5- the filter theory Flashcards
what is the filter theory
- found there were filtering factors that were prominent at different stages of selecting a partner
- people try to choose the ‘best fit’ and ‘narrow down the field’
- the 3 filters are social demography, similarity in attitudes and complementarity of needs
explain social demography
- social characteristics
- concerns variables like age, ethnicity, social background, location (proximity) and likelihood of meeting the person
- can be restricted as we are more likely to meet people from our own social and educational groups, or people who live nearby
- people feel more at ease if they have similar social demography
explain similarity in attitudes
- psychological characteristics
- same attitudes, beliefs and values
- central importance at the start of a romantic relationship and can predict stability (esp if relationship has lasted less than 18m)
- through self-disclosure, they weigh up the decisions to see if they should continue/ end relationship
- people with different values aren’t seen as suitable and may filter out the person
explain complementarity of needs
- emotional characteristics
- more attraction may occur if 2 people have different needs that complement each other
- might like ah other as they have mutual satisfaction and opposing needs have been met
- for a relationship to work, one partner should be high in an attribute and the other should be low
- long term relationships have more attraction when needs are harmonious rather than conflicting
positive evaluation of the filter theory (2)
+ 85% Americans who got married in 2008 got marred to someone from their own ethnic group which supports social demographic idea
+ tested during speed dating event where participants made quick decisions about attraction and questionnaire was used to measure actual/perceived attitude similarity and results showed that perceived attitude similarity can predict attraction more than actual attitude similarity
negative evaluation of the filter theory (3)
- many studies fail to replicate findings based on this theory as research with 330 couples showed none of the 3 factors were important when looking at how permanent the relationship became, also an issue with if 18 months is when relationships is considered long term
- longitudinal study of cohabitating parters showed that their attitudes became more similar after time even if no similar at he start and this increased attraction (emotional convergence) and this contradicts as people aren’t attracted because of similar demography and social characteristics
- online dating shows lack of support as internet means there is is reduction in social demographic variables when meeting someone and we may meet people outside of our demographic limits
describe the study by Kerckhoff and Davis on the filter theory
- longitudinal study
- 94 couples from Duke uni in USA
- each person in couple answered 2 questionnaires to assess shared attitudes and complementarity of needs to assess the closeness they felt
- 7 moths later they did another questionnaire to see how close they felt and this was compared to the start of the study
what were the findings from the study by Kerckhoff and Davis on the filter theory
- for short term (less than 18 months) similarity of attitudes and values were important for closeness
- for long term (more than 18 months) complementarity of needs was a better predictor for closeness
- long term and short term relationships rely on different filters to predict closeness, attraction and permanence in a relationship
positive evaluation of the study by Kerckhoff and Davis on the filter theory (2)
+ it is longitudinal so it is beneficial as the filter theory can be tested via short term and long term and this offer support for how filters can be linked to attraction in general
+ highlights the prominence of difference filters at stages in the relationship so can be applied to couples at different stages of relationships and be a good indicator of attraction/ if relationship will be stable and survive
negative evaluation of the study by Kerckhoff and Davis on the filter theory (2)
- similarity in relationships may not be important to every individual and individual differences may mean that people are attracted to people who are ‘opposite’ to them as it provides excitement, research saying opposites attract would oppose this study
- questionnaires can be criticised as they may not be adequate to collect high quality data about the topic as there is a danger of lying, social desirability bias so responses may not be valid. would be better to use questionnaire and interviews to increase validity
