Formation, Maintenance, and Breakdown of relationships

Question 1

Formation: who devised the reward need satisfaction theory?

Answer 1

Bryne and Clore (1970)

Question 2

Formation: what are the 5 similarities?

Answer 2

personality, attitude, proximity, demographic, attractivness

Question 3

Formation: who devised the similarities approach?

Answer 3

Byrne Clore and Smeaton (1986)

Question 4

Formation: personality

Answer 4

Caspi and Herbener (1990) found married couples who have similar personalities were generally happier

Question 5

Formation: attitude

Answer 5

Byrne (1968) ps matched either 25% or 75% of a dates topics

those who had matched 75% found them more physically attractive

Question 6

Formation: proximity

Answer 6

Bossard looked at 5000 marriage licences and found closeness between them

Question 7

Formation: attractiveness

Answer 7

Brigham (1971) ‘halo effect’

physical attractiveness = sociable, interesting, fun etc.

Question 8

Formation: culture bias

Answer 8

Lott (1994) found that in some cultures women focus on the needs of others not reinforcement

Question 9

Formation: general similarity

Answer 9

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

Question 10

Formation: filter model

Answer 10

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

Question 11

Maintenance: what are the 4 theories?

Answer 11

social exchange, interdependence, investment, equity

Question 12

Maintenance: AO1 investment theory…

Answer 12

Rusbult et al (1996) the best prediction of maintenance is commitment…

1) satisfaction
2) better rewards than others
3) substantial investments

Question 13

Maintenance: investment theory support

Answer 13

Impett et al (2003) studied a large sample of couples over an 18 month period, commitment predicted stability

Question 14

Maintenance: investment theory with domestic violence

Answer 14

Jerstad (2005) found investments to be the biggest predictor of maintenance with a violent partner.
More violence meant more commitment

Question 15

Maintenance: interdependence theory AO1…

Answer 15

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

Question 16

Maintenance: Social exchange AO1…

Answer 16

Homans (1971) we run relationships by keeping an eye on the costs and rewards to see if a profit or loss is being made

Question 17

Maintenance: evaluation for constant monitoring of relationships

Answer 17

Argyle (1987) argues we only monitor relationships once we become dissatisfied with them (correlational)

Question 18

Maintenance: evaluation for considering other options

Answer 18

Duck (1994) suggests we only consider other options when we become disatisfied

Question 19

Maintenance: real-life application of social exchange

Answer 19

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

Question 20

Maintenance: Equity theory AO1…

Answer 20

Walster (1978) people weigh up rewards and costs to measure equity.
if its inequitable it’ll lead to dissatisfaction

Question 21

Maintenance: longitudional support for equity theory

Answer 21

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.

Question 22

Maintenance: further support for equity theory

Answer 22

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.

Question 23

Breakdown: 3 reasons for relationship breakdown?

Answer 23

lack of social skills, lack of stimulation, maintenance issues

Question 24

Breakdown: lack of social skills…

Answer 24

Duck (1991) bad conversationalist or just generally unrewarding

Question 25

Breakdown: lack of stimulation…

Answer 25

Baxter (1994) boredom or belief the relationship isn’t going anywhere

Question 26

Breakdown: maintenance issues…

Answer 26

Shaver (1985) eg university

Question 27

Breakdown: 4 evaluation points for reasons of relationship breakdown

Answer 27

extra marital affairs, maintenance difficulties, real-world application, gender

Question 28

Breakdown: extra marital affairs

Answer 28

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

Question 29

Breakdown: maintenance difficulties evaluation

Answer 29

Rohlfing (1995) 70% of students have experienced atleast 1 LDRR and 90% at least one LDF

Question 30

Breakdown: real-world application

Answer 30

couples coping enhancement improves equity and respect

Question 31

Breakdown: gender

Answer 31

women = unhappiness, compatibility. want to remain friends after
men = sexual withholding. want to move on after

Question 32

Breakdown: who devised the model of break down?

Answer 32

Rollie and Duck (2006)

Question 33

Breakdown: what are the 6 stages of the model of breakdown

Answer 33

breakdown
intrapsychic
dyadic
social
grave-dressing
resurrection

Question 34

Breakdown: research support for the model of breakdown

Answer 34

Tashiro and Fraizer (2003) found undergraduates who had recently experienced a breakup had experienced emotional distress but also personal growth; supporting the resurrection stage

Question 35

Breakdown: use of the model of breakdown for intervention

Answer 35

shows the importance of communication, e.g. stage 3