Chapter 6: Relationship Development

Question 1

Filter Theory

Answer 1

The idea is that potential partners are first screened regarding their similarity in social attributes. Filters are:
- Social attributes
- Value consensus
- Need complementarity

Question 2

Social Attributes

Answer 2

The first filter of the Filter Theory
e.g., religion, education level, and socioeconomic level.

Question 3

Need complementarity

Answer 3

In the last filter of the Filter Theory, the potential partner is evaluated on whether they possess complementary or compatible traits, behaviour characteristics, or interpersonal styles.

Question 4

Wheel Theory of Love

Answer 4

The “mate-selecting process” involves four sequential but highly interrelated phases.
- Rapport
- Self-revelation
- Mutual dependency
- Intimacy need fulfillment

The Wheel Theory of Love is a psychological model developed by Ira Reiss that describes the different stages of romantic relationships. The theory is based on the idea that love involves a cyclical process of four phases forming a wheel-like pattern.

The four phases of the Wheel Theory of Love are:

Rapport: This is the first phase of the process and involves the development of a sense of familiarity and comfort with a potential partner. It involves connecting with the other person through shared experiences, interests, and values.

Self-revelation: In this phase, partners begin to disclose more personal information about themselves to each other, revealing their thoughts, feelings, and experiences. This phase is critical for building trust and deepening the connection between partners.

Mutual dependency: This phase involves the development of interdependence and commitment between partners. As partners become more invested in the relationship, they rely on each other for emotional and practical support.

Intimacy need fulfillment: The final phase of the process is fulfilling each partner’s need for intimacy. This phase is characterized by a deep emotional connection and physical intimacy, often expressed through sexual activity.

Question 5

Wheel Theory of Love: Rapport

Answer 5

This is the first phase of the process and involves the development of a sense of familiarity and comfort with a potential partner. It involves establishing a connection with the other person through shared experiences, interests, and values.

Question 6

Wheel Theory of Love: Self-revelation

Answer 6

In this phase, partners begin to disclose more personal information about themselves to each other, revealing their thoughts, feelings, and experiences. This phase is critical for building trust and deepening the connection between partners.

Question 7

Wheel Theory of Love: Mutual Dependency

Answer 7

This phase involves the development of interdependence and commitment between partners. As partners become more invested in the relationship, they begin to rely on each other for emotional and practical support.
- such that each partner becomes dependent on the other to fulfill their habits or obtain certain goals

Question 8

Wheel Theory of Love: Intimacy Need Fulfillment

Answer 8

The final phase of the process is fulfilling each partner’s need for intimacy. This phase is characterized by a deep emotional connection and physical intimacy, often expressed through sexual activity.
- The partners evaluate whether the relationship and their interactions satisfy basic intimacy needs, including love, sympathy, and support.

Question 9

Stimulus-Value-Role Theory

Answer 9

According to Levinger’s model, couples progress through three stages as their relationship develops: attraction, power struggle, and commitment.
- stimulus stage
- value stage
- role stage

Question 10

Stimulus-Value-Role Theory: Stimulus Stage

Answer 10

The potential partners perceive each others’ external attributes, physical appearance, and behaviour, and each also evaluates their own attributes in terms of how attractive these might be to the other.

Question 11

Stimulus-Value-Role Theory: Perception of Similarities

Answer 11

In the value stage, couples share more about their values, interests, and beliefs. They explore their compatibility and determine whether they share similar goals and aspirations for the future.
- the partners appraise their compatibility on various values and attitudes
- allows them to assess the potential benefits or rewards of the relationship continually

Question 12

Stimulus-Value-Role Theory: Role Stage

Answer 12

The partners evaluate themselves and each other for suitability in various roles (e.g., spouse, parent, etc)

Question 13

Premarital Dyadic Formation Model

Answer 13

Lewis proposed that romantic relationships pass through six sequential phases on the road to commitment:
- perception of similarities
- pair rapport
- inducement of self-disclosure
- role-taking
-interpersonal role-fit
- dyadic crystallization

Question 14

Premarital Dyadic Formation Model: Perception of Similarities

Answer 14

Lewis proposed that romantic relationships pass through six sequential phases on the road of commitment.
- Perception of similarities
- Pair rapport
- Inducement of Self-Disclosure
- Role-taking
- Interpersonal role-fit
- Dyadic crystallization

Question 15

Premartialo Dyadic Formation Model: Perception of similarities

Answer 15

A perception of similarities (e.g., in the demographic background, values, interests, and personality) through observation and interaction

Question 16

Premarital Dyadic Formation Model: Pair Rapport

Answer 16

Produces positive emotional and behavioural responses to the partner, promotes effective communication, and instills self-validation and satisfaction with the partner and the relationship.

