Chapter 1: Sociological Perspectives on Relationships
Chapter 9: Time, Friendship, and Love
Bisexual Orientation
Definition: Refers to who an individual is attracted to or engages in emotional and sexual relationships with.
Variations of Sexual Orientation:
Heterosexual: Attraction to individuals of the opposite gender.
Homosexual: Attraction to individuals of the same gender.
Pansexual: Attraction to individuals regardless of gender, including those who identify with no specific gender.
Polysexual: Attraction to more than one gender but not all genders.
Asexual: Individuals who feel little or no attraction to any gender.
Sexual Minority
Definition: Refers to individuals who do not identify as heterosexual.
Research Limitation: Many studies of romantic love are influenced by heterosexism, the assumption that relationships are predominantly heterosexual. Research findings are often generalized across sexual orientations without appropriate specification.
Romantic Relationships Findings
Most romantic relationships report similar values concerning love and commitment across diverse sexual orientations.
Levels of satisfaction in relationships do not significantly differ among sexual orientations.
Theory of Love: Sternberg's Triangular Theory of Love (1986)
Components of Love:
Intimacy: Refers to warmth, closeness, sharing in relationships, encompassing both emotional and physical intimacy.
Passion: Involves intense feelings (both positive and negative) experienced in love relationships, including sexual desire.
Commitment: The decision and intent to maintain a close relationship despite difficulties and costs.
Visual Representation: A triangle representing the three components: intimacy, passion, and commitment.
Types of Love Based on Components:
Non-Love: Absence of intimacy, passion, and commitment (most casual interactions).
Consummate Love: Presence of intimacy, passion, and commitment.
Romantic Love: Intimacy and passion without commitment.
Companionate Love: Intimacy and commitment without passion.
Fatuous Love: Passion and commitment without intimacy.
Liking: Intimacy alone.
Empty Love: Commitment alone.
Infatuation: Passion alone.
Cultural Universality: The triangular theory applies across different cultures and same-sex relationships.
Relationship Satisfaction: All three components are positively associated with relationship satisfaction.
Attachment Theory in Romantic Love
Adult Attachment Theory: Examines relationships and attachment styles that develop from infancy, impacting how individuals interact in close relationships.
Researcher: Mary Ainsworth studied attachments through the Strange Situation method, involving observation of infant responses to caregiver absence and return.
Types of Attachment Styles:
Secure Attachment: Infants show distress upon caregiver's departure but are easily comforted upon return.
Anxious-Ambivalent Attachment: Infants exhibit anxiety upon separation and resistance to comfort at reunion.
Avoidant Attachment: Infants show little anxiety during separation and avoidance upon reunion.
Influences on Attachment Quality:
Warm Responsive Parenting: Leads to secure attachments.
Cold Rejecting Parenting: Leads to avoidant attachments.
Inconsistent Parenting: Leads to anxious-ambivalent attachments.
Adult Attachment Behaviors
Secure Adults: Trust others, have mutual interdependence, and longer-lasting relationships.
Insecure Adults: Distrustful of others, avoid intimacy, and experience short-duration relationships, with high rates of jealousy and fear of abandonment.
Transition from Insecure to Secure: Therapy can assist individuals with insecure attachment styles to gain security.
Relationship Dynamics Over Time
Progress of Love Components: Passion peaks early and declines, while intimacy and commitment build gradually.
Causes of Declining Passion:
Reality checks on fantasies about partners.
Waning novelty.
Physical arousal cannot sustain itself indefinitely.
Implications for Relationships: Decreases in intimacy more often predict breakup than decreases in passion.
Reasons Why Relationships End
Factors Leading to Breakups:
Premature Commitment: Couples not adequately getting to know each other.
Ineffective Communication: Higher negativity leads to dissatisfaction.
Relationship Boredom: Loss of excitement.
Availability of Attractive Alternatives: Other potential partners.
Low Satisfaction Levels: Overall dissatisfaction influences end of relationships.
Duncan's Model of Breakup Stages
Stages in Relationship Breakup:
Breakdown Process: Dissatisfaction arises.
Intrapsychic Process: Partners ruminate on issues internally.
Dyadic Process: Discussion between partners about relationship issues.
Social Process: Friends/family become aware of issues.
Grave Dressing Process: Partners find closure.
Resurrection Process: Partners move beyond breakup pain to prepare for their next life stage.
Positives Following Breakups
Learning from negative relationships and personal growth opportunities.
Potential for developing future healthy relationships based on past experiences.
Factors Contributing to Relationship Longevity
Time to understand each other before commitment.
Engaged reciprocal self-disclosure (sharing feelings and needs).
Shared values and interests.
Effective communication skills to resolve conflicts.
Focusing on positive aspects and reducing negativity in communication.
Bringing novelty and new experiences into the relationship.
Impact of the Internet on Relationships
Usage Statistics:
About 30% of U.S. citizens have used online dating apps, mirroring trends in Canada (36%).
Acceptance of online dating has risen significantly over time; over 80% find it acceptable.
Benefits of Online Dating:
Access to a broader range of potential partners.
Opportunity for self-evaluation before connecting with others.
Convenient interaction from home.
Demographic Differences: Younger adults (18-29) are more likely to engage with online dating.
Outcomes of Relationships Starting Online: Stable over two years, comparable to traditional methods of meeting.
Diversity of Partners: Online dating leads to mixed-background couples that may not occur in traditional settings.
Challenges:
Anonymity fosters possible misrepresentation in profiles (commonly age, appearance, marital status).
Risk of romance scams resulting in financial loss, citing significant statistics on scams reported.
Chapter 10: Marriage and Family
Definition of Marriage: Legally and socially recognized union of sexually intimate adults; legalized in Canada for same-sex couples in 2005.
Societal Context: Research has primarily focused on heterosexual relationships, often contrasting them with long-term same-sex couples.
Traditional Aspects of Marriage: Economic interdependence, common residence, sexual fidelity, and shared responsibility for children.
Trends in Marriage Rates: Decreased from 30.5% in 2001 to 20.6% in 2021.
Common Law Relationships: Increased frequency, with 44% of Canadians 15 and older married, 12.6% in common-law unions, and 43% unmarried.
Social Shifts Affecting Marriage:
Growing acceptance of singlehood and cohabitation: living together without marriage has gained greater acceptance, redefining the traditional marriage concept.
Increased understanding of divorce as justifiable, leading to high divorce rates.
Flexible gender roles where women are often part of the workforce; changing expectations.
Voluntary Childlessness: A rising trend where partners intentionally choose to delay or forgo having children.
Diversity of Family Structures: Increasing number of single-parent households, stepfamilies, and childless marriages.
Overall Conclusion: Traditional marriage is evolving but continues to hold significance, albeit in increasingly diverse forms.