relationships Flashcards
(20 cards)
EXPLANATIONS FOR PARTNER PREFERENCES
Ao1
Sexual selection
advantageous characteristics passed down, attractive to mates.
anisogamy - difference in investment from both partners, female more selective.
leads to inter-sexual selection and intra-sexual selection.
creates dimorphism in humans, as males evolve to have attractive traits
EXPLANATIONS FOR PARTNER PREFERENCES
Ao3
STRENGTHS
- Buss found across cultures, females prefer resources, ambition. males prefer youth/attractiveness
Clark & Hatfield asked students on uni campus - date, apartment, sex.
male percentages increases (50, 69, 75) females decreased (56, 6, 0)
LIMITATIONS
- over simplified, when considering long term relationship look for loyalty, kindness, loving
- cultural bias -Kasser & Sharmer found women valued resources in countries with less opportunities
FAA - SELF DISCLOSURE
Ao1
revealing personal info, deeper and more frequent over time.
Altman & Taylor social penetration theory
involves reciprocal information sharing, deeper over time and indicates development of trust and commitment
has breadth and depthc- swap over time.
reciprocity is necessary, balance is key
FAA - SELF DISCLOSURE
Ao3
STRENGTHS
- Sprecher and Hendrick found strong positive correlation between satisfaction and self disclosure
-real life application, improve communication
LIMITATIONS
- Tang sexual self disclosure USA vs China, but same satisfaction
- correlation vs causation of happiness and SD
FAA - PHYSICAL ATTRACTIVENESS
Ao1
evolutionary - indicate good health, good genetics.
attractive in women: big eyes, defined brows, youth
attractive in men: jawline, hair, strong
symmetry: honest sign of genetic fitness
baby face: in women, trigger protective/caring instinct
halo effect: Dion found attractive people perceived as having better personality
Walster matching hypothesis:
disagrees with halo effect - suggests that everyone goes for someone of similar attractiveness
FAA- PHYSICAL ATTRACTIVENESS
Ao3
STRENGTHS
- Palmer & Peterson found attractive people rated as more politically knowledgeable and competent
-cunningham found attractiveness important across white, hispanic & asian men. indicates evolutionary
LIMITATIONS
-computer dance - randomly assigned, asked how much they liked partner. always chose most attractive
- individual differences MACHO scale, sexists cared more
FAA - FILTER THEORY
Ao1
Kerchoff & Davis studied students, theorised how relationships form and develop from potentials through filters.
1) social demography
2) similarity in attitudes
important before 18mo, encourages SD
3) complementarity
meet each other’s needs - long term
FAA - FILTER THEORY
Ao3
STRENGTHS
-Kerchoff & Davis study found closeness under 18mo, complement over 18mo
LIMITATIONS
- arbitrary cut off point of 18 months for ‘serious’, cultural bias
- modern relevance - dating apps
- cause and effect of complementarity/similarity - more similar over time
SOCIAL EXCHANGE THEORY
Ao1
Thibaut & Kelley suggest economic theory, relationship = constant exchange of resources.
-based on operant conditioning - stay as long as profitable, benefit>cost.
-minimax principle.
idea of opportunity cost - relationship outweighs other potential benefits.
Comparison level - amount of reward you believe you deserve to get
comes from experiences in past and in media. links with self esteem.
Calt - perception of profitability of current relationship vs potentials
stages of relationship:
Sampling
Bargaining
Commitment
Institutionalisation
SOCIAL EXCHANGE THEORY
Ao3
STRENGTHS
- Kurdek found in hetero&homo couples that most committed perceived best profit, and no alternatives
LIMITATIONS
-Argyle argued that dissatisfaction comes before weighing up costs/bens
- vague concepts, different for everyone
- applies economic theory to emotional process. equity more important
EQUITY THEORY
Ao1
Walster
Expansion of SET, considering equity.
matters to partners that level of profit is the same. functions when partners feel a fair ratio.
equity not equality - number of costs/bens not importance but rather balance.
consequences of inequity:
underbenefitted feel dissatisfaction, hostility
overbenefitted feel guilt, discomfort
-changes may occur over time, i.e. used to feel equal but start to feel less satisfying.