Question 17

Premarital Dyadic Formation Model: Inducement of Self-disclosure

Answer 17

The inducement of self-disclosure of intimate personal events and experiences.

Question 18

Premarital Dyadic Formation Model: Role-taking

Answer 18

Role-taking is the ability to understand the partner’s perspective and empathize with their role in the interaction and the relationship.

Question 19

Premarital Dyadic Formation Model: Interpersonal Role-fit

Answer 19

The partners assess the extent of their similarity and complementarity in personality, needs and role.

Question 20

Premarital Dyadic Formation Model: Dudaic Crystallization

Answer 20

The partners become increasingly involved with each other and committed to the relationship, and they form an identity as a committed couple.

Question 21

Stage Models / Process-oriented Models

Answer 21

These models suggest that relationships develop through distinct stages, each characterized by different behaviours, expectations, and challenges.
- focus on the development of romantic relationships
- fallen out of favour
- researchers cannot agree on the number of stages, the sequence, or even the characteristics of the various stages
- not all relationships progress through the same stages or follow the same sequential order of development
- partnerships have different rates at which they progress

Process-oriented models in psychology refer to theoretical frameworks that emphasize the importance of understanding the ongoing processes that occur within individuals and between individuals and their environments. These models are focused on describing and explaining how psychological phenomena emerge and develop over time rather than simply identifying discrete stages or categories.
- Process-oriented models have replaced stage models

Question 22

Social Penetration Theory

Answer 22

Targets and has an emphasis on self-disclosure (i.e., the reciprocal exchange of seld-relevant information) and believes it to be the fuel that propels partners along their developmental trajectory
- individuals are believed to become progressively closer and more committed to each other as they increase both the depth and breadth

Question 23

Depth

Answer 23

The extent to which the disclosed information is intimate or personal, emotional, and detailed.

Question 24

Breadth

Answer 24

The variety of dimensions about which information is revealed

Question 25

Intimacy Theory

Answer 25

Developed by Reis et al. posit that attentive, supportive responses that leave the partner feeling validated, understood, cared for, and accepted promote the growth of intimacy and the subsequent development of the relationship.
- the responses can be verbal or nonverbal in nature (e.g., eye contact, more forward lean and direct body orientation, more frequent head nods, increased physical proximity, greater facial expressions, longer speech duration, more frequent or more intense interruptions, etc)

Question 26

Social Exchange Theories

Answer 26

These theories focus on the exchange of rewards and costs that occur between partners in ongoing relationships.
- Individuals seek to maximize their rewards and minimize their costs
- people generally are much more aware of their contribution to a relationship than they are of their partner’s contributions
- the nature of rewards and costs shifts over time and within relationships
- relationship partners rely on two standards when evaluating the outcomes they are receiving from a relationship; CL, and CLalt

Question 27

Rewards

Answer 27

Are anything that the individual considers valuable; they can range from the concrete and tangible to the abstract and intangible.

Question 28

Costs

Answer 28

These are the things that the individual considers unrewarding or involve time, effort, compromise, and lost opportunity.

Question 29

Equity

Answer 29

It is achieved when both partners experience a roughly equal ratio of positive-to-negative; that is when the ratio between the benefits derived from the relationship and the contributions (costs or investments) made to the relationship is similar for both partners.

Question 30

Actual Equity

Answer 30

It happens when someone thinks that their partner is putting more than them, so they may attempt to restore actual equity; therefore, they may increase their own contributions.

Question 31

Psychological Equity

Answer 31

The partners may try to restore psychological equity by changing their perceptions of the values of various rewards and costs so that the relationship appears more equitable.
- it may be easier than restoring actual equity

Question 32

Fatal Attractions

Answer 32

A partner’s attributes seen as attractive and valuable at the beginning of the relationship can later be viewed as unpleasant, costly, and detrimental.

Question 33

Interdependence Frameworks

Answer 33

Also, focus on partners’ exchanges, their perceptions of rewards and costs, and the process by which they evaluate and regulate their relationship.

Question 34

Relationship Satisfaction

Answer 34

How partners feel about the relationship

Question 35

Relationship Stability

Answer 35

Whether the relationship will be maintained over time

Question 36

Interdependence Theory

Answer 36

Proposes that two people involved in a relationship are interdependent concerning the outcomes of their behaviour; that is, one partner’s thoughts, feelings, and actions influence their outcomes and those of the other partner.
- some degree is necessary for both partners to obtain at least minimally satisfactory joint outcomes

Question 37

Transformation

Answer 37

Partners discover the most mutually advantageous sets of behavioural combinations, and they will then coordinate their behaviours accordingly to achieve mutually satisfying outcomes. The coordination process is called transformation and is assumed to produce satisfaction and enhance commitment to the relationship.

