breakdown of romantic relationships

Question 1

what is duck’s model?

Answer 1

• a phase model, which shows how the dissolution of a relationship is a process
• at each phase their is a threshold which must be met to reach the next phase
• at the end of a relationship, each partner creates a story, which ends the relationship publicly

Question 2

what are the four stages of duck’s model?

Answer 2

intra-psychic, dyadic, social, and grave dressing

Question 3

what is the intra-psychic phase?

Answer 3

• the relationship begins to breakdown once the partner thinks ‘i can’t stand this anymore’
• this leads to cognitive processes which involve personal thoughts about the relationship
• they start to think about the costs and benefits of staying in the relationship

Question 4

what is the dyadic phase?

Answer 4

• once the dissatisfied partner has though it through, they may reach the threshold of ‘i would be justified in leaving’
• this leads to an interactional process of confrontation - a discussion about who did what and whether the relationship can be saved

Question 5

what is the social phase?

Answer 5

• the failure of the interactions between partners may lead to another threshold being reached - ‘i mean it’
• this involves a social network of each partners family and friends
• the dissatisfied partner will start telling people that the relationship has broken down and explain why - this leads to a period of encampment
• there is no point of return after this

Question 6

what is the grave dressing phase?

Answer 6

• once the threshold of ‘it’s now inevitable’ has been reached and the relationship has ended, its time to prepare for the funeral and reflect what has happened
• it involves each partner trying to get over what has happened by creating public and private face
• they want to be seen positively and have no blame placed on them

Question 7

a strength of duck’s model is that it has real world application:

Answer 7

• it provides framework for understanding the stages of breakdown
• this can be useful in counselling to help individuals navigate emotional challenges
• it offers a framework within which relationships can be explored - this may be useful when suggesting testable hypothesis on relationships

Question 8

a strength of duck’s model is that there is supporting evidence:

Answer 8

• tashiro and frazier
• they found that individuals often experience personal growth and improved self-awareness after the grave-dressing phase
• this supports duck’s emphasis on meaning making in relationship

Question 9

a weakness of duck’s model is that it relies on retrospective information:

Answer 9

• participants were asked to recall their past relationships in order for duck to establish his model
• this means that what they can recall might not be accurate or reliable
• for example, in the early stages of a breakdown, factors may become distorted or ignored
• this decreases the validity of the model, and means that it must be generalised with caution

Question 10

a weakness of duck’s model is that it is affected by culture bias:

Answer 10

• the model is based on the relationships in western cultures, especially in the usa
• moghaddam states that relationships in individualist cultures are voluntary and frequently come to an end - however in collectivist cultures relationships last longer
• this means that it lacks universality, so other theories may need to be considered to explain all cultures