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Through factor analyses, the nine most potent dimensions of marital expectation for an American and a French college sample were obtained. A comparison of the factorial structure of American and French men showed moderate to high similarity. The American and French women also showed dimensional similarity though there was greater divergence in the variance accounted for by similarly labeled factors. The item by item comparison between the two samples put the differences between them into sharper relief. Compared to the American men, the French men wanted a wife who was sexier, and higher on aggression, pragmatism, egalitarianism, and social adequacy. Moreover, she would be less idealized, conventional, and respectful to authority. The differences between French women and American women were almost identical to the differences found between the two male samples. Because of the differences in the nature of the sampling, generalization was eschewed pending further data.

The Exchange-Orientation Scale (E) was given to 98 randomly assigned roommate pairs at three New England colleges at the beginning of the semester. It was predicted that interpersonal compatibility, as measured by a roommate compatibility rating and a friendship intensity score given three months later, would be higher for nonexchange couples as compared to exchange couples. It wasfurtherpredicted that anxiety would be correlated with E for women but not for men, and that paranoia would be associated with Efor both women and men. All hypotheses were substantiated except the one regarding paranoia. The results are discussed in terms of the role of E in interpersonal relationships.

AbstractThe relationship between power and self‐disclosure was studied for 20 dating and 20 married couples. Power and self‐disclosure scales (of feelings and of accomplishments) were constructed and administered individually. We hypothesized that: (1) Women disclose more about feelings than men. (2) Men disclose more about accomplishments than women. (3) Power is positively correlated with disclosure of accomplishments. (4) Power is negatively correlated with disclosure of feelings and weaknesses. (5) Dating men are more powerful than dating women, but there are no gender differences in power in marriage. Hypotheses 1,3, and 5 were supported. Hypotheses 2 and 4 were rejected. Our findings revealed that there were no differences in power or disclosure of accomplishments between men and women for the total group. However, a significant interaction was found between gender and marital status for power. Dating men had more power than dating women, but married women had more power than married men. Last, women disclosed more feelings than men across both groups.

The literature regarding exchange-orientation in relationship to marital adjustment and cohabitation and friendship compatibility is briefly reviewed and a revised exchange-orientation scale is constructed. The items selected were judged relevant to exchange and passed internal consistency tests as well as differentiating between high and low scorers. Various versions for husbands and wives are presented. All versions show high reliability as measured by coefficient alpha.