Relationships

What is Anisogamy?

The differences between male sex cells and female sex cells.

What is the difference between male sex cells and female sex cells?

Male = small, created continuously in vast numbers from puberty to old age.

Female = large, produced for a limited number of fertile years

What is the consequence of Anisogamy?

there will be no shortage of fertile males but there is a shortage of fertile females.

What does the evolutionary approach explain?

It explains human behaviour in terms of adaptiveness and reproductive success.

What do these approaches argue?

They argue that if a behavioural feature for example partner selection has been genetically inherited by one generation from another, then it must have a specific value for the human species.

What does this help humans adapt better to?

The environment and survive (natural selection) or it might help to attract a mate and have healthy offspring (sexual selection)

What does natural selection mean?

Natural selection means survival of the fittest and traits that are not needed for survival die out. It also includes genetic mutation

What does sexual selection mean?

Sexual selection means survival alone is not enough, and without mating, useful traits will not be passed on and will be lost. We also need traits that increase our chance of mating, not just survival. There is competition within species to pass on genes.

What is Inter-Sexual Selection?

Inter-sexual selection can sometimes be referred to as ‘female choice’. This is because it is the idea that women can reproduce fewer times and invest a greater amount of time and resources in their offspring so females need to be sure that their partner will provide the right genetic fit by being wiling to provide the necessary resources. They prefer ‘quality over quantity’

What is Intra-Sexual Selection?

Intra-Sexual selection is a male strategy, it refers to the evolutionary developed features that allow a male to compete with other males for a female mate. The winners effectively reduce the choice the opposite sex has and therefore increase their chance if being chosen for male reproductive purposes.

What does Intra-sexual selection lead to and what is it?

It leads to dimorphism, men are more competitive, they impregnate as many females as they wish due to having an unlimited amount of sperm. this leads to men favouring fertile mates such as certain body shapes and facial features, e.g women with big eyes = innocence and youth-fullness, hourglass figure = ability to reproduce demonstrate the female is clearly not pregnant

What does self disclosure mean and what is it?

Self disclosure is when we learn a much as we can about our new partner in the early days of the relationship. revealing personal information, and as the relationship develops, more is revealed.

What does social penetration theory propose?

It proposes that to develop attraction, it is vital that they both begin to exchange personal information, due to disclosure being an initial display of trust. as more information is passed between the couple, they penetrate deeper into each others personal lives which is a vital basic feature of romantic relationships.

What did Altman and Taylor propose about breadth and depth of self-disclosure?

They would argue that for attraction to develop and for the relationship to progress self disclosure needs to become serious and personal. self disclosure is suggested to have ‘layers’, as more important and serious topics are discussed, the relationship becomes more committed and serious.

What did Reis and Shaver propose about reciprocity of self disclosure?

There has to be a balance of intimate self-disclosure or trust will not be established between such well suited individuals.

What is a strength of self-disclosure as a factor affecting attraction.

• research support

• Sprecher used 156 uni students from usa and they were paired in same sex or opposite sex dyads. the unacquainted pairs were asked to engage in a skype conversation.

• condition 1- dyads were asked to self disclose in a reciprocal manner where each individual in pair took turns to ask the other a question about themselves and alternated. condition 2- self disclosure was not reciprocal and 1 partner disclosed while other listened, they then swapped roles.

• they found that in the condition where ppts self disclosed in reciprocal manner, each alternating in the dyad throughout the interaction compared to the other interaction.

What is a

What is a

What is physical attraction as a factor affecting attraction?

From an evolutionary perspective there are physical traits that highlight fertility and good genetics. Attractiveness is not only important at the start of a relationship it also helps maintain relationships.

What is the Halo Effect and what did Dion et al find out about it?

Dion et al found that attractive people are consistently rated as kind and sociable when compared to unattractive people. This means we not only believe that good looking people are more physically attractive we expect them to have other desirable characteristics, this also means that we tend to behave more positively towards attractive people.

