents chose the ‘strongly agree option
that had a score of ‘5’ attached to it. Their lowest score of 27 was found in the 11th question
about marriage not being an obligation but a choice. The majority of the respondents chose
the ‘strongly agree’ option which had a score of ‘1’ since it was a negative question.
The data analysed was graphically represented in graph 1. In the graph, the generations are
depicted on the X-Axis and the mean score of the generations has been depicted on the Y-

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Axis. The mean score of the 1st generation of parents is 51.06 and is represented in purple,
while the mean score of the 2nd generation of children is 51.26 which is represented in pink.

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 CONCLUSION

Based on the study conducted on the attitudinal differences with respect to marriage based on
two generations (parents and children). It can be noted that are noticeable changes in the
attitudes of people belonging to different generations, from the relevance of couples therapy
to the legalisation of gay marriages. These attitudinal differences can be clearly seen from the
data calculated.
Hence, the aim of studying attitudinal differences between two generations regarding
marriage has been proved.

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 APPENDIX

 Gender
Male
Female
Prefer not to say
Other

Age Group
15 – 25
30 – 50

1. Marriage as an institution is becoming outdated

Strongly agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly disagree

2. Marriage is a public performance in the age of social media

Strongly agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly disagree

3. The number of arranged marriages in india are not as high as they once were
Strongly agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly disagree

4. Dating apps are a good way of searching for a partner

Strongly agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly disagree

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5. Couple’s therapy is not a good way to help a marriage
Strongly agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly disagree

6. Individuals should get married only if they are financially stable

Strongly agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly disagree

7. Same-sex marriages should not be legalised in India

Strongly agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly disagree

8. Marital rape is prevalent in society

Strongly agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly disagree

9. The purpose of marriage is not procreation

Strongly agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly disagree

10. Marriage without communication is doomed to fail

Strongly agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly disagree

11. Marriage is no longer and obligation but a choice

Strongly agree
Agree
Neutral

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 Disagree
Strongly disagree

12. Inter-religious / inter-caste marriages are accepted by society

Strongly agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly disagree

13. The woman should not be older than the man in a marriage
Strongly agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly disagree

14. Marriage requires understanding between two people and not two families
Strongly agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly disagree

15. Sex plays an important role in keeping a marriage intact

Strongly agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly disagree

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 REFERENCES

Book references

 Holmes, J. D., & Singh, S. K. (2012). Handbook of Psychology: Social Psychology. Facts
on File.
 Kanekar, S. (1989). Attitude Formation and Change.
 KAGAN, J., & Havemann, E. (1972). Psychology: An Introduction. Harcourt Brace
Jovanovich.
 Morgan, C. T., King, R. A., Weisz, J. R., & Schopler, J. (2017). Introduction to
Psychology, 7th Edition. McGraw Hill Education.
 Mukherjee, N. (2012). Social Psychology. WISDOM PRESS.
 Paliwal, S. (2017). Social Psychology. RBSA Publishers.
 Rajamanickam, M. (2000). Modern General Psychology. Bhargava Book House.
 Feldman, R. S. (2018). Understanding Psychology. McGraw Hill.

Web references
 Attitude Formation taken from Bottaro, A. (2022). The Evolution Of classical
conditioning. verywellhealth. www.verywellhealth.com. Accessed on 26th
August, 2022
 Attitudes and Behaviour taken from McLeod, S. (2018). Attitudes and
Behavior. Simply Psychology.
https://www.simplypsychology.org/attitudes.html
Accessed on 26th August, 2022
 Theories of Attitudes taken from Hopper, E. (2020). Cognitive Dissonance
Theory: Definition and Examples. ThoughtCo.
https://www.thoughtco.com/cognitive-dissonance-theory-definition-4174632
accessed on 26th August,2022
 Balance Theory. (2022, July 14). In Wikipedia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balance_theory accessed on 28th August, 2022
 Marriage taken from Augustyn, A. (n.d.). Marriage. Brittaniaca.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/marriage accessed on 28th August, 2022

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