Formation, Maintenance, and Breakdown of relationships Flashcards
Formation: who devised the reward need satisfaction theory?
Bryne and Clore (1970)
Formation: what are the 5 similarities?
personality, attitude, proximity, demographic, attractivness
Formation: who devised the similarities approach?
Byrne Clore and Smeaton (1986)
Formation: personality
Caspi and Herbener (1990) found married couples who have similar personalities were generally happier
Formation: attitude
Byrne (1968) ps matched either 25% or 75% of a dates topics
those who had matched 75% found them more physically attractive
Formation: proximity
Bossard looked at 5000 marriage licences and found closeness between them
Formation: attractiveness
Brigham (1971) ‘halo effect’
physical attractiveness = sociable, interesting, fun etc.
Formation: culture bias
Lott (1994) found that in some cultures women focus on the needs of others not reinforcement
Formation: general similarity
Lehr and Geher (2006) 24 male 32 female students
they were given a description of a stranger varying in similarity to the ps
correlation between similarity and likeness
Formation: filter model
Kerchoff - relationships develop through a filter
supported by a questionnaire of student couples over 7 months
however it may be more fluid than this suggests
Maintenance: what are the 4 theories?
social exchange, interdependence, investment, equity
Maintenance: AO1 investment theory…
Rusbult et al (1996) the best prediction of maintenance is commitment…
1) satisfaction
2) better rewards than others
3) substantial investments
Maintenance: investment theory support
Impett et al (2003) studied a large sample of couples over an 18 month period, commitment predicted stability
Maintenance: investment theory with domestic violence
Jerstad (2005) found investments to be the biggest predictor of maintenance with a violent partner.
More violence meant more commitment
Maintenance: interdependence theory AO1…
Thibaut and Kelley (1959) business transaction style.
CL - comparing with past
CL Alt - comparing with other options
satisfaction depends on ratio of costs and benefits
Maintenance: Social exchange AO1…
Homans (1971) we run relationships by keeping an eye on the costs and rewards to see if a profit or loss is being made
Maintenance: evaluation for constant monitoring of relationships
Argyle (1987) argues we only monitor relationships once we become dissatisfied with them (correlational)
Maintenance: evaluation for considering other options
Duck (1994) suggests we only consider other options when we become disatisfied
Maintenance: real-life application of social exchange
Marelich et al (2008) surveyed 267 US students and found men were more likely to lie to have sex and women use sex to avoid confontation.
shows sex is important in the SE theory as it can act as a reward to cost
Maintenance: Equity theory AO1…
Walster (1978) people weigh up rewards and costs to measure equity.
if its inequitable it’ll lead to dissatisfaction
Maintenance: longitudional support for equity theory
Buunk et al (1990) - study on 259 couples where a score of equity was calculated
6% felt it was equitable, 25% of men felt they benefited more, 25% of women felt under benefited.
one year late those who were equitable were most satisfied, then the men, then the women; supporting equity theory.
Maintenance: further support for equity theory
Stafford and Canary (2006) had 200 married couples complete a survey on their satisfaction. the results found that those who said it was equitable were more satisfied.
Breakdown: 3 reasons for relationship breakdown?
lack of social skills, lack of stimulation, maintenance issues
Breakdown: lack of social skills…
Duck (1991) bad conversationalist or just generally unrewarding
Breakdown: lack of stimulation…
Baxter (1994) boredom or belief the relationship isn’t going anywhere
Breakdown: maintenance issues…
Shaver (1985) eg university
Breakdown: 4 evaluation points for reasons of relationship breakdown
extra marital affairs, maintenance difficulties, real-world application, gender
Breakdown: extra marital affairs
Boekhout (1999) affirs maybe a direct cause of these factors. a survey of students showed men are more likely to use sexual reasons for infedility and women emotional
Breakdown: maintenance difficulties evaluation
Rohlfing (1995) 70% of students have experienced atleast 1 LDRR and 90% at least one LDF
Breakdown: real-world application
couples coping enhancement improves equity and respect
Breakdown: gender
women = unhappiness, compatibility. want to remain friends after men = sexual withholding. want to move on after
Breakdown: who devised the model of break down?
Rollie and Duck (2006)
Breakdown: what are the 6 stages of the model of breakdown
breakdown intrapsychic dyadic social grave-dressing resurrection
Breakdown: research support for the model of breakdown
Tashiro and Fraizer (2003) found undergraduates who had recently experienced a breakup had experienced emotional distress but also personal growth; supporting the resurrection stage
Breakdown: use of the model of breakdown for intervention
shows the importance of communication, e.g. stage 3