What is the Matching Hypothesis?

Individuals seeking a partner will not automatically go for the most attractive person but someone who matches their own level of physical attractiveness, but for the partners to be matched, a realistic judgement must be placed on our own physical attractiveness first, we have to compromise.

What is a limitation of physical attraction as a factor affecting attraction? (research questioning MH)

• research questioning the matching hypothesis

• taylor et al researched the activity log on a dating website

• they found that website users were more likely to try and arrange a meeting with a potential partner who was more physically attractive than them

• these findings contradict the matching hypothesis because website users should seek more dates with a person who is similar to them in terms of attractiveness because it provides them with a better chance of being accepted, this question the validity of the matching hypothesis

• however, taylor et al only researched websites for online dating and people may be more likely to lie about their attractiveness just to get a potential date.

What is another limitation of physical attraction as a factor affecting attraction? (cannot explain everything)

• cannot explain all relationships

• many researchers have suggested that the matching hypothesis only applies to short term relationships and not long term ones.

• many people compensate for lack of attractiveness with other qualities such as intellect or financial support. which may explain why some form sugar daddy relationships

• this is a limitation as theories into physical attraction may lack validity when it comes to explaining all relationships

What is a strength of physical attraction as a factor affecting attraction?

• research supporting the halo effect

• Palmer and Peterson asked people to rate how politically competent and knowledgeable attractive and unattractive may be based on pictures alone

• they found that attractive people were more likely to be rated as politically knowledgeable

• this is a strength as it supports the idea that physically attractive people would be rated as having a positive personality type too.

Explain Filter Theory

We have a field of available people when selecting a partner, not everyone is desirable. there are 3 main factors that act as a filters to narrow down our range of partner choices

What is Social Demography?

It is the first filter and it is geographical location, social class, education, ethnic group, religion.

How are you more likely to meet someone? (Social Demography)

When they are physically close and and share the same geographical characteristics. close proximity means accessibility and lower effort. Potential partners are constrained by social circumstances.

What is the outcome of this filter? (Social Demography)

Homogamy which is when you develop a relationship with someone who is socially or culturally similar

Why is similarity in attitudes important?

It is important for the development of relationships particularly when they are under 18 months. In the early stages of a relationship it is important for partners to agree over basic values.

What does this promote and what does this result in?

Self-disclosure and it results in attraction

What is complementarity?

The ability of romantic partners to meet each others needs.

When do two partners complement each other?

When they have traits the other lacks, e.g one partner may be dominant and the other may enjoy being nurtured.

What is this important for? (Complementarity)

Long term relationships

What is a limitation of filter theory as a factor affecting attraction? (lacks temporal)

• Lacks temporal validity

• the recent invention of online dating apps such as tinder have changed how we meet a romantic partner

• these apps allow us to meet partners from all over the world and means the first filter of social demography may not be as important as it once was

• this is a limitation as it questions the validity of geographical location being an important factor in the modern world

• however, some dating apps have a distance/range filter which suggests it is still important

What is another limitation of filter theory? (lack generalisability)

• Lacks generalisability

• most research supporting the filter theory uses ppts from individualist, western cultures

• individualist cultures value free will with regard to relationship choice and describe the choice of partners in terms of individual preferences. in these cultures, people may apply the criteria described by the filter theory freely as usually without much influence from other people

• however, this is not the case in collectivist cultures where it is common for romantic relationships to be arranged, so partners are not free to apply individual filters to select their future spouse

• this means that filter theory suffers from cultural bias.

Who developed social exchange theory?

Thibaut + Kelly

What does social exchange theory say the aim of a relationship is?

to maximise rewards e.g happiness, and minimise costs e.g time.

What does social exchange theory say about maintaining a relationship?

It depends on the profit or loss of the outcome between rewards and costs

What is comparison level?

