whole of factors effecting relationship

What did shackelford and Larsen (1997) found?

With with asymmetrical faces are rated as more attractive as it’s a sign of genetic fitness

Why are people attracted to neoteneous features?

Because they trigger a procreative and caring instinct

What did Dion et al (1972) found out about the halo effect?

It can lead to stereotypes about personality traits. Dion found that physically attractive people were consistently rated as kind strong sociable and several compared to unattractive people. This belief about good looking individuals makes them even more attractive to us and therefore leads to a self-fulfilling prophecy

Who came up with the matching hypothesis?

Waster and Walster (1969)

What’s the marching hypothesis?

When we seek out romantic relationships, individuals seek out those whose social desirability roughly equals their own

How do we choose partners according to the matching hypothesis?

We asses our own value and then choose a potential partner from available candidates that would be most likely attracted to us. We seek out those most similar to ourself to maximalist the chance of success and minimise the chances of an embrassing rejection

What supportive evidence is there for the matching hypothesis?

Feingold (1988) conducted a meta analysis of 17 studies and found a significant correlation between the perceived effectiveness of an actual partners when rated by independent participants

What’s contradictory finding for the matching hypothesis?

Walster et al (1966) advertised a dance party for new students at a university

Walster et al. (1966): How was the computer dance study conducted?

177 men and 170 women attended a dance. They were rated for attractiveness, completed questionnaires, but were randomly paired despite being told matching was based on compatibility.

What did Walster et al. (1966) find?

Participants liked more attractive partners regardless of their own attractiveness. Personality and intelligence had little effect on initial attraction.

What did Eastwick & Finkel (2008) conclude?

Preferences for physical attractiveness did not predict real-life partner choice, suggesting the matching hypothesis lacks predictive validity.

Outline Eastwick et al (2008) study

They used evidence from speed dating and a longitudinal follow up. Prior to speed dating people showed preference for physical attractiveness but participants actual partner preferences elected both their romantic attraction and their partners specific characteristics

contradictory theory- what’s the complex matching hypothesis?

The belief that matching is much more complex than just physical attractiveness. People enter a relationship offering a number of desirable characteristics that can make up for lack of attractiveness

What is self disclosure

The extent to which a person reveals personal information about themselves such as intimate thoughts, feelings, experiences.

Why is self disclosure an important aspect of romantic relationships?

The greater the disclosure the greater the feeling of intimacy. Because people reveal more intimate information to those they like and tend to like those who reveal more intimate information to them in return

Who came up with the social penetration theory?

Altman and Taylor (1973)

What does the social penetration theory outline?

That there are two dimensions to self disclosure. Breath and depth. Breadth: the range of topics covered which usually expands first in a relationship. Depth: the degree of private or personal information. It is more difficult to reach and includes painful memories. Both are crucial in developing a fully intimate relationship

Who came up with reciprocity?

Reis and Shaver (1988)

What does the reciprocity theory outline?

For a relationship to develop, there needs to be a reciprocal element to disclosure. The norm is that self Disclosure should not be a one way process

What happens if we reveal too much information too soon in a relationship?

If we reveal too much too soon we threaten the progress of the relationship but as the relationship develops self disclosure becomes deeper.

What research support is there for the importance of reciprocal self disclosure?

Sprencher et al (2013) paired unacquainted student volunteers and asked to them to talk over Skype. A reciprocal group took turns in asking questions and disclosing. A non-reciprocal group had one of the pair asking questions and the other answering before swapping roles

What do findings of Sprencher et al (2013) show?

That liking, closeness, and enjoyment were higher in the reciprocal group that the non reciprocal

Why may the self disclosure theory me ethnocentric?

Cultures tend to differ in the importance they place on personal self disclosure. Western cultures typically disclose more than non-western cultures. Women disclose more than men. However Nakanishi (1986) found that Japanese women prefer much lower level of disclosure than Japanese women which is opposite to self disclose pattern in western cultures

Why may self disclosure be an effect, not a course?

People may disclose more because they already trust and feel close to their partner. This challenges the idea that self-disclosure necessarily causes intimacy to develop. Therefore, the theory may explain how relationships are maintained or deepen rather than fully explaining how they initially form.

Outline the filter theory

People select partners from a range of those who are potentially available to them: field of available and we use three filters to narrow down the choice to those most suitable: fields of desirables

What are the three filters?

Social demography, similarity in attributes, complementary of needs

Outline Kerckhoff and Davis (1962) study

He compared the attitudes and personalities of student couple in short term and long term relationships using a questionnaire. They found that attitude similarity was most important factor up to 18 months but complimenting each other needs becomes more important for long term couples

How does online dating challenge the temporal validity of Filter Theory?

Filter Theory may lack temporal validity because it was developed before online dating became widespread. People can now meet partners online outside their immediate social and geographical groups, meaning social demography may be less important as an initial filter.

This suggests the theory may not fully explain modern partner selection.

What research supports the importance of similarity when picking partners?

Tidwell et al. found that perceived similarity, rather than actual similarity, predicted initial romantic attraction during speed-dating encounters.

This challenges the assumption that people select partners based on objective similarities, suggesting that how similar people believe they are may be more important.

How does Tidwell et al. (2013) challenge the validity of Kerckhoff and Davis's research?

Tidwell et al. found that perceived similarity was a better predictor of initial romantic attraction than actual similarity. This suggests that Kerckhoff and Davis may not have fully accounted for the importance of perceived similarity when investigating partner selection, potentially limiting the validity of their conclusions.

Why may the filter theory lack temporal validity?

Rosenfeld et al (2019) found that 39% of heterosexual couples reported meeting their partners online- making social demography less of an important filter.

This suggests the theory may not fully explain modern partner selection.

Why may the filter theory be reductionist?

Reducing attraction to a series of filters limits the range of real life romantic experiences. It cannot explain why people stay in long time abusive relationships despite the lack of complementary

Why may the filter theory not be generalisable?

Kerckhoff assumed that it took 18 months to form long term relationship but gay men established commited relationships in only 6 months on average