Study Finds That 'Less Intelligent' Men Look Down On Women Who Do Not Change Their Last Name After Marriage

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A recent study, which investigated into the differences in the perception of traditional and non-traditional surname choices after marriage finds that, although, it is of little consequence among highly educated Americans whether or not a woman chooses to take her husband's last name, but men with lower education levels tend to view them as less committed.

The researchers found that less educated men are usually harder on wives who decide to follow a non-traditional path, and believe they (the husband) would be justified in divorcing them for the neglect. Whether or not a woman chooses to take her husband's last name is inconsequential among highly educated people but, men with lower education tend to view them as less committed.

The study authors found that a woman's name choice has little effect on how highly educated men determine her commitment as a wife. However, this doesn't extend to men with lower education, as the study found that these men considered a woman who do not adopt their husband's last name to be less committed to the marriage.

They also think that such women should not be shown compassion and forgiveness working late, and it will even be justified if this leads to divorce, according to Daily Mail. During the study, Emily Fitzgibbons Shafer from Portland State University checked data from 1,243 United States residents collected as part of a nationally representative group in 2010.

The researchers used online questionnaire to show the participants a brief paragraph regarding the home and work demands that women and men have to juggle and was design in a way that assess how married women with different types of last names are viewed as wives.

The participants were then asked to give their impression after viewing the vignette. The researchers noted that many women have received backlash over the years, for not taking their husbands last name - most notably being Hillary Clinton. She was often described as a bad wife prior to 1980, for using her maiden name - Hillary Rodham, with suggestions that it cost Bill Clinton political support. She later adopted her husband's last name.

The study refers to other surveys which have found that most married women in the United States use their husbands' last names, and the majority of Americans believe it is better to do so. However, the authors found that name choice has little impact on how highly educated men and other women view a woman's commitment to her marriage, according to KRBE

 "Low educated men's bias, coupled with the lack of economic incentive women have for retaining their surnames, suggests that we may continue to see a very low percentage of low educated women making any choice other than to take their husbands' names in marriage," according to Fitzgibbons Shafer. The researchers published their findings in the journal Gender Issues.