The idea of how much somebody believes they deserve from a relationships - their minimum benchmark. This is subjective and depends on the individual e.g some may accept only a big profit, some may take a small profit, some may take a loss.

How is comparison level developed?

Through experiences and ideas of what is expected

What is comparison level influenced by?

Social norms e.g tv, films

What is comparison level for alternatives?

A perception about whether a different potential relationship or being single could be more rewarding than being in theri current relationship.

What does SET argue about comparison level?

• People will stay in their current relationship if it is more profitable than alternatives.

• Both comparison level and comparison level for alternatives affect somebody’s satisfaction.

What is the first stage of relationship development?

Sampling - Testing several relationships before settling in the ‘best’ one

What is the second stage of relationship development?

Bargaining - Each partner of the couple explores what gives them a reward and what is a cost within the relationship. Each partner attempts to maximise thier rewards and lower their costs.

What is the fourth step in stages of relationship development?

Commitment - The couple settle into a relationship. Rewards/costs become agreed and settle into a fairly predictable routine.

What is the fourth step in stages of relationship development?

Institutionalisation - All interactions between have become established. The couple has settled down.

What is a strength of Social Exchange Theory?

• real life applications

• integrative behaviour couples therapy. during sessions partners are trained to increase the proportion of positive exchanges in their everyday interactions and decrease negative ones

• Christiansen et al found that 2/3 of those treated using this reported that their relationship had significantly improved and were feeling happier as a result

• this is a strength as it can help distressed couples in real life.

What is a limitation of Social Exchange Theory? (less applicable)

• less applicable to romantic relationships

• SET assumes that couples keep a tally of loss and profit within a relationship. however, clark and Mills argue that while this may be true of exchange couples (work colleagues) it is rarely the case for communal couples (romantic couples) where rewards are distributed freely without keeping score

• this has been expanded on by other theories who argue ‘fairness’ is key to relationships

• this is a limitation as it limits the validity of SET as it can only apply to a limited range of social relationships.

What is another limitation of Social Exchange Theory? (deterministic)

• deterministic

• According to SET, if the costs outweigh the rewards, a person will want to opt out of a relationship. however, there are many cases where people stay in high cost relationships (eg where one partner is chronically ill) without feeling dissatisfied

• as a result the predictive validity of SET is very limited, it cannot establish with significant certainty whether a person will feel happy or unhappy in a relationship, based on the costs or rewards they are getting.

• this is a limitation because it cannot be used to predict human behaviour with a degree of certainty which is one of the main objectives for psychology to be accepted as a science

What does Equity Theory suggest about what people expect in a relationship?

Fairness

What does Equity Theory say about maintaining a relationship?

Working towards a balance and fairness between partners

Why does Equity not mean Equality?

You could give or receive very different amounts and the relationship could still be equitable. What is considered ‘fair’ is subjective for each partner.

What does over-benefiting mean?

One partner getting more profit than the other - may feel guilt and shame.

What does under-benefiting mean?

One partner getting less profit than the other - may feel dissatisfaction and anger.

What do we do if there is inequity in a relationship?

If there is inequity, we are motivated to restore equity which can be done by changing how much input a person puts in or the amount a person puts in.

How can Comparison level and Comparison level for alternatives be used in Equity Theory?

We may assess whether it is worth continuing a current relationship.

What is a behavioural way to deal with inequity?

The put upon partner will work hard to make the relationship more equitable, as long as they believe it is possible and the relationship is salvageable. The couple will work hard to restore equity.

What is a cognitive way to restore equity?

They will revise their perceptions of costs and rewards so that the relationship feels more equitable even if nothing changes behaviourally. What was once seen as a cost earlier would be accepted as the norm.

What is a strength of Equity Theory?

• Research Supporting the link between satisfaction and equity

• Vthe used self-report scales to measure equity and satisfaction in recently married couples.

