relationships Flashcards
(47 cards)
Absorption addiction model for parasocial relationships
A theory that suggests people develop parasocial relationships in order to cope with issues in their life
Attachment theory explanation for parasocial relationships
A theory that suggests that if a child is unable to form a healthy attachment with a primary caregiver, the child will grow up to compensate with parasocial relationships
Duck’s phase model of relationship breakdown
A theory that suggests the breakdown of a relationship develops over a number of stages; intrapsychic, dyadic, social, grave-dressing
Dyadic phase
The second phase in relationship breakdown which consists of a person vocally expressing their dissatisfaction with their relationship with their partner
Equity theory
The theory that for relationship to be stable, both partners should perceive the relationship to be fair. If a partner receives too much benefit or finds the cost too large, the relationship is more likely to fail.
Filter theory
The theory that when selecting an ideal partner, people use certain criteria to decide whether someone qualifies as a potential partner or not.
Gating
The practice of using physical markers to separate potential partners and those who are not
Grave dressing phase
The final phase of relationship breakdown, where in post-breakdown, a person prepares for a new relationship
Intrapsychic phase
A phase in relationship breakdown, wherein post-breakdown, a person prepares for a new relationship
Matching hypothesis
The theory that people are more likely to form a relationship with someone they share common traits with
Parasocial relationship
A relationship that develops in a one sided fashion with someone who cannot reciprocate
Rusbult’s investment model of commitment
The theory that there are 3 factors that contribute to the commitment to a relationship: level of satisfaction, potential alternatives and romantic investment
Self-disclosure
To share personal information with someone else in an attempt to establish trust within a relationship
Social demography
The first filter in the ‘filter theory’, which refers to social and cultural features of people e.g. social background and proximity
Social exchange theory
The theory that relationships consist of mutual cost-benefit investments. If a relationship exceeds cost and does not reap enough benefits, it may end.
Social phase
The third phase in relationship breakdown. A person expresses their dissatisfaction within their social group, causing family to agree or disagree with the person. This will further the breakdown of the relationship
Describe the term anisogamy.
Differences may be in terms of the size of the gametes, the energy invested into their production, whether they are static or mobile, and the intervals at which they are produced. This is reflected in the two types of sexual selection, and which is preferred by each gender i.e. intra-sexual selection and inter-sexual selection.
Describe Inter-sexual selection
Inter-sexual selection describes the strategies that each sex uses to attract the other. This is the ‘quality over quantity’ approach and is favoured by females because they invest more energy into the development of ova, which are produced in limited numbers at intervals across their lives, and the fact that females experience more post-coital responsibility compared to males. Therefore, a female will be more ‘choosy’ as to who she mates with, due to her limited reproductive resources. This, from an evolutionary standpoint, enables the high quality of her offspring
describe intra-sexual selection
Intra-sexual selection describes the strategies used within sexes to attract males. This is the ‘quantity over quality’ approach and is favoured by males because they produce sperm continuously throughout their lifetime, with little energy investment and limited post-coital responsibility. Therefore, from an evolutionary perspective, it is most effective to impregnate as many women as possible, in order to ensure the survival of their genes
What 3 factors effect attraction?
Filter theory
Physical attractiveness
Self-disclosure
Who proposed the social penetration theory?
Altman and Taylor
Describe the social penetration theory
Suggests that the process of self-disclosure allows one person to penetrate deeper into the life of their partner, thus increasing intimacy and trust. However, it is important to be selective with what one chooses to disclose.
The researchers have used an onion analogy to illustrate this. As the relationship progresses, more layers of the onion are removed, representing deeper and more meaningful information being disclosed. This is only likely to occur if the exchange of such information is reciprocal
Revealing intimate details about oneself at the beginning of a relationship may be detrimental effects e.g. revealing ‘too much information’. This demonstrates to the other person that at least one person in the relationship does not trust the other.
What are the two elements of the social penetration theory?
Reis and Shaver (1988) suggest that there are two elements of the social penetration theory - depth and breadth. There is a positive correlation between the increasing quality and trust within a relationship, coinciding with increasing depth and breadth of revealed information.
The social penetration theory is part of what factor effecting attraction?
Self-disclosure
