Mate Selection Factors in Computer Matched MarriagesAuthor(s): Ronald M. Sindberg, Allyn F. Roberts, Duane McClainReviewed work(s):Source: Journal of Marriage and Family, Vol. 34, No. 4 (Nov., 1972), pp. 611-614Published by: National Council on Family RelationsStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/350311 .Accessed: 15/04/2012 18:12

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Mate Selection Factors in Computer Matched Marriages*

RONALD M. SINDBERG AND ALLYN F. ROBERTS Midwestern Psychological Services and Research Foundation,

Madison, Wisconsin

DUANE McCLAIN Computer Matching Institute, Madison, Wisconsin

With the cooperation of a computer matching agency, mate selection factors were studied in a matched, subsequently married group and a comparison group of computer matched, but not married couples. No differences were found on a broad range of demographic variables or in expressed preferences for partner characteristics. A homogamy hypothesis was supported for a number of personality traits and complementarity on only one trait. In this population, conscious and overt motivation to marry appears to play an important role in many marriages, but in complex relationships with other factors.

One of the more interesting phenomena to occur in recent years in the area of human interpersonal relations is the advent of com- puter matching of couples, based upon data regarding their interests, attitudes, wants and various personal characteristics. As yet very little information has appeared in the behav- ioral science literature regarding this phenome- non, other than a few studies done in "com- puter dance" situations (Walster et al., 1966; Coombs and Kenkel, 1966; Coombs, 1966). The present study was developed to provide information about one aspect, namely 'the factors involved in mate selection within this type of situation.

A great many factors have been identified as important in mate selection, of which propin- quity may be the most important (Burgess and Wallin, 1953). Other important factors are complementary needs and marital role compati- bility (Winch, 1967), perceived homogamy (Trost, 1967), and a number of personality variables (Burgess and Wallin, 1953; Murstein, 1967).

In the present study, a number of factors were investigated in an ongoing computer matching program, which matches couples on a combination of their stated preferences, ho- mogamy on such factors as age, race, education, religion, and socioeconomic class, and a number of attitudes and personality traits. Interviews, a

detailed interest and attitude questionnaire, and the 16 P-F Test (Institute for Personality and Ability Testing, Champaign, Illinois) are rou- tinely used in collecting information for match- ing.

METHODS A Married Couples Group was made up of

the first 25 couples married as a result of matching by the cooperating agency. For each individual who later married, one of the other individuals with whom he or she had been computer-matched was randomly selected for the Non-Married Couples comparison group, except for two individuals who married the first person with whom they were matched.

All data available in the files of the cooper- ating agency were assembled for these two subject groups and group comparisons were made on all recorded demographic variables, each of the 16 P-F scales, and each item of the attitude and interest questionnaire. Contin- gency tables were prepared for each question- naire item and 16 P-F scale, and either Chi-Square or Fischer's Exact Probability Test (Siegel, 1956) applied, depending upon the number of cases occurring per cell.

RESULTS No differences were found between the

Married and Non-Married Groups on any of the demographic variables recorded. The groups were essentially identical on such factors as age, race, religion, educational and occupational status, prior marital status and the numbers of children from previous marriages. On many of

*The data for this study were gathered during the period of 1968-1970. The authors gratefully acknowl- edge the assistance of Margaret Ocker and Kay Barr in this study.

November 1972 JOURNAL OF MARRIAGE AND THE FAMILY 611

the 40 attitude and interest questionnaire items there was extremely close matching by the computer in both groups. No significant differ- ences were found on items regarding attitudes toward sex, alcohol, religion, children or finan- cial affairs. Nevertheless, on six items, differ- ences between groups were significant at or beyond the .05 level of confidence, and on five more items, the differences should have occur- red by chance only 5 to 10 per cent of the time. These group differences are summarized in Table 1.

Table 2 summarizes the group differences observed on the 16 P-F Test scales. Each couple's standard scores were considered "cou- ple congruent" if they were identical or only one sten score apart. "Very large differences" and "much more" were defined arbitrarily as being four or more stens apart.

Each Married pair was then compared with each Non-Married matched pair in terms of their responses to the questionnaire items and the factor scales identified in Tables 1 and 2. Plus or minus scores were assigned, depending on which of the matched pairs had given more answers in the appropriate direction, and the Signs Test (Siegel, 1956) was applied. This "critical item" approach differentiated the Married and Non-Married pairs at beyond the .001 level of confidence.

