essay plans

Question 1

Relationship Formation

Answer 1

R+N benefits of relationship, conditioning, matching people more likely to form, more desirable person, more desirable partner, friendship research, reductionist, creative task study, gender/cultural differences, dance study, significant scores for real partner, deterministic

Question 2

Relationship Maintenance

Answer 2

SET exchange of benefits, maximizing profit, comparison level with other options, Equity focus on fairness, under/over benefitting leads to dissatisfaction, 2 types of couple, honeymoon period, 6 different cultures, lings between perceived inequity and maintenance strategies, reductionist, cant quantify emotional investment, gender/culture bias, heterosexual

Question 3

Relationship breakdown

Answer 3

duck stage, factors, 4 stages, lees model stag, personal growth from grave dressing, extramarital affairs caused by boredom, individual and gender differences, 112 breakups suggested the stages, less intimate skipped stages, counselling, heterosexual, western based, socially sensitive

Question 4

Sexual selection

Answer 4

Darwin, hairlessness, paternity guarantee, inter/intra sexual, 37 cultures males prefer attractiveness and females strength, personal ads, symmetrical face, nature/nurture, gender bias/stereotypes, reductionist, deterministic, homosexuality, arranged marriages

Question 5

Parental investment

Answer 5

males can opt out, cuckoldry, sexual jealousy, females have to invest, benefit to marry resources and still find younger partners 14% extra marital affairs, men more distressed at sexual infidelity, internal 86% female external 70%, fathers investment into step kids, neonatacide, reductionist deterministic, post-hoc evidence, gender bias/stereotypes, monogamy grandparental certainty

Question 6

Influence of culture

Answer 6

western choice cohabitation, non western, collectivist/individualistic, china heritage America progress, divorces lower in arranged, women in Chengdu love marriages happier, divorce rates related to greater urbanisation, more interdependent cultures rising divorces suggests low divorce rates down to male dominance, over time arranged are happier, media influences, self report what culture expects to say, cant just be 2 categories

Question 7

Influence of childhood

Answer 7

love and integration of childhood behaviour systems, bowlby, interactions with peers, meta-analysis correlation between early attachment types and later relationships, girls more intimate boys competitive effect on relationships, longitudinal study supports theory, secure individuals more partners. secure could become insecure due to life events, nature/nurture, reductionist deterministic, practical application, no cause and effect, strange situation is culturally specific, case of Genie