relationships 16 mark essay plans

outline and evaluate the social exchange theory of romantic relationships ao1

Thibaut and Kelley 1959 - the theory of social exchange theory is the underlying view that people are fundamentally selfish - claimed behaviour in relationships reflect economic exchange ,we view our feelings for others in terms of profit - people aim to minimise costs and maximise rewards in a relationship - they believe commitment to a relationship is dependent on the profitability of this outcome

comparison level - a standard against which all our relationships are judged - this could be a product of previous relationship experience - if we judge that the profit in a relationship will be less than CL we will see a relationship with that person as unattractive

outline and evaluate the social exchange theory of romantic relationships ao3 strength

kurdek and Schmitt have a supporting study for SET

they investigated the importance of social exchange factors for determining relationship qualities in 185 relationships (no kids)

they all answered the questionnaire separately and 4 types of couples found higher relationship satisfaction if -see many benefits in current relationships

-alternative relationships

therefore more likely to have long lasting relationships supporting cl and set

however methodology issues with questionnaire (demand characteristics, social desirability)

outline and evaluate the social exchange theory of romantic relationships ao3 challenge

murstein et al (1977) research challenging SET

says SET does not apply to all relationships but only to individuals who 'keep score' (exchange orientation tool) identifying such score keepers suggesting they are suspicious and insecure - SET only suits relationships lacking confidence and mutual trust

may not be plausible to use SET in explaining all relationships

outline and evaluate the social exchange theory of romantic relationships ao3 ida

culture bias - this theory may only apply to individualistic cultures eg these theories have been mainly conducted in the West as social mobility is higher and relationships are formed for pleasure and happiness however in collectivist cultures reward and value is not based on personal profit (eg in cases of migration needs may be more complex than individualism)

therefore SET may be limited in which relationships they can explain

outline and evaluate equity theory of romantic relationships ao1

WALSTER 1978 extension of the SET, people strive to achieve fairness in relationships and feel distressed when they perceive unfairness

people who under benefit (give a lot but don't get a lot in return) and people who over benefit (doesn't give a lot but gets a lot) can both perceive inequity therefore distress in a relationship

equity doesn't mean equality -it is about perceived fairness (one can give more than the other)

outline and evaluate equity theory of romantic relationships ao3 strength

stafford and canary's 2006 study - interested in how equity and satisfaction predicted use of maintenance strategies in relationships

200 married couples complete measures on relationship satisfaction and equity

they were also asked about reassurances and sharing tasks/responsibilities

relationship satisfaction higher for those who believed relationship to be equitable which supports Walster's theory of equity in relationships

METHODOLOGICAL ISSUES WITH QUESTIONNAIRES

outline and evaluate equity theory of romantic relationships ao3 criticism

clark and mills 1979 distinguished between colleague relationships and romantic relationships

they argued that colleague relationships may involve keeping track of rewards and costs but romantic relationships are governed by desire to respond to the needs of the partner

some concerns of equity , but should balance out in the long run

outline and evaluate equity theory of romantic relationships ao3 ida / rwa

real word application - equity theory provides useful evidence and suggestion for how couples experiencing difficulty can resolve and maintain their partnership

important implications for marital therapy, suggesting the problem of inequity, should be addressed before other issues of compatibility, for example, in order for the marriage to continue successfully - this could take the form of practical strategies to be put in place initially to facilitate couples to look at their deeper issues

outline and evaluate the investment model of relationships ao1

RUSBAULT 1980 attempts to explain why people persist in some relationships and not others 3 factors that may explain and allow us to predict commitment level of relationship

satisfaction level - pos/neg emotions within a relationship - extent to which the other person fulfils the individual's needs (if profits exceeds CL it will do well)

quality of alternatives -refers to the extent to which an individual's needs might be better fulfilled outside of the relationship - an attractive alternative might lead an individual away from a relationship and equally lack of alternatives may push someone to stay

investment size - people don't just weigh up rewards but also how much they have invested

extrinsic (children, money, mutuals)

intrinsic (energy, emotion, memories)

outline and evaluate the investment model of relationships ao3 strength

le and Agnew 2003 meta analysis of studies exploring the different components of the investment model and the relation between them (11,000 ppts)

findings across all found:

satisfaction level highly correlated with relationship commitment +0.68

quality of alternatives -0.48 and investment +0.46

therefore supports rusbault's model

outline and evaluate the investment model of relationships ao3 limitation

goodfriend and agnew - point out there is more to investment than just resources you have already put into a relationship, they extended rusbault's original model by including the investment romantic partners make in their future plans

it suggests they are motivated to commit to each other and persist in a relationship because they are motivated to see their plans completed

this research provided evidence that future plans were strongly predictive of commitment, above past investments

outline and evaluate the investment model of relationships ao3 ida / rwa

this theory can help to explain why people remain in abusive relationships

rusbault et al investigated intimate partner violence and found that those who were most likely to return to abusive partners had less attractive alternatives and had made great investments (such as children, mortgages)

