Chapter 12

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Article 1:  Khallad, Y. (2005). Mate selection in Jordan: Effects of sex, socio-economic status, and culture.Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 22(2), 155–168. doi:10.1177/0265407505050940

Questions that apply to this article:

1. The author finds a considerable amount of similarity between the way in which Americans and Jordanians share the same kind of sex differences in preference for potential mates, with males preferring good looks and females preferring economic resources and commitment.  Does this show that there is a universal quality to the preferences of males and females in mates?
2. The findings also observed that the Jordanians have a disinclination to consider marrying people who have previously been married and are now divorced. The author attributes this to a male preference for certainty about faithfulness in females who may bear their children, so that the male can be certain that any children are his own. What alternative explanation could you offer in terms of culture or religion?
3. What role do you believe culture plays in the choices that people make in expressing their preferences for attractiveness in partners?  Note that those people who are considered beautiful in one culture may not be considered beautiful in another.  How can you account for this in terms of culture?
4. Do you think that the findings would be likely to be different if the study had been done in a comparison between America and France?  How would you test your hypothesis and connect it to the concepts of culture discussed in this chapter?
5. How much importance do you place on the fact that the subjects in this particular study were relatively young and intelligent (college students)?  Do you think it is more likely that older people would be more traditional in their cultural beliefs, or does the study show that this is not really a relevant issue?

Article 2:  Baillien, E., Notelaers, G., De Witte, H., & Matthiesen, S. B. (2011). The relationship between the work unit’s conflict management styles and bullying at work: Moderation by conflict frequency. Economic and Industrial Democracy, 32(3), 401–419. doi:10.1177/0143831X10377929

Questions that apply to this article:

1. Find where the authors begin to discuss “bullying at work, unlike conflict, unethical and can be classified as counterproductive.” They go on to note that even though conflicts have the potential of being negative, this negative connotation is not a defining feature of conflicts. Instead, conflicts have a rather subtle connotation reflected in perceived opposition and incompatibility (Thomas, 1992). Second, bullying and conflict can be distinguished on the basis of duration and frequency. Third, bullying is characterized by stigmatization of one particular person who is forced into an inferior position (Einarsen & Skogstad, 1996; Zapf & Gross, 2001). Finally, unlike most conflicts, bullying has been associated with severe psychological and even psychiatric consequences, such as post-traumatic stress syndrome. On the basis of these reasons, we may thus conclude that bullying and conflicts cannot be regarded as interchangeable phenomena. How do you see the distinction between bullying and conflict? Do you see why Duck and McMahan did not include bullying in their discussion of conflict in the chapter?
2. In this article, the authors use the terms the authors use the terms forcing, yielding, avoiding, andproblem solving as they discuss conflict management styles. To which styles discussed in Chapter 12 do each of these correspond?
3. In their concluding remarks, the authors note that their results hint at practical implications, more specifically for bullying prevention. If conflict and bullying are not the same, how do you think the application of conflict management styles might be used in co-culture in which bullying is prevalent?