Relationships Flashcards

Question

Why is Ducks Phase Model culturally biased?

Answer 1

Model = most research is based on experience of relationships in Western cultures, particularly USA. Moghaddam et al (1993) found relationships in individualistic cultures are generally voluntary and frequently come to an end. Relationships in collectivist cultures are more likely to be obligatory or arranged, involve wider family and are less easy to end. Therefore break down is not identical across cultures.

Answer 2

Rollie & Duck (2006) original model = oversimplified. It has been modified and a fifth phase 'resurrection phase' was added where ex partners turn attention to future relationships using experience from past ones. Also is possible to return to previous stages. New model emphasises processes that occur in relationship breakdown rather than linear movement from one phase to next. Overcomes he weakness of original model being limited.

Answer 3

Has real life application. Helps identify and understand stages of relationship breakdown and suggests ways of reversing it with repair strategies which are more effective at particular points of breakdown. Eg Duck (1994) recommends that people in intra-psychic phase could be encouraged to focus on positive aspects of their partner.

Answer 4

Doesn't explain why breakdowns occur. Flemlee's (1995) fatal attraction hypotheses argues the cause of relationship breakdown can be found in the attractive qualities that brought the romantic partners together, by partners getting too much of what they were looking for.

Answer 5

Rusbult et al (2011) - commitment depends on 3 other factors - investment size, satisfaction level & comparison with alternatives. A development of social exchange theory.

Answer 6

Based on concept of comparison level. A relationship is judged by comparing rewards (support) & costs (conflict) and seeing if the relationship is profitable.

Answer 7

Partners judging If alternatives would be more rewarding or perhaps no relationship at all.

Answer 8

Because according to SET, a relationship would end as soon as the costs outweighed the rewards or a more attractive alternative presented themself.

Answer 9

Intrinsic - resources we put directly into relationship eg. Money & possessions. Can also be other resources eg. energy, emotion & self-disclosure Extrinsic - resources that previously did not feature associate in the relationship but now closely associated with it eg. Possessions bought together or mutual friends acquired since the relationship began.

Answer 10

Commitment because it can help explain why dissatisfied partners may stay in a relationship. They are committed because they have made an investment they don't want to see go to waste therefore they will work hard to repair a damaged relationship.

Answer 11

Partners act to promote the relationship (accommodation) and put their partners interests first (willingness to sacrifice) and forgiveness. They are unrealistically positive about their partner and negative about tempting alternatives.

Answer 12

Le and Agnew (2003) in meta analysis reviewed 52 studies from 1970s-1999 which included 11,000 participants from 5 different countries. Found satisfaction, comparison with alternatives and investment size all predicted relaxation ship commitment. Relationships with the greatest were most stable and lasted longest. Outcomes true for both genders across all cultures and for homosexuals and heterosexuals. Shows validity.

Answer 13

Support relies of self report such as questionnaires and interviews which are appropriate because it is the partners perception of of the factors that matters.

Answer 14

No evidence of causation. Can't conclude that Amy of the factors cause commitment in relationship.

Answer 15

Suggests it oversimplifies investment & there is more to investment than the resources you have already put in. They extended Rusbults model by including the investment romantic partners make in future plans. This makes them more committed as they want to see future plans work.

Answer 16

Useful explanation of relationship X involving intimate partner violence (IPV). Rusbult and Martz (1995) studied 'battered' women at a shelter and found that those most likely to return to an abusive partner reported making to greatest investment and having fewest attractive alternatives. Model recognises that a victim of IPV does not need to be satisfied to stay in it.

