The Dimensions of Marriage: Instigating Attitude Change in Support of Marriage Equalit

The fight for marriage equality, the legal recognition of marriage for same-sex couples, is one of the great civil rights issues. Proponents and opponents struggle on both sides of this issue, though the recent landmark United States Supreme Court decision striking down the Defense of Marriage Act brought the country to the right side of history. This is not to presume this supportive sentiment is endorsed nationwide, as opponents to marriage equality are eager to share. This great marriage equality movement is a springboard for conversations, debate, and study, prompting us to learn more about marriage itself. The goal of this dissertation is twofold: to review relevant literature and research supporting the utility of increasing support for same-sex marriage; and, to explore the construct of marriage, marriage preferences, and the malleability of attitudes toward same-sex marriage. To address the first goal, literature is presented surveying economic, policy, psychological and social research examining attitudinal issues linked to beliefs about the impact and legitimacy of same-sex marriage. Five studies were conducted to address the second goal. The first two consisted of explorations of the conceptual dimensions of marriage using prototype analysis and investigations of marriage preferences. Five conceptual dimensions of marriage were determined in the prototype analysis: Intimacy, Dysfunction, Tradition, Economics, and Family. The marriage preference investigations indicated proponents of same-sex marriage did not view a marriage between two women, two men, or a man and a woman differently on any of the marriage dimensions; however, opponents express a marked preference in favor of marriage between a man and a woman. The remaining three studies explored applications of the marriage dimensions in creating attitude movement that increased support of same-sex marriage. Data supported using the intimacy and tradition dimensions to create evidence-based messages in a thought-listing task substantiating the strength of the messages. Compared to a no message condition, participants in both evidence-based message conditions reported significantly more support than no-message control participants in favor of same-sex marriage. This dissertation provides evidence of the possibility to create attitude movement increasing support for same-sex marriage.