Table of Contents
Definition of Asymmetry Hypothesis
(noun) An hypothesis arguing a woman’s class status is determined by the occupation of her husband.
Example of Asymmetry Hypothesis
- If a woman’s husband is a successful banker, he confers his status to her, and thus the wife is considered part of the upper class.
Etymology of Asymmetry Hypothesis
- Coined by Talcott Parsons (1902–1979) in the 1940s.
Asymmetry Hypothesis Pronunciation
Syllabification: a·sym·me·try hy·poth·e·sis
Audio Pronunciation
Phonetic Spelling
- American English – /ay-sIm-uh-tree hie-pAHth-uh-suhs/
- British English – /ay-sIm-i-tree hie-pOth-i-sis/
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English – /ˌeɪˈsɪmətri haɪˈpɑθəsəs/
- British English – /æˈsɪmɪtri haɪˈpɒθɪsɪs/
Usage Notes
- Plural: asymmetry hypotheses
Additional Information
Related Terms
Works Consulted
Encyclopædia Britannica. (N.d.) Britannica Digital Learning. (https://britannicalearn.com/).
Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. (https://en.wikipedia.org/).
Wiley. (N.d.) Wiley Online Library. (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/).
Cite the Definition of Asymmetry Hypothesis
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “asymmetry hypothesis.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved January 16, 2025 (https://sociologydictionary.org/asymmetry-hypothesis/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
asymmetry hypothesis. (2014). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/asymmetry-hypothesis/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “asymmetry hypothesis.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed January 16, 2025. https://sociologydictionary.org/asymmetry-hypothesis/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“asymmetry hypothesis.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2014. Web. 16 Jan. 2025. <https://sociologydictionary.org/asymmetry-hypothesis/>.