Date of Award

6-2015

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in General Experimental Psychology

Department

Psychology

First Reader/Committee Chair

Campbell, Kelly

Abstract

Couple rituals range from everyday activities to once-in-a lifetime events. Weddings are arguably the most elaborate, complex, and rare couple ritual. Few studies have examined the association between wedding rituals and marital outcomes, yet millions of Americans marry and celebrate weddings each year. The purpose of the current study was to examine the associations between wedding ritual enactment, wedding ritual satisfaction, and marital satisfaction and commitment. The wedding rituals examined in the current study were the bridal shower, bachelor/bachelorette party, wedding reception, and honeymoon. It was hypothesized that enactment of a bridal shower, wedding reception, and honeymoon would be positively associated with marital outcomes whereas bachelor/bachelorette party enactment would be negatively associated with marital outcomes. We additionally hypothesized that satisfaction with all wedding rituals would be positively associated with satisfaction and commitment and that wedding ritual conformity would be associated with overall wedding ritual satisfaction. Our exploratory analyses examined unique predictability of wedding ritual enactment and wedding ritual satisfaction on marital outcomes. Results indicated expected and unexpected associations. Three of the predicted wedding rituals, bachelor/bachelorette party, wedding reception, and honeymoon enactment were associated with marital outcomes. Satisfaction with each wedding ritual significantly predicted marital outcomes. Lastly, wedding ritual conformity was found to be negatively associated with wedding ritual satisfaction. In our exploratory analyses, we found that wedding reception enactment was the most significant contributor to satisfaction whereas bachelor/bachelorette party enactment was the most significant contributor to marital commitment. Study limitations and directions for future research are discussed.

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