dealing:
1) behavioural - become more equitable
2) cognitive - convince that is equitable
EQUITY THEORY
Ao3
STRENGTHS
- Utne surveyed married couples, found those who were equitable happier than overbenefitting
-evolutionary support, if monkeys given different value rewards would not continue
LIMITATIONS
- individual differences, Huseman benevolents vs entitleds
-cultural bias - collectivist cultures happiest when overbenefitting, western when equitable
RUSBULT INVESTMENT MODEL
Ao1
commitment depends on:
-satisfaction level
wether rewards outweigh costs
-comparison with alternatives
wether a different relationship would be more profitable
-investment size
differs from SET - people would break up as soon as costs > rewards. investments lost when relationship ends, MORE important, work to repair
Intrinsic- put directly in, e.g. house, money, effort
Extrinsic - things didn’t previously feature, e.g. joint possessions or shared memories
relationship maintenance mechanisms:
- accommodation
-willingness to sacrifice
-forgiveness
-positive illusions
-ridiculing alternatives
RUSBULT INVESTMENT
Ao3
STRENGTHS
- Le & Agnew meta analysis found all three factors important, investment biggest factor for long term across culture, sexuality
- can explain abusive relationships
LIMITATIONS
- oversimplifies investment - little early on. can include future plans/commitments
- correlation vs causation
DUCK RELATIONSHIP BREAKDOWN
Ao1
phase model, showing progression
1) Intra Psychic - private cognitive processes, mulls over pros and cons
Threshold: ‘can’t stand this anymore’
2) Dyadic - confrontation, interpersonal processes. two outcomes - breakup/desire to repair
Threshold: ‘i’m justified in leaving’
3) Social - involves social circle, friends and family take sides. point of no return
Threshold: ‘I mean it’
4) Grave Dressing - spin favourable story for consumption, story they can live with.
Threshold: time to move on
DUCK RELATIONSHIP BREAKDOWN
Ao3
STRENGTHS
-RWA, intra psychic phase can focus on positive traits and improve communication BEFORE 3&4
LIMITATIONS
-cultural bias - collectivist cultures often involve whole family, not as easy
- description rather than explanation
-incomplete model, resurrection phase. also non linear, can move back and forth
VIRTUAL RELATIONSHIPS
Ao1
role of paralanguage, deindividuation, anonymity.
effect on self disclosure:
1) Reduced cues
Sproull & Keisler suggest less effective, lack body language/non verbal cues. e.g. physical appearance, eye contact etc.
poorer levels of intimacy and SD due to this, deindividuation of each partner. disinhibition to others
2) Hyperpersonal model
Walther argues more SD as disclosure happens quicker and once established, more intense/intimate.
-control over selective self presentation, can either be hyperhonest or opposite
- positive reinforcement from good reaction
stranger on a train effect.
Absence of gating:
-as well as physical, things such as stutter, hair loss etc. can allow relationship to ‘get off ground’
-increase self disclosure, refocus away from superficial features, freed to be more themselves
however risk of dangerous identities
VIRTUAL RELATIONSHIPS
Ao3
STRENGTHS
- Whitty & Joinson found online discussions more direct & probing than Ftf, supports hyperpersonal
- McKenna & Bargh found of ‘shy’ online relationships, 71% survived at least 2 years (gating)
LIMITATIONS
- multimodal - rarely separated to online or offline
- reduced cues not GONE, but different - e.g. emojis, jargon
PARASOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS
Ao1
1) Absorption addiction model
McCutcheon explains parasocial relationships arise from deficiencies in own life
absorption- lack fulfilment/poorly adjusted, satisfaction from parasocial
addiction - need to ‘up dosage’ every time, more extreme/delusional
2) attachment theory
suggests that Type 3 leads to parasocial relationship, as no fear of rejection or criticism/demands, while still fulfilling needs
Stages (McCutcheon):
1) entertainment social
source of entertainment/gossip
2) intense personal
investment/involvement. obsessive thoughts, knowledge/research
3) borderline pathological
obsessive fantasies/beliefs, i.e. truly in love. even spend money/stalking.
PARASOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS
Ao3
STRENGTHS
-McCutcheon found those scoring highly on scale (2 or 3) had high anxiety in real relationships
-Maltby found link to body image in teen girls. shows poor psychological functioning related
-cultural validity - in US/Kuwait found insecure = most likely in both
LIMITATIONS
many studies show correlation between attachment types/parasocial relationships. does not explain a cause