Answer 17

Fairness. Walster et al (1978) both partners have the same level of profit. Lack of equity = one partner over benefits and the other under benefits which causes dissatisfaction and unhappiness

Answer 18

Partner subject to inequity will become distressed and dissatisfied Strong correlation between greater perceived inequity the greater dissatisfaction

Answer 19

The 'put-upon' partner will work hard to make relationship more equitable if they believe relationship is salvageable More unfair relationship feel the harder they will work Or Will revise perception of rewards & costs so relationship feels equitable to them even if nothing changes

Answer 20

Utne et al (1984) carried out survey of 118 recently married couples 16-45 and had been together more than 2 years before marrying and measured equity with 2 self-report scales. Found couples who considered their relationship equitable were more satisfied than those who saw themselves as over/under benefitting Seen as more valid than SET

Answer 21

Equity theory assumes equity = universal feature Aumer-Ryan et al (2007) round there are cultural differences between equity and satisfaction - couples from individualistic culture considers relationship to be most satisfying when relationship was equitable however partners in collectivist cultures were most satisfied when they were over benefitting. Theory = limited because it cannot account for individual differences

Answer 22

Not all partners are concerned about achieving equity. Huseman et al (1987) describe some partners as benevolents - prepared to contribute more to a relationship than they get out of it. Others = entitleds - believe they deserve to be over benefitted and accept it without feeling guilty. Shows equity is not global feature and is not a universal law of social interaction.

Answer 23

We should distinguish between different types of relationship - research shows equity plays a central role in casual friendships & business/work relationships. Evidence for equity being important in romantic relationships is much more mixed

Answer 24

Berg & McQuinn (1986) found equity did not increase in their longitudinal study of dating couples. Equity did not distinguish between relationships which ended and those which continued. Other variables = more important such as self-disclosure

Answer 25

Thibault & Kelley (1959) - behaviour in relationships reflects economic assumptions of exchange. We try minimise losses & maximise gains (minimax principle). Judge satisfaction on profit it yields. Opportunity cost - invest time & energy in your relationship using resources you cannot invest elsewhere.

Answer 26

First way we measure profit. The amount of reward you believe you deserve to get. Develops from experience of previous relationships and influenced by social norms. CL = high = relationship worth pursuing Low self esteem = low CL

Answer 27

Comparison level with alternatives, second measure of profit SET predicts we stay in current relationship as long as we believe it is more rewarding that alternatives. Duck (1994) - the CLalt we develop depends on state of current relationship. If costs outweigh rewards alternatives become more attractive.

Answer 28

Sampling - explore rewards & costs by experimenting in own relationships or observing. Bargaining - beginning of relationship, start exchanging rewards & costs identifying what is most profitable. Commitment - sources of costs and rewards become more predictable & relationship becomes more stable as rewards increase & costs decrease. Institutionalisation - partners are settled down because norms of relationship are established.

Answer 29

Clark and Mills (2011) argue that the theory fails to distinguish between exchange relationships (eg work colleagues) and communal relationships (romantic). Exchange - do involve social exchange. communal - giving and receiving rewards without keeping score. Claims reciprocal activities are monitored but if true we would question the type of commitment the partner wanted.

Answer 30

Argyle (1987) points out we don't measure costs and rewards in a relationship or constantly consider attractive alternatives until we are dissatisfied. Miller (1997) found people who rated themselves as highly committed to a relationship spent less time looking at images of attractive people. Less time was good predictor of relationship continuing 2 months later.

Answer 31

Equity, much research supporting role of equity in relationships and this is more important than balance of rewards and costs.

Answer 32

Difficult to quantify. Psychological rewards are difficult to define especially as they vary person to person. It is unclear what values of CL and CLalt must be before dissatisfaction threatens relationship.

Answer 33

Often use artificial tasks In artificial conditions. More realistic studies such as snapshot studies are less supportive of SET and cannot account for properties that emerge from s relationship over time such as trust.

Answer 34

A theory devised by Kerckhoff and Davis (1962) to explain how romantic relationships form and develop by comparing attitudes and personalities of student couple in short term (<18months) and long term relationships.

Answer 35

1st - Social Demography 2nd - Similarity in attitudes 3rd - Complementarity

Answer 36

Influence chance of potential partners meeting in the first place eg geographical location, social class, level of education, religion etc. Benefit of proximity = accessibility Anyone too different is discounted as potential partner. Outcome of this filtering = homogamy (more likely to form relationship with someone culturally or socially similar)

Answer 37

Kerckhoff & Davis found similarly in attitudes was important in development of romantic relationships but only for couples together less than 18months. Need for partners at earlier stages to agree basic values that results in deeper communication and greater self-disclosure. Evidence we find similar attitudes attractive, Byrne (1997) describe consistent findings that similarity causes attraction as law of attraction.

