Formation of romantic relationships Flashcards
What are the two theories that attempt to explain the formation of romantic relationships?
- Reward/need satisfaction theory
2. Matching hypothesis
What does Byrne et al’s model proposes?
Byrne et als model proposes we find relationships rewarding in some form or that we may find life unpleasant and unrewarding when alone.
What is the Reward/Need satisfaction theory based on?
This theory is based on the principles of Operant and Classical conditioning. Through operant conditioning
people may reward us directly by meeting psychological needs such as the need for love, sex and friendship. Individuals that are helpful, cheerful, attentive and supportive may also provide this direct reinforcement and therefore are liked more. Alternatively we may be rewarded indirectly through classical conditioning as relationships with some individuals may provide pleasant circumstances or pleasant events occur around them. This could be compliments they provide or other positives the individual brings with them resulting in pleasant feelings becoming associated with the person themselves. Positive moods experienced when meeting individuals may become associated with them too (classical conditioning) according to this theory thus increasing the likelihood
of attraction.
Byrne et al’s theory in a nutshell.
The theory proposes that we are attracted to individuals who meet our needs and expectations. Individuals that do meet our needs invariably induce positive feelings increasing attraction to them also. Byrne et al believed
the balance of positive and negative feelings were crucial
and relationships where the positive feelings outweighed
the negatives were most likely to succeed.
What does Walster et al proposed?
Walster et al proposed in The matching hypothesis model that people who were similar in levels of attraction, intelligence and social standing were more inclined to form relationships with each other.
Explain the matching hypothesis.
This theory proposes that people pair themselves with others based on their own sense of value and they
look for partners with similar qualities. Therefore the more socially desirable a person is in terms of physical attraction, social standing and intelligence etc, the more desirable they would expect their potential partner to be. This model also proposes that people who are matched well based on this theory also tend to have happier relationships compared to couples that are mismatched based on such social desirability.
What is the notion of ‘realistic choices’?
Those looking for a partner are influenced by what they want and what they think they can actually get. Walster et al called this notion “Realistic choices” because individuals are influenced by the chances of having their feelings reciprocated back.
What did Hays et al found?
Hays et al’s research found students in friendships gave as much value to rewarding the other person as being rewarded themselves suggesting the reward/need theory is flawed. This research found friendships as well as student relationships revolved more around equity and fairness-suggesting people may not be as self-centred as the reward/need satisfaction model suggests and people gain satisfaction from giving rather than simply receiving.
What are the implications of Hays et al research?
This suggests a more complicated dynamic in the formation of relationships and the implication is the reward/need model is reductionist in oversimplifying complex elements into simple processes such as operant and classical conditioning. The theory does not factor in the role of free will either portraying people as simple stimuli response machines rather than the complex individuals everyone really is. In addition the sample consisted only of students and and findings may lack ecological validity to wider generalisation.
What did Griffitt et al found?
In one study participants were evaluated on a creative task by an experimenter and then asked how much they liked the experimenter. The rating was highest from participants who were evaluated positively suggesting some credibility into the theory and some of it may be applicable in the early stages and formation of a relationship.
What is a criticism of Griffitt et al’s study?
the study lacked external validity in real world settings and actual real world relationship formation. This is because although participants reported liking the experimenter more this does not give any indication as to whether this is sufficient enough to warrant a relationship forming. Therefore most of the studies supporting the reward/need model lack mundane realism and internal validity as they do not necessarily show the principles of need satisfaction.
What did Lott et al found?
Lott et al found that in many cultures women are socialised to be more attentive to the needs of others such as husbands and children rather than being focused on their own rewards.
What are the criticisms of Lott et al’s study and their implications?
Some may argue that this meeting of other peoples needs is rewarding in itself for the women and it is difficult to prove or disprove the theory for certain. Also in many cultures relationships form through arranged marriages where the reward/needs model or the matching hypothesis model does not apply at all as the choice is taken away from the individuals involved. The implication for the theory is it therefore suffers from cultural bias to western society and may have limited application to other cultures or societies.
Explain Walster et al’s study.
Walster et al conducted the dance study to test the matching hypothesis. Students were led to believe they were meeting their dates based on being matched accordingly on similar social desirability factors but were in fact matched randomly. Results found when students were matched to dates that were physically attractive, regardless of their own level of attraction; they were more likely to pursue further dates with them after. Factors such as intelligence or personality did not affect this. This suggests that physical attraction is likely the most important component in the matching hypothesis model showing some support.
Criticism of Walster et al’s study?
A criticism is that people may not pursue individuals they deem to be of similar level but possibly those they deem more socially desirable or even possibly less. The study lacks vital information on whether students would rank their dates similarly in social desirability as themselves or not and whether subsequent relationships actually formed despite any differences or similarities. Therefore this study lacks internal validity as it may not actually be measuring students matching themselves according to their own social desirability weakening the theories credibility.