• 118 participants aged between 16 and 45 who were together 2 years or more before marrying

• They found that partners who rated their relationships as more equitable were more satisfied

• this is a strength as it directly supports the validity that equity is linked to satisfaction

• however, due to this study being older, it lacks temporal validity because the expectations of women’s roles in society have changed.

What is a limitation of Equity Theory?

• Gender differences

• DeMaris et al found that women are more focused on relationships, and are therefore more sensitive to injustices

• this indicates the clear gender differences between males and females and highlight the importance of conducting research into males and females separately to avoid gender bias

• this is a limitation because it results in alpha bias and exaggerates the differences between males and females that do not actually exist.

What is Rusbault’s Investment model?

A development of SET and considers the role of investments - Commitment and maintenance of a romantic relationship = satisfaction

What is Satisfaction? (RIM)

• Commitment is strengthened with the amount of satisfaction we have

• In this case it is defined as rewards-costs= satisfaction

• We compare this level of satisfaction to past relationships

What is Investment? (RIM)

• Commitment is also increased by the amount of investment we have put into a relationship

• Investment includes anything we have put into a relationship that will be lost if we leave - the resources associated with the relationship

• e.g child custody, shared friends, money, a home, emotional energy, and time etc

What is Comparison with alternatives? (RIM)

• Are there other alternatives which would be better for me

• This could be another partner

• Comparison with previous relationship/no relationship

What is Intrinsic Investment?

Resources we directly put into the relationship e.g money, and possessions (tangibles) or energy, emotion and self-disclosure (intangible)

What is Extrinsic Investment?

Resources that previously feature in the relationships, but are now closely associated with the relationship. Tangibles - possessions bought together, mutual friends and children. Intangibles - shared memories.

What is Commitment? (RIM)

A key psychological factor that causes people to stay in a relationship

Why may people who are not satisfied stay in a relationship? (Commitment RIM)

They are committed to their partner.

Why are people committed?

They have invested in the relationship, they don’t want to waste what they have invested.

How can Accommodation be used as a relationship maintenance mechanism?

Enduring partners do not engage in tit-for-tat retaliation but act to promote the relationship.

How can willingness to sacrifice be used as a relationship maintenance mechanism?

Will put their partners’ interests first.

How can forgiveness be used as a relationship maintenance mechanism?

Forgive them for serious transgressions.

How can positive illusions be used as a relationship maintenance mechanism?

Relationship maintenance also includes cognitive processes. Partners are unrealistically positive about their partners.

How can ridiculing alternatives be used as a relationship maintenance mechanism?

Negative about tempting alternatives.

What is a limitation of Rusbault’s Investment Model?

• Supporting research is correlational

• much of the research into whether investment affects commitment uses correlational studies

• these studies can only look at the relationship between these two variables and cannot prove that investment leads to commitment

• this is a limitation as the theory lacks predictive validity as we could not predict how much investment may be needed for a long term commitment to happen which is a main feature of a science.

What is a strength of Rusbault’s Investment Model?

• Can explain why people stay in abusive relationships

• according to the theory, people may remain committed to their partner despite low satisfaction (due to high costs) because they have a large amount invested

• an example of this could be time (intrinsic tangible) or children (extrinsic tangible)

• Comparison - other theories such as SET would argue that because satisfaction is low, they would leave that relationship. Rusbault + Maltz studied abused women and found they were most likely to stay when investment was highest

• this is a strength as it can explain a wider range of relationships than previous theories

What is another strength of Rusbault’s Investment Model?

• holistic

• Rusbault argues that relationships have many factors that affect commitment such as satisfaction level, investment and comparison level

• other theories such as equity theory only consider fairness to be a factor that affects the commitment in a relationship

• this is a strength of Rusbault’s theory as it takes into account a range of factors that affect commitment levels in relationships.

What is relationship breakdown according to Duck’s phase model?

A gradual process that takes time and goes through 4 distinct phases. Each phase - partner reaches threshold - their perception of relationship changes

What does relationship breakdown start with according to Duck’s phase model?

