.
In the 70's and 80's there was clear bias towards never married women; married women were rated as happier, more reliable, secure, personally satisfied, sociable, influential, attractive, and comfortable with others than never married women (Etaugh, & Malmstrom, 1985, p.43). The social change that emanated from the 70's and 80's were: the number of single people increased; society became more accepting towards divorce, cohabitation, having children and not marrying (Thornton & Young-DeMarco, 2001). The independence of single women has lead to a higher adoption rates, education, and openly living alternative lifestyles. .
Etaugh and Petroski(1985) found that married women were rated as more dependable than never married women. DePaulo, and Ritter (2004) found that married women were perceived as friendly. Etaugh and Petroski (1985) found that married women were more confident. Etaugh and Petroski (1985) found that married women were perceived as devoted than the never married women. (Morris,DePaulo, et al., 2004) found never married women were perceived as ugly. DePaulo and Morris (2005) found never married women were perceived as not sociable. DePaulo & Morris (2004) found never married women were perceived as unhappy than the married women. This study expects to find that the never married women will be perceived as the more desirable job candidate and more emotionally stable than the never married women.
Method.
Participants.
One hundred subject from a large Northeastern University received course credits for participating. There were an equal number of males and females between 18-22 years old.
Materials .
This study used two different short film narrative versions on a DVD: the only difference being the marital status of the 42-year-old woman on the camera. In one version of the DVD, the female actress being interviewed willingly states that she is married and in the other version of the DVD, the same actress willingly states that she has never been married.
