factors affecting attraction: filter theory Flashcards
who proposed the filter theory?
Kerchoff and Davis
the filter theory explains attraction in terms of
the attitudes and personalities of people- first we consider the field of availables, and from those, we select the field of desirables
what does field of availables refer to?
pool of potential partners who are accessible to us
what does field of desirables refer to?
the field of desirables is selected via 3 factors or ‘filters’ which are of differing importance at different stages, or levels of filter, in a relationship: SOCIAL DEMOGRAPHY, SIMILARITY IN ATTITUDES and COMPLEMENTARITY
summarise 1st level: social demography such as proximity, social class and/or education
- term demography refers to what populations of people are like
- in terms of attraction to others there is an assumption that you are more likely to meet and have meaningful encounters with people who are physically close and share other features with yourself
- so anyone who is too ‘different’ e.g. too far away, too middle class, will not be a potential partner and thus not reach the next stage of filtering
- HOMOGAMY refers to the likelihood that we will most likely form a relationship with someone who shares many social and cultural similarities as we find this attarctive
summarise 2nd level: similarity in attitudes- sharing beliefs and values
- similarities in attitudes was important to the development of a romantic relationship only for the couples who had been together for less than 18 months
- in the early stages of a relationship, agreeing on basic values encourages better communication and promotes self-disclosure
- being similar in attitudes causes attraction and describes it as the ‘law of attraction’, stressing its importance; where such similarity does not exist, it is found that often the relationship fades after only a few dates
summarise 3rd level: complementarity- focus on whether or not partners meet each other’s needs
- partners complement each other when they have traits that the other lacks
- for example, one partner may enjoy making other people laugh, and in turn, this partner enjoys being made to laugh = complementarity
- complementarity is important in longer term/ later stages of a relationship- thought to give the romantic partners a feeling of togetherness and ‘making a whole’
- for example partners will fell like they are meeting each other’s needs if one likes nurturing and the other enjoys being looked after
what are the evaluation points for filter theory?
- research support (Winch)
- lacks temporal validity
- lack of replication of Kerchoff and Davis’ original findings
- complementarity may not become more important than similarity (Anderson et al)
explain how there is research support (Winch)
- Winch found that similarities of personality, interests and attitudes between partners are typical of the earliest stages of a relationship but that complementarity of needs is more important in longer lasting relationships
- this supports at least 2 of the filters proposed in the filter theory and also suggests that the filters may determine the development of the relationship
- this means that the validity of the theory has been supported in surveys of actual relationships
explain lack of temporal validity
- as the dating world has changed and moved increasingly online, social demography has taken on less importance- for example the likelihood of dating someone outside our culture has increased
- this is not predicted by the initial level of filtering in the model, showing it lacks temporal validity
- these social changes in the dating world bring into question the validity of the filter theory as a factor in attraction
explain how there is a lack of replication of Kerchoff and Davis’ original findings
- social change over time and difficulties in defining the depth of a relationship could be the reason for lack of replicability
- Kerchoff and Davis chose an 18 month cut-off point to distinguish between short-term and long-term relationships
- they assumed partners who had been together longer than this were more committed and had a deeper relationship but this many not be the case in all cultures or types or types of relationships today
- the overall applicability of filter theory for example, to other cultures and types of relationships, is therefore questionable
explain how complementarity may not become more important than similarity (Anderson et al)
- Anderson et al found that similarity does increase over time but complementarity is not a feature in all such relationships
- this an attitude alignment effect has also been observed where romantic partners over time bring their attitudes into line with each other’s, again suggesting that similarity is an effect of initial attraction and not the cause
- this suggests that complementarity filter may not be reached in the case of all relationships and therefore the validity of the filter theory is questioned
