Factors affecting attraction: Filter theory

What did Kreckhoff and Davies do?

Carried out a longitudinal study using several questionnaires to compare attidtudes and personalities of student couples in short term (less than 18 months) and long-term relationships

What was suggested from their study?

That relationships develop through 3 filters

Which filter out potential partners, for different reasons at different times

What does these filters help to do?

Narrow down the 'filed of availables' to the 'field of desirables'

What is the order of filters from most important to least important?

1- social/demographic variables

2- similarity of attitudes and values

3- complementarity of emotional needs

Social demography

Refers to variables such as age, social background, elision and location, which determine the likelihood of individuals meeting in the first place.

What does the filter of social demography lead to?

Homogamy - you are more likely to form a relationship with someone who is socially and culturally similar to you

Similarity of attitudes and values

Arises out of homogamy - agreement over basic values which leads to greater and deeper self-disclosure

What did Kreckhoff and Davies find out about the law of attraction suggested by Byrne?

Test is was found to only be important to the development of relationships up to 18 months

What is complementarity?

Having traits that the other partner lacks

Why is complementarity important in long-term romantic relationships?

It adds depth, makes the relationship more whole and makes it more likely to flourish

Strength 2

Their study was longitudinal - findings are considered to have higher validity

Both partners in dating couples completed questionnaires to assess 2 main factors (similarity in attitudes/values and complementarity of needs)

Relationship closeness was measured by another questionnaire 7 months later

They found that closeness was associated with similarity in attitudes/values but only for couples who had been together for less than 18 months

For couples in long term relationships complementarity of needs predicted closeness

This provides evidence that similarity is importantly in early stages of relationships but that complementarity is more important later on

Limitation 1

Most research supporting the filter theory uses participants from individualistic, Western cultures - where there is value to free choice in relationships

In these cultures, people may apply the criteria used in the filter theory freely, however this is not the case for collectivist cultures where arranged marriages and relationships are still prominent, additionally in collectivist cultures partners might be chosen due to other factors which benefit the family and communities as a whole rather than one person

So partners are not free to apply individual filters to select partners

This means that the filter theory is not universal and suffers from culture bias as it assumes that rules apply equally to all cultures - this decreases the validity and credibility of the theory

Limitation 2

The filter theory is quite reductionism and it limits the range of real life romantic experiences

E.g. it cant explain why many people stay a long time in abusive relationships despite the lack of complementarity which is suggested to affect long-term relationships

This suggest that's a more holistic approach that considers other aspects of relationships might be a better way of explaining the complexity of relationship maintenance

Strength 1

One strength of Filter Theory is that it is supported by research studies

Baldini et al. carried out a longitudinal study of couples aged 21 and found that those who were similar in educational level and age at the start of the relationship were more likely to stay together and have a successful relationships.

This demonstrates the importance of sociodemographic factors, such as age and location, supporting the idea that people are more likely to meet and build relationships with people who are geographically close and share similarities in terms of age, education, etc.

Strenght/ counterpoint - 2

The importance of sociodemographic factors, similarity of attitudes and complementarity in developing attraction is something that many people experience in their everyday life, meaning that filter theory has face validity - as people can relate to it with intuitive 'this makes sense' understanding.

However, sociodemographic factors, in particular, may not play as big a role in the development of relationships nowadays, as the development of technology, (such as dating websites and apps) greatly affects modern relationships.

Compared with 20-30 years ago, people nowadays are more likely to develop relationships with someone who is not in their geographical proximity or from the same culture, making the Filter Theory's claims less valid.