Discuss filter theory as a factor affecting attraction.

AO1

• a series of conditions that refine the pool of available partners and explain the deepening/development of relationships, proposed by Kerckhoff and Davis, measured relationships at different stages

• the importance of each filter changes over time

• social demography - the chance that the two people will meet, influenced by social class, geographical location of where one lives, age etc.

• similarity in attitudes - relating to political allegiance, religion, personal and moral values, thoughts on childraising etc.

• complementarity - does one partner fulfil the other’s needs, does one partner make up for the other’s weaknesses

AO3

• temporal validity, the emerging prevalence of online dating apps and sites reduces the impact of social demography, meeting people is far easier and less subject to the demographical characteristics of each person, theory doesn’t apply to attraction in the modern world

• Winch (1958) found similarity in attitudes was most important during relationship formation while complementarity became more so as the relationship progressed, confirming the idea of changing needs over time

• similarity may be a result of the attraction not its cause

  • Anderson found emotional convergence occurred in relationships, partners’ emotional responses became closer over time

  • Rusbult found an Attitude Alignment effect, partners’ views on politics, religion etc became more similar

• Levinger (1974) pointed out how many studies have failed to replicate original findings, this may be due to Kerckhoff and Davis’ method of defining the depth of relationships by length of time together