DISCUSSION Perhaps the most striking result of this study

is that any differences at all were found between the Married and Non-Married groups, in view of the extremely close matching of all couples on such a broad range of factors. Because these are preliminary data, or at least the initial data to come out of a planned long range program, we have included as "signifi- cant" all differences which would occur with a chance probability of .10 or less. On the whole, these differences are generally in accord with the available literature, supporting homogamy theory in regard to many traits and complemen- tarity in only one instance, except as it may be a part of several complex relationships. The Married Couples were clearly more homoga- mous on a pessimism-optimism trait and on factors reflecting abstract versus concrete think- ing and surgency. Although not precisely homogamous in the usual sense, they also showed a related phenomenon, the less fre- quent occurrence of widely differing male- female scores, on 16 P-F scales reflecting ego strength, self control, and suspiciousness, as well as on Questionnaire items reflecting con- servatism-liberalism and extraversion-

introversion. Negative evidence was obtained regarding complementarity on dominance-sub- missiveness, whereas complementarity on a wittiness-placidity trait was significantly more frequent in Married Couples.

A large difference in height appeared to be a negative factor for marriage, although the present data suggest that general physical attractiveness plays a much less important role in computer matched marriages than that found by Walster et al. (1966) for dating in the college computer dance situation. Unfortunately, such factors as the substantially higher average age of the present subjects, with approximately half of them having had prior marital experience, may also contribute to the latter finding, and at this time our total subject pool is too small to separate out such influences. These results do emphasize the importance of personality fac- tors in marital choice among computer matched couples and de-emphasize the relative impor- tance of social and demographic variables, although one cannot say that these latter variables are unimportant, since all couples, both married and unmarried, were so closely matched on them.

One highly significant variable in this study, which rarely has been emphasized in the literature, is the conscious and overtly ex- pressed desire to marry. This desire is very highly related to marriage in the present data, although exactly how it operates is not clear. It might be expected that persons expressing such a desire would be in a hurry to get married and/or might make a marriage which would appear otherwise less desirable. In this study, however, neither of the "first match" marriages involved such an individual, nor did these individuals show any poorer matching in terms of the "critical items" discussed previously.

The present study leaves unanswered a great many questions for further research. No data were gathered here regarding the whole area of "role compatibility," as it operates in this situation. The influence of population charac- teristics also should be further studied, since in many ways these couples tend to be different from the average couple in the general popula- tion approaching courtship and marriage. A cross validation study of matched couple differences, using the "critical item" approach described earlier is necessary for a real test of the predictive value of these items, and addi- tional data are currently being gathered for such a study. The stability, successfulness or happiness of these marriages, all of which are important questions to be studied in computer matched couples, were not examined here. As

612 JOURNAL OF MARRIAGE AND THE FAMILY November 1972

TABLE 1. QUESTIONNAIRE ITEMS SHOWING GROUP DIFFERENCES

Approximate Probability of Chance

Item Direction of Difference Occurrence

Strong desire to marry soon, Expressed Desire to Marry more often married .01

Two or more steps apart Sports Interest Fan either direction, not married .01-.02

Large difference, either Height direction, less often married .02-.05 Interest in Fine Male higher by two or more steps, Arts and Music less often married .05

Couple complementary, more Witty-Placid often married .05

Male higher need for affection, Need for Affection less often married .05 Attitude Toward Two or more steps apart either Minority Groups direction, not married .05-.10 Pessimistic-Optimistic Couple congruent, more often married .05-.10 Joiner-Loner Couple congruent, more often married .05-.10

Male high, female low, less Feelings of Adequacy often married .10

Female carefree, male serious, Carefree-Serious less often married .10

TABLE 2. GROUP DIFFERENCES ON 16 P-F FACTORS

Approximate Probability of Chance

Factor Type of Difference Occurrence

Male much more outgoing, A. Reserved-Outgoing less often married .10

Couple congruent, more often married. Male more abstract, .02

B. Concrete-Abstract less often married .05 C. Easily Upset- Very large difference in either

Emotionally Stable direction, less often married .10 E. Submissiveness- Very large difference in either

Dominance direction, less often married .05 F. Sober-Happy Go Lucky Couple congruent, more often married .01-.02 1. Tough Minded- Very large difference in either

Tender Minded direction, less often married .10 Very large difference in either

L. Trusting-Suspicious direction, less often married .10 0. Confident-Apprehensive Couple congruent, more often married .02 Q3. Undisciplined- Very large difference in either

Controlled direction, less often married .01-.02 Q4. Relaxed-Tense Male much more tense, less often married .05

November 1972 JOURNAL OF MARRIAGE AND THE FAMILY 613

Coombs (1966) has pointed out, computer matching makes feasible the study of a gener- ally unexplored area in dating and marriage, spanning the period from before the first date to any length of time after marriage. The computer matching movement can provide a rich and unique natural laboratory situation for the study of male-female relationships.