this therefore supports rusbaults theory in a real world setting

outline and evaluate duck's phase model of relationship breakdown ao1

DUCK'S 1982 phase model of relationship breakdown sees the breakdown as a series of phases, of which each has a threshold - only once this threshold has been breached that those involved move onto the next phase - intra-psychic, dyadic, social, grave-dressing

intra-psychic: one becomes distressed and dissatisfied and a consider whether oneself might be better off out of the relationship "I'd be justified in withdrawing"

dyadic: individuals confront partners and discuss feelings and potential futures - relationships can be saved if both partners motivated to resolve issues "I mean it"

social: friends and family become aware - this can make reconciliation harder as people may take sides that could make matters worse for the couple "it's now inevitable"

grave dressing phase: after leaving relationship, partner attempts to justify their actions, this is important as each person wants to present themselves in a good light for future partners (version of events for social credit) "time to get a new life"

outline and evaluate duck's phase model of relationship breakdown ao3 criticism to support

initially criticised for failing to recognise the probability of personal growth following relationship growth - in 2006 duck added the 'resurrection processes' to allow for the fact people engage in personal growth as well as initial distress

outline and evaluate duck's phase model of relationship breakdown ao3 support for new part of model

tashiro and fraizer 2003 supported this new phrase in their study of 92 undergraduates who had recently broken up with a partner, those studied typically reported personal growth as well as distress

therefore duck's model now accurate of full stage of relationship breakdown

however, methodological issues? 18-22 and uni students - individual differences due to age bias and high educational attainment?

outline and evaluate duck's phase model of relationship breakdown ao3 ida / rwa

Duck's model can explain how couples stay together even if they have doubts about the relationship as a breakdown is not inevitable unless each threshold is breached. Therefore, Duck's model is useful for marriage guidance because it stresses the importance of communication and the dyadic stage in order to motivate couples to resolve the issues. This is through talking and paying attention to the benefits and costs of their relationships making it easier to repair their differences before they reach the threshold and enter into the social stage. This supports Duck's model of relationship breakdown because his stages can be applied to real life relationships and act as a guide to repair relationships.

outline and evaluate virtual relationships in social media ao1

as internet use has increased, psychologists have become more and more interested in online relationships and computer meditated communication (CMC), research has shown that people conduct virtual relationships differently to how they would conduct face to face relationships

2 main differences:

higher levels of self disclosure: self disclosure is then amount of personal information an individual is willing to share - research has found people are more likely to self disclose information much quicker in online relationships due to the psychological effects of anonymity

the removal of 'gates': gates are physical obstacles in a relationship that may make offline relationships more difficult such as age, attractiveness, ethnicity - the absence of this in virtual relationships may give an opportunity to less socially skilled individuals to form a relationship

outline and evaluate virtual relationships in social media ao3 support

evidence for self disclosure - Rubin's stranger on a train study

rubin had confederates self disclose personal information to strangers on a train, findings found that personal information. form the stranger was often reciprocated and rubin believed this to be because the situation was fairly anonymous and they were unlikely to meet stranger again - this therefore suggests why people self disclose in online relationships due to high levels of anonymity

outline and evaluate virtual relationships in social media ao3 support 2

McKenna 2000 suggested CMC/ virtual relationships can be used by lonely/ socially anxious people to help form relationships as there is the removal of gates and because people are more inclined to express themselves than in face to face

of the romantic relationships formed online during this study, 70% lasted more than 2 years which was higher than offline relationships - (supporting virtual relationships)

outline and evaluate virtual relationships in social media ao3 ida

cultural bias (ethnocentric to western culture) importance of self disclosure is not true of all relationships) tang et al found that people in the US self disclose significantly more than those in China (individualistic vs collectivist cultures) Both of these levels of self-disclosure are linked to relationship satisfaction in those cultures. Self-disclosure theory is therefore a limited explanation of romantic relationships, as it is based on the findings from Western (individualistic) cultures which cannot necessarily be generalised to other cultures, thereby weakening the theory as a universal explanation of romantic relationships.

what did jourard suggest about the difference in public/private self disclosure?

he suggested that people present an edited version of themselves when disclosing on social media and exercise different levels of SD whether they are presenting information publicly or privately (people are more confident disclosing more in private conversations rather than a wider social audience) people may compensate for lack of control over the target audience by exercising increased control over what information the audience has access to

gender differences in vr

beta bias - gender differences not considered

BO 2018 found that women were more selective on online data apps.

95% of the time women swipe left whereas 47% of the time men swipe left.

social phase of breakdown differences

DUCK 2005 suggests that the impact of the social phase depends on the sort of relationship involved. For teenagers, relationship are seen as more unstable than long-term adult relationships and are largely seen as being 'testing grounds' for future long term commitments. As a result, individuals may receive sympathy but no real attempt at reconciliation from the confidants as there are 'plenty more fish in the sea'. DICKINSON 1995 however suggests that as older people have lower expectations of being able to find a replacement for the present partner, the consequences of a relationship are o=more significant.