Chapter 6 SECTION 2 (pages 128-135)
TEENAGERS AND DATING
Overview: Dating plays a central role in adolescent life in modern society.
A: Prior to the Industrial Revolution:
1: courtship was the primary form of social interaction between unmarried
members of the opposite sex.
a. Courtship differed from dating in that its purpose was marriage rather
than simple recreation.
b. Courtship was formal rather than casual, and was closely controlled by
the parents of the young people.
c. Typically, the young man asked the young woman’s parents for
permission to court her.
d. Parents assumed that this was an indication of his intention to marry
their daughter.
e. Courtship usually occurred in the young woman’s home under
supervision of the parents or a chaperone.
2: Dating differs from courtship in that the intended purpose of courtship is
eventual marriage.
a. Dating, on the other hand, serves many functions other than mate
selection.
b. Among the various functions of dating are recreation, socialization,
psychological fulfillment, and status attainment.
c. Dating, may lead to marriage, but its main purpose is recreation.
3: Dating emerged in the United States as a result of several social changes
associated with the process of industrialization.
a. As Americans moved from farms to cities, young people had more
leisure time and less parental supervision.
b. Additionally, the rise of coeducation meant that young people had more
opportunities to interact with members of the opposite sex.
c. Cars and telephones also made dating more common.
1. These inventions gave young people the freedom to arrange
dates without parental intervention.
d. Finally, changes in women’s social and political status in the 1920s
made it more acceptable for unmarried women and men to spend time
alone together.
4. Dating serves five major functions:
a. recreation
b. socialization
c. fulfillment of basic psychological needs
d. attainment of social status
1. Individuals who did not have dates on weekends were
considered social misfits by other young people.
e. a context within which to find marriage mates
3: Traditional dating patterns followed rather rigid rules. Prior to the 1960s,
responsibility for arranging a date fell to the male.
a. He was expected to contact his intended dating partner
1. Dates typically had to be arranged several days in advance.
b. suggest a time and place for the date
c. select an activity
1. Most dates revolved around limited activities such as movies or
sports events.
d. pay for any expenses that arose.
4: Although this traditional dating pattern still exists, new dating patterns have
emerged since the 1960s.
a. Today, dates often are not prearranged.
1. Contemporary dating, on the other hand, tends to be more
spontaneous.
2. Dates are not always arranged in advance.
b. Instead, a couple will break away from a group activity on the spur of
the moment.
1. Often two people who go out with a group of mutual friends will
pair off and go somewhere together.
c. In addition, dates can be initiated by either males or females, and it is
acceptable for either or both partners to pay the expenses of the date.
1. Women as well as men can initiate dates and it is acceptable for
the partners to share the expenses of the date.
B: Key Terms:
Homogamy: the tendency of people to marry others who have social characteristics
similar to their own.
Which of these two sayings do you believe is true in terms of dating?
“Opposites attract”
“Birds of a feather flock together”
Identify the characteristics of traditional dating; contrast these characteristics with the
characteristics of current dating patterns.
At what age should young people he allowed to start dating?
At what point, if any, does dating shift from being casual to serious during adolescence?
How is this shift marked?
“The ‘Perfect’ First Date.”