Abstract
After briefly retracing the origins of the present day unbalanced division of family work, this paper article summarizes results from three studies conducted with married adults and unmarried young adults from northern Portugal. The data support the idea that (a) unequal family practices do not change because traditional practices are social norms that orientate individuals’ behavior; (b) individuals do not comply passively to these social norms but consider that the normative practices are fair; (c) normative family practices are considered to be fair because women, as well as men, seem to gain benefits from traditional family organization. The social consequences for women of the maintenance of normative family practices are discussed.
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Notes
As we are interested in the impact of social comparison on family practices, we analyze here only the data obtained from the married respondents, although the study also included the participation of 178 young unmarried adults.
Subjects were asked also to rate the spouse’s participation in ten family decisions.
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Poeschl, G. Social Norms and the Feeling of Justice about Unequal Family Practices. Soc Just Res 21, 69–85 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11211-007-0057-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11211-007-0057-5