Question 38

Comparison Level (CL)

Answer 38

Is the standard against which a partner evaluates the attractiveness of a relationship or how satisfactory it is
- determined by the individual’s expectations about the level of outcomes (rewards and costs) that the relationship ought to provide, and it is influenced by personal experience as well
- It is the positive or negative discrepancy of current outcomes from CL that determines satisfaction

Question 39

Outcomes >= CL means

Answer 39

That they are likely to view the relationship as attractive and to be satisfied

Question 40

Outcomes <= CL means

Answer 40

To the extent that the outcomes fall short of expectations (outcomes < CL), dissatisfaction is likely to result

Question 41

Comparison Level of Alternatives (CL alt)

Answer 41

Cl alt reflects the outcomes that partners feel that they could obtain from available alternatives to the present relationship (including having no relationship at all)

Question 42

If outcomes >= CL alt

Answer 42

If a person’s outcomes meet or exceed their expected outcomes in the best available alternative relationship, the relationship will likely endure.
- empirical evidence: relationship satisfaction is indeed higher when the partner’s actual outcomes exceed their expectations

Question 43

If outcomes <= CL alt

Answer 43

If the outcomes fall below perceived alternative outcomes the relationship is vulnerable to dissolution

Question 44

Dependence

Answer 44

Dependence on the relationship; the partners need the relationship to obtain the outcomes they desire, and they have no viable options for attaining those desired outcomes. Their dependence promotes the stability and endurance of their union.

Question 45

Marital Cohesiveness Model

Answer 45

The strength and stability of the bond between partners are a function of two basic factors: the various inducements to remain in the relationship and the inducements to leave it.

Question 46

Inducements to remain

Answer 46

Include all the sources of attractions to the marriage and the spouse, which range from affectional rewards (e.g., love, companionship, sexual enjoyment), to socioeconomic rewards (i.e., income, material possessions, social prestige), to the similarity between the spouses on important demographic dimensions. Other inducements to remain in a relationship include the restraints or barriers against the dissolution.

Question 47

Inducement to leave

Answer 47

Inducements to leave the relationship include various attractions or rewards that can be obtained from alternative relationships (including no relationship at all).

Question 48

Cohesive

Answer 48

The bond between two people is likely yo be cohesive (stong and stable) to the extent that they experience high attraction to the relationship, many barriers to terminating the relationship, and low attraction to alternative relationships.

Question 49

Investment Model

Answer 49

Proposes that commitment is a function of three factors:
1. the person’s level of satisfaction
2. the perceived quality of alternatives
3. the size of the person’s investment in the relationship

This model proposes that people will feel committed to their relationship to the extent that they feel satisfied, they believe that they have few or poorer quality alternatives to the relationship. They have invested important resources in the relationship that serve as powerful inducements for its continuation.

Question 50

Investment Model: Commitment

Answer 50

Defined as the individual’s attachment to the partner and intention and desire to remain in the relationship.

Question 51

Investment Model: Satisfaction

Answer 51

The person’s level of satisfaction with the relationship, which is a function of rewards and costs (outcomes actually experienced) and comparison level (the level of outcomes people believe they deserve).

Question 52

Investment Model: Quality of Alternatives

Answer 52

The perceived quality of alternatives to the relationship or the degree to which the individual believes that important needs could be met outside the relationship (e.g., by specific other people, by hobbies and other activities, by no relationship at all)

Question 53

Investment Model: Investment

Answer 53

The size of the person’s investment in the relationship refers to the ways they are connected to the partner and bound to the relationship
- direct: time, emotional energy, personal sacrifice, reputation
- indirect: mutual friends, shared memories, shared possessions

Question 54

Costs

Answer 54

These are the things that the individual considers unrewarding or involve time, effort, compromise, and lost opportunity.

Question 55

Investment Model: Maintenace Activities

Answer 55

Maintenance activities encompassed five general dimensions; the more an individual perceived their partner as using the various maintenance behaviours relative to their expectations, the more satisfied the individual [is] in the relationship:
- openness (e.g., engaging in self-disclosure or direct discussion of the relationship)
- positivity (e.g., having a cheerful and optimistic manner)
- assurances (e.g., providing messages stressing commitment to the partner and the relationship)
- social networks (e.g., relying on common friends and affiliations)
- sharing tasks (e.g., being equally responsible for accomplishing tasks that the couple faces)