Perceived Attitudes Towards Romanticism; A Cross-cultural Study of American, Asian-Indian, and Turkish Young Adults

Abstract

The Knox & Sporakowski attitudes toward romantic love scale, a list of 13 desired qualities in a prospective partner, and a demographic questionnaire were distributed to a total of 641 young adults at three international universities in America, Turkey, and India. The sample consisted of 200 American young adults in Western U.S., 223 Turkish college students in Central Turkey, and 218 Indian young adults enrolled at a university in Western India to determine their perceived attitudes toward romanticism. The second objective was to investigate whether age, gender, and parents’ marital status were related to romanticism. A third objective was to examine cultural differences in the American and Turkish respondents’ attitudes about preferred qualities in a potential mate. Results showed that the American young adults were most romantic, followed by the Turkish students, and Indians had the lowest romanticism score. Female college students in all three cultures were significantly more romantic than males. Age and parents’ marital status were not related to romanticism. Cultural differences were found in conjunction to desired qualities in a prospective partner. American and Turkish young adults differed significantly in their attitudes toward the following attributes: having similar political ideologies, being well educated, being affectionate, having a good job, having similar interests, and not having a prior marriage. Gender differences were also found with regard to desired qualities in a potential partner. Males and females differed significantly in their rankings of having a good job, being physically attractive, having similar political ideologies, being well educated, and not having a prior marriage. Implications for researchers and practitioners are discussed.