Answer 38

Ability of romantic partners to meet each other's needs. Partners compliment each other when one partner has a trait that the other lacks. Eg one partner likes to laugh and the other likes to make people laugh. Kerckhoff and Davis found the need for complementarity was more important for long-term couples. Makes partners feel that together they make s whole adding depth to relationship.

Answer 39

Theory has face validity as it agrees with most people's experience of romantic relationships. Winch (1958) found evidence that similarities of personalities, interest and attitudes between partners are typical of the early stages of a relationship.

Answer 40

He found many studies could not replicate the original findings. He put this down to social change over time and difficult in determining a relationship in sense of its length. This highlights problems with generalisation.

Answer 41

Evidence that direction of causality is wrong - Anderson et al (2003) found in a longitudinal study that cohabiting partners became more similar in emotional responses over time (emotional convergence). Davis and Rusbult (2001) discovered an attitude alignment effect in longer - term relationships. This suggested similarity is an effect of initial attraction and not the cause.

Answer 42

Lack of temporal validity- online dating has reduced importance of some demographic variables. Apps make meeting potential partners easier than ever. Therefore may Have a date with someone outside usual demographic range.

Answer 43

Anderson et al (2003) found similarity increases over time which suggests complementarity may not be a common feature of long-term relationships. Gruber-Baldini et al (1995) carried out a longitudinal study of married couples and found the similarities between spouses in terms of intellectual levels increased over a 14 year period.

Answer 44

Shackelford and Larson (1997) found people with symmetrical faces are rated as more attractive because it may be a signal of genetic fitness. People are also attracted to baby face features eg large eyes and small nose because these trigger a caring and protective instinct. McNulty et al (2008) found evidence that initial attractiveness that brought partners together continued to be important after marriage.

Answer 45

Have preconceived ideas of the personality traits attractive people have - positive. Dion et al (1972) 'what is beautiful is good' found physical attractive people are rates as strong, kind,sociable and successful. Example of self-fulfilling prophecy.

Answer 46

Walster (1966) - people choose romantic partners who are roughly the same physical attractiveness to each other. Have to make realistic judgement of own value to potential partner. Desire to have most attractive partner but balance this to avoid rejection.

Answer 47

Palmer and Peterson (2012) found physically attractive people were rated as more knowledgeable than unattractive people. This persisted when participants knew attractive person had no expertise. Has implications for political process

Answer 48

Feingold (1988) carried out a meta-analysis of 17 studies and found a significant correlation in ratings of attractiveness between romantic partners. Looked at actual partners = more realistic approach.

Answer 49

Taylor et al (2011) studied activity logs of popular online dating site. Real life test of of matching hypothesis as it measured actual date choices not preferences. Online dateless sought meetings with partners more physically attractive than them. Did not consider own level of attractiveness.

Answer 50

Cunningham et al (1995) found female features of large eyes, prominent cheekbones, small nose and high eyebrows were rated as highly attractive by white, Hispanic and Asian males. Wheeler and Kim (1997) found Korean and American students judged physically attractive people to be more trustworthy, concerned for other people, mature and friendly. Same culturally.

Answer 51

Some people do not attach much importance to physical attractiveness. Towhey asked males and female participants to rate how much they liked an individual based on a photograph and some biological information. Participants completed questionnaire - MACHO scale. Found participants Ho scored highly on the scale were more influence by physical attractiveness of the target when making a judgment of likability

Answer 52

Revealing personal information about yourself, romantic partners reveal more about their true selves at the relationship develops. Self disclosures can strengthen a romantic bind when used correctly.

Answer 53

The reciprocal exchange of information between intimate partners, when one partner reveals personal information they display trust, to go further the other partner must reveal personal information. As partners penetrate more deeply into each other's lives they gain a greater understanding of each other

Answer 54

Breadth and depth. As both increase romantic partners become more committed. Like an onion - low risk on surface, as relationship develops self-disclosure becomes deeper removing more layers to reveal true selves and high risk information.

Answer 55

Reis and Shaver (1988) - for a relationship to develop and increase in breadth and depth there need to be a reciprocal element of self disclosure.