Dissatisfaction

What is the first stage of relationship breakdown called?

Intra-psychic processes - ‘I’d be justified in withdrawing’

What does the first stage of relationship breakdown include?

• Characterised by social withdrawal and resentment

• Communication between couple breaks down

• The dissatisfied partner begins to focus in on the other partner’s faults

• internally justifying your desire to break up

What is the second stage of relationship breakdown called?

Dyadic Processes - ‘I mean it’

What does the second stage of relationship breakdown include?

• The dissatisfaction of relationship is finally expressed to other partner

• the other partner may be oblivious to it or also dissatisfied can lead to:

• - reconciliation - problem is fixed, breakdown ends

• -destruction - couple are unable to resolve problems - continue to next phase

What is the third stage of relationship breakdown called?

Social Processes - ‘Its now inevitable’

What does the third stage of relationship breakdown include?

• Break up is made public

• Family and friends are confided in and advice is sought

• each member of couple may begin to start ‘testing the market’ for future partners

• based on friend advice and dating experiences, this could again lead to reconciliation or further destruction

What is the fourth stage of relationship breakdown called?

Grave-Dressing Processes - ‘Time to get a new life’

What does the fourth stage of relationship breakdown include?

• Relationship is dead

• a narrative of the breakup is created by both partners

• these narratives usually demonise the ex-partner whilst making the self look good for a new relationship

• mutual friends begin to choose sides

What is a limitation of Duck’s phase model?

• individual differences

• Dickson found that friends and relatives tend to see teenagers’ breakups as less serious since the couple are young and finding their feet with regard to other potential relationships

• termination of relationships which are longer standing is seen as more distressing and those close to the couple put more effort into bringing them back together, potentially because of reduced possibilities for finding an alternative partner in the future

• this shows that Duck’s model cannot necessarily be applied to all couples and as a result suggests that the model is unable to accurately predict breakdown in different types of relationship

What is a strength of Duck’s phase model?

• real world application

• couples may be advised to use different strategies depending on the phase that they are currently experiencing

• for example Duck recommends that for a person in the intra-psychic phase it may be useful to shift their attention to the positive aspects of their partner’s personality, while for a couple in the dyadic phase communication with their partner about dissatisfaction and ways to balance the relationship is crucial

• this shows that Duck’s model can be used successfully to help couples contemplating break-up to improve their relationships and stay together.

Who developed the Reduced Cues Theory?

Sproull and Kiesler

What does the Reduced Cues Theory state?

• there are many emotional cues missing in computer mediated communication, like facial expressions and tone of voice. this all leads to de-individuation where people sense of self is reduced and encourages disinhibition in relation to others

• fewer cues as to how the relationship is progressing e.g can’t tell if laughing or smiling

• because of this virtual relationships can involve blunt and more aggressive comments

What does Walther argue about the Hyper-Personal model?

Online relationships can be more personal and involve more disclosure than face to face relationships. Anonymity is also a key feature of hyper personal self-disclosure similar to the stranger on the train effect - if someone is unaware of your identity you feel less accountable for your behaviour, self-disclosure is more likely

What did Cooper and Sportolari develop?

The Boom and Bust phenomenon.

What is the Boom and Bust phenomenon?

When people overshare without the proper grounding of trust, which makes self-disclosure an essential part of a relationship, leading to the breakdown of the relationship.

What is self-selective preservation?

When the sender manipulates their image much more in CMC than face to face

What is a gate?

Obstacle to the formation of a relationship.

How are Face to Face relationships gated?

Physical unattractiveness, verbal communication and social anxiety

What did McKenna and Bargh suggests about an advantage of CMC?

There is an absence of gating

What happens because of an absence of gating?

CMC relationships can develop deeper and the absence of gating allows for quicker self-disclosure. Attention can be focused on self disclosure rather than trivial gates - online people are more interested in what they are being told rather than what someone looks like.