Living Together and the Double-Funnel Theory of Courtship

Several years ago, Broderick1 in focusing upon the high rate of marriage in the United States, noted that there exist no visible mechanisms for getting people married. It was this observation, he noted, that led some to postulate the “double-funnel theory of courtship.” Basically, the theory holds that marriage is a system that eligibles enter into by progressing concomitantly along two continua—namely, a continuum of commitment ranging from an agreement to spend an evening together (a date) to an agreement to spend a lifetime together (marriage), and a continuum of intimacy ranging from the simple act of holding hands to the act of sexual intercourse. There can be little doubt that the double-funnel theory of courtship is useful in describing a process by which males and females come together and, depending on situational determinants and the value orientations and lifestyles of the participants, move toward the ends of the two continua. However, recent observations on the changing relationships between males and females— especially those observations concerned with love, marriage, and the family—necessitate a reexamination of this theoretical statement.

Using an extensive interview schedule, data were collected on three types of couples: (1) conventional couples, who went through the traditional process of dating, engagement, and marriage; (2) quasi-conventional couples, who get married but who actually established a pattern of living together before getting married; and (3) unconventional couples, who are living together but who are not legally married.

All respondents were residents of a large urban area in the Southeast, and a majority were either in college or had completed college. Ages ranged from 19-42, the vast majority (82%) falling between ages 20 and 29. Twenty percent were Catholic and 15 percent were Jewish; the remainder identified with several of the major Protestant denominations.