REFERENCES Burgess, E. W. and P. Wallin

1953 Engagement and Marriage. New York:J. B. Lippincott Company.

Coombs, R. H. 1966 "Value consensus and partner satisfaction

among dating couples." Journal of Marriage and the Family 28:166-173.

Coombs, R. H. and W. F. Kenkel 1966 "Sex differences in dating aspirations and

satisfaction with computer arranged part-

ners." Journal of Marriage and the Family 28:62-66.

Murstein, B. I. 1967 "The relationship of mental health to mari-

tal choice and courtship progress." Journal of Marriage and the Family 29:447-451.

Siegel, S. 1956 Nonparametric Statistics for the Behavioral

Sciences. New York:McGraw-Hill. Trost, J.

1967 "Some data on mate-selection: homogoamy and perceived homogamy." Journal of Mar- riage and the Family 29:739-755.

Walster, Elaine, V. Aronson, D. Abrahams, and L. Rottman

1966 "Importance of physical attractiveness in dating behavior." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 4:508-516.

Winch, R. F. 1967 "Another look at the theory of complemen-

tary needs in mate-selection." Journal of Marriage and the Family 29:756-762.

614 JOURNAL OF MARRIAGE AND THE FAMILY November 1972

Article Contentsp. 611p. 612p. 613p. 614

Issue Table of ContentsJournal of Marriage and Family, Vol. 34, No. 4 (Nov., 1972), pp. 581-787Volume Information [pp. 776-782]Front Matter [pp. 582-762]Editorial [p. 581]Letters to the EditorComments on Blunenstiel's Review of Family Therapy in Transition (February, 1972:184) [pp. 583-584]

Divorce among Doctors [pp. 587-598]College Impact on Marriage [pp. 600-609]Mate Selection Factors in Computer Matched Marriages [pp. 611-614]Fictive Kin Term Use and Social Relationships: Alternative Interpretations [pp. 615-620]Person Perception and Courtship Progress among Premarital Couples [pp. 621-626]Dilemma of Youth: The Choice of Parents or Peers as a Frame of Reference for Behavior [pp. 627-634]Estimates of the Ultimate Family Status of Children Born Out-of-Wedlock in Massachusetts, 1961-1968 [pp. 635-646]Communes, Group Marriage, and the Upper-Middle Class [pp. 647-655]Functional Aspects of Food Consumption Activity and Family Life Cycle Stages [pp. 656-664]Older Persons' Perceptions of Their Marriages [pp. 665-670]Female Freshmen View Their Roles as Women [pp. 671-672]Husbands' Attitude and Wives' Commitment to Employment [pp. 673-684]International DepartmentCourtship Patterns Associated with Freedom of Choice of Spouse [pp. 689-695]The Sexual Behavior of Adolescents in Middle America: Generational and American-British Comparisons [pp. 696-705]Cruelty in English Divorce: Some Empirical Findings [pp. 706-712]Upward Social Mobility and Extended Family Cohesion as Perceived by the Wife in Swedish Urban Families [pp. 713-724]The Indian Family: An Empirically Derived Analysis of Shifts in Size and Types [pp. 725-734]A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Adolescent Perception of Parental Roles [pp. 735-740]Response Consistency of Husband and Wife for Selected Attitudinal Items [pp. 741-749]A Cross-Cultural Approach to the Social Functions of Housing [pp. 750-761]

Book ReviewsReview: untitled [pp. 763-764]Review: untitled [pp. 764-765]Review: untitled [pp. 765-766]Review: untitled [p. 766]Review: untitled [pp. 766-768]Review: untitled [p. 768]Review: untitled [pp. 768-770]Review: untitled [pp. 770-771]Review: untitled [pp. 771-772]Review: untitled [p. 772]Review: untitled [pp. 772-773]

Publications Received [pp. 774-775]Back Matter [pp. 783-787]