factors affecting attraction: filter theory Flashcards
what is filter theory?
an explanation of relationship formation. it states that a series of different factors progressively reduces the range of available romantic partners to a much smaller pool of possibilities. the filters include social demography, similarity in attitudes and complementarity
who proposed filter theory and how long did they define a long term relationship as being?
•Kerckhoff and Davis
•over 18 months
in terms of partner choice, we have a field of…
availables
what does the field of availables get narrowed down to?
field of desirables
what are the first, second and third levels of filters?
1st- social demography
2nd- similarities in attitudes
3rd- complimentarity
what is the social demography filter?
•refers to a range of factors which influence the chance of meeting a potential partner in the first place, including:
- geographical location (proximity)
- social class
- level of education
- ethnic group / religion
•our most meaningful and memorable interactions are with people who are nearby
what is the similarity in attitudes?
•we find partners who share our basic values attractive in the earlier stages of a relationship, so we tend to discount available individuals who differ markedly from us in our attitudes
•partners will often share the same beliefs and values, partly because the field of availables has already been narrowed by the first filter
•promotes self disclosure
•similarity - law of attraction
what is complementarity?
•similarities become less important as a relationship develops, and is replaced by a need for your partner to balance your traits with opposite ones of their own
•the ability to meet eachothers needs
•complementarity is more important in long term couples
strength: research support from Kerckhoff and Davis’ study
•conducted a longitudinal study in which partners in a relationship completed a questionnaire on similarity of attitudes and complementarity
•relationship ‘closeness’ was measured by another questionnaire seven months later
•the study found that similarity of values was associated with close short term couples
•for couples in longer relationships, complementarity of needs predicted closeness
•provides evidence that similarity is important in the early stages of a relationship but complementarity is more important later on
limitation: Kerckoff’s and Davis’ study has not been replicated
•failed to replicate findings
•possibly due to social change over time and problems in defining depth of relationships
•they chose to identify long term partners as being 18 months but that doesn’t necessarily mean the relationship is any deeper than those who have been together 2 months
•this means that filter theory is undermined by a lack of validity of its evidence base
limitation: problems with complementarity
•complementarity may not be central to all longer- term relationships
•Markey & Markey found that lesbian couples of equal dominance were most satisfied
•this suggests that similarity of needs rather than complementarity may be associated with long-term satisfaction, at least in some couples (alternative ones)
limitation: actual vs percieved similarity
•actual similarity matters less in a relationship than whether partners perceive or believe themselves to be similar
•meta analysis found that in real world relationships, perceived similarity was a stronger prediction of attraction
•partners may perceive greater similarities as they become more attracted to eachother
•therefore perceived similarity may be an effect of attraction and not a cause, which is not predicted by the filter model
limitation: social change
•theory claims that demographic factors like location reduce the field of available a to a relatively small pool of people similar to ourselves
•the role of filters has changed over time with dating apps increasing the field of available
•this means the theory lacks temporal validity as the social demography filter may no longer be as applicable
