Factors affecting attraction: Filter theory Flashcards
Who devised the Filter Theory?
Kerckhoff and Davis
What is the filter theory?
An explanation of relationship formation.
What are the three levels of filter in the filter theory?
Social demography
similarities in attitudes
complementarity
What is the 1st level of filter: social demography?
Refers to a wide range of factors all of which influence the chances of potential partners meeting each other in the first place.
You are much more likely to meet people who are physically close to you and who share several demographic characteristics. (accessibility)
What are some examples of social demography?
Geographical location, social class, level of education, ethnic group, religion…
What is homogamy in relation to the social demography filter?
You are more likely to form a relationship with someone who is socially or culturally similar.
What is the 2nd level of filter: Similarity in attitudes?
Partners will often share important beliefs and values, partly because the field of availables has already been narrowed by the first filter to those who have significant social and cultural characteristics in common.
What did Kerckoff and Davies find was important in similarities of attitudes filter?
It was important to the development of romantic relationships, but only couples who had been together less than 18 months.
There is need for partners in the early stage of relationships to agree over basic values, which encourages greater and deeper communication, and promotes self disclosure.
What is the law of attraction and who made it?
Donn Byrne described the consistent findings that similarity causes attraction as the law of attraction.
If such similarity does not exist then the relationship is likely to fizzle out.
What is the 3rd level of filter: Complementarity?
It concerns that ability of romantic partners to meet each other’s needs.
Two partners complement each other when they have traits that the other lacks.
What did Kirckoff and Davis find about the need for complementarity?
It was more important for the long-term couples.
It giver couples feeling that they are one and whole, which adds depth into the relationship.
Evaluation: Research support for Kerckoff and Davis’s original study.
They conducted a longitudinal study in which both partners in dating couples completed questionnaires to assess two main factors- similarities of attitudes and complementarity of needs.
Relationship closeness was measured by another questionnaire 7 months later.
What were the finding for Kerckoff and Davis’s original study?
Closeness was associated with similarity of values but only couples who had been together less than 18 months.
For couples in longer relationships, complementarity of needs predicted closeness.
This study provided evidence that similarity is important in the early stages of a relationship, but complementarity was more important later on.
Evaluation: counter point to Kerckoff and Davies’s original study.
George Levinger pointed out that many studies have failed to replicate the original findings of their original study. He put this down to social changes over time.
This decreases the validity of the study.
Evaluation: Problems with complementarity.
One limitation is that it may not be central to all longer relationships.
Mackey and Mackey found that lesbian couples of equal dominance were the most satisfied.
Their sample of couples had been romantically involved for a mean time of 4 and a half years.
This suggests that similarity of needs may be associated with long-term relationships rather than complementarity.
