Ch.10: Relationships Flashcards
The marriage rate in Canada is ____________, which is significantly changing the landscape of close partnerships
declining
Marital or cohabitating satisfaction tends to follow a __________ curve
U-shaped
High in the beginning, declines during the child-rearing years & then increases again after the children leave the home
There’s evidence that marital satisfaction continues to grow into older adulthood except in cases where
one partner gets sick & there’s a lor of caregiver burden
In this perspective on long-term relationship, people prefer long-term relationships to maximize their positive affect
Socioemotional selectivity theory
In this perspective on long-term relationship, relationships are evaluated according to costs and benefits.
- as long as the benefits outweigh the cost, you stay with the relationship.
- when the cost outweigh the benefits people will abandon that relationship
Social exchange theory
In this perspective on long-term relationship, balance is sought between what each contributes to the relationship.
Ex: if one partner is contributing money to the relationship & the other is contributing time, there can be balance
Equity theory
In this perspective on long-term relationship, couples who are similar are happier
Similarity
In this perspective on long-term relationship, couples who are different are happier
Need complementarity
In this perspective on long-term relationship, the behaviors couples engage in affect their relationship satisfaction
Ex: if both partners express affection, then it increases the chance of satisfaction
Behavioral approach
Grey Divorce (silver splitters)
- on the rise
- divorce in those over 50 years after approximately 20 years or more of marriage
What accounts for the increase in grey divorce?
- people are living longer, they don’t wanna wait out their lives in unhappy marriages
- less stigma now
- women are less economically dependent on men than they used to be
TRUE or FALSE
Widowhood becomes more common with older age
It can also impact one’s friendship group (thirdwheel, etc.)
TRUE
Spousal loss can have profound consequences on physical & mental health, & also on social connections
Nanno & colleagues in 2002 did a perspective study to 200 widows. What are the findings?
- They found that majority of widows showed resilient grief. This means that they did not show a lot of distress.
- Others showed depression before & after the chronic grief, hopelessness, apathy
- This demonstrates that people vary in their reactions to widowhood
Anniversary reactions
- the annual echo of a trauma or a loss.
- this could be on the anniversary of the person’s death, or the anniversary of the day you get married, or your first date or birthday.
- may continue for up to 35 years or longer
In 2015, there were over 1 million widowed women and fewer than 300,000 widowed men. Why?
- women tend to have older partners
- the pool of available men means women are less likely to re-partner after widowhood
- men seem to suffer more negative emotional consequences of spousal loss than women, which may motivate them to re-partner
- It takes men much longer to return to their previous state of well-being than it does for women. Unless they get remarried
TRUE or FALSE
In Canada, around 5% of those >65 years are single and never married
TRUE
Stereotypes of being single throughout life
What are the findings in Greitemeyer (2008) study?
- They found that both female and male single individuals were rated as more neurotic, less satisfied with their lives, less sociable, lonelier, and having lower self-esteem than those individuals in partnerships