Answer 56

``` Support from research studies Real life applications Cultural differences Correlation v causation Self disclosure and satisfaction ```

Answer 57

-Sprecher and Hendrick (2004) studied heterosexual dating couples and found a strong correlation between measures of satisfaction and self-disclosure. Those who self disclosed and believed their partners did also were more satisfied and committed to their relationship. - Laurenceau et at (2005) used diary entries to find that self disclosure and the perception of self disclosure were linked to higher levels of intimacy in long term married couples. Reverse also true. These findings increase validity of theory.

Answer 58

Hass and Stafford (1998) found 57% of gay men and women said open and honest self disclosure was the main way they maintained and deepened their committed relationship. Shows research into self disclosure can help people improve communication in their relationships to increase intimacy and strengthen their bond.

Answer 59

Tang et al (2013) reviewed research literature regarding sexual self disclosure and found men and women in USA self disclosure significantly more sexual thoughts and feelings than men and women in China. Both these are linked to relationship satisfaction in these cultures. Shows research from Western cultures are not generalisable to other cultures

Answer 60

Much self disclosure research is correlational (e.g. Sprecher and Hendrick). It is assumed that greater self disclosure causes more satisfaction however correlations do not support this.

Answer 61

Theories of relationship e.g Ducks breakdown model, recognises how couples discuss their state of relationship and involve deep self-disclosures and intimate thoughts and feelings and yet can still not rescue the relationship

Answer 62

An evolutionary explanation of partner preferences, attributes or behaviours that increase reproductive success are passed on and may become exaggerated over succeeded generations of offspring

Answer 63

The differences between male and female sex cells

Answer 64

Male - sperm are small, highly mobile, created continuously in vast numbers and do not create a great expenditure of energy to produce. Female - eggs are relatively large, static, produced at intervals for a limited number of fertile years and require huge investment of energy

Answer 65

Between sexes, strategies that males use to select females or females use to select males. Preferred strategy of female - quality over quantity. Female will chose a genetically fit partner who is willing to provide resources

Answer 66

Within each sex - strategies between males to be the one which is selected. Preferred strategy of male - quantity over quality. Competition between makes - winner reproduces and passes on winning qualities to offspring. Some of these qualities may lead to aggression.

Answer 67

When an attractive trait is chosen and over successful generations of females it would increase this trait in the male population as the women would continue to mate with males with this trait e.g height.

Answer 68

Fisher (1930) - a female mates with a male who has a desirable characteristic, this 'sexy' trait is inherited by her son and increases likelihood that successive generations of females will mate with her offspring

Answer 69

``` Research support for anisogamy Research support for inter-sexual selection Ignores social and cultural influences Support from waist-hip ratio research Support from lonely hearts research ```

Answer 70

Buss (1989) - survey of 10,000 adults in 33 countries. Asked questions relating to age and attributes that should be important in partner preference. Found females placed greater value on resource-related characteristics e.g good financial prospects and ambition. Males valued reproductive capacity in terms of good looks and chastity and preferred younger mates. Support predictions about partner preferences and can be applied across cultures.

Answer 71

Clark and Hatfield (1989) - male and female psychology students sent out across uni and approached students and asked would you go to bed with me tonight?' 0 females agreed where as 75% of males did. Supports that females are choosier than males.

Answer 72

Women's greater role in workplace means they are no longer dependent on men Bereczkei et al (1997) argued that this social change has consequences for females mate preferences which may no longer be resource orientated. Chang et al (2011) compared partner preferences in China over 25 years and found some changed but others remained the same. Mate preferences are therefore a combination of evolutionary and cultural influences.

Answer 73

Singh (1993/2002) found males find any hip and waist sizes attractive as long at the ratio is about 0.7. Wide him and narrow waist is a honest signal that women are fertile and not currently pregnant.

Answer 74

Waynforth and Dunbar (1995) studied lonely hearts advertisements in American newspapers. Men and women describe qualities they desire in potential partners and say what they have to offer. Women tended to offer physical attractiveness and indicators of youth. Men offered more resources and sought youth and physical attractiveness.

Relationships Flashcards

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