L5 - Filter Theory (factors)

Question 1

Filter theory operates how

Answer 1

People use certain factors help people choose partners who are the best fit and narrow down availability

Question 2

3 factors

Answer 2

Social demography
Attitudes and beliefs
Complementarity of needs

Question 3

Describe social demography

Answer 3

Same ethnicity
Geographical location
Age
Helps increase commonality

Question 4

Describe similarity of attitudes

Answer 4

Have to have same attitudes, beliefs, and values
Determine stability and length of relationship
Different = unsustainable

Question 5

Describe complementarity of needs

Answer 5

People have different needs which complement each other
Mutual satisfaction and have opposing needs met
Increases harmony reduces conflict

Question 6

Research procedure

Answer 6

American couples

Each partner completed 2 questionnaires to assess similarity of attitudes/complementarity of needs

Question 7

+ of research related to longitudinal

Answer 7

Tested in the short term and long term

Increases support for how filters affect attraction and relationships

Question 8

• of research related to questionnaire

Answer 8

Social desirability biases lying

Sensitive issue and other methods, e.g. interviews probably should have been used to get higher quality data

Question 9

• of research related to Americans

Answer 9

Only Americans
Culture bias
Don’t know if it’s present in other cultures, e.g. collectivist, so findings can’t be generalised

Question 10

+ related to social demographics

Answer 10

85% of American couples married in 2008 married from own ethnic group
Choose similar background

Question 11

• related to the internet

Answer 11

Internet has almost removed social demographic now relative to past
Meet from any geographical location, ethnicity, social class
Temporal validity

Question 12

• related to emotional convergence

Answer 12

Longitudinal of cohabiting partners found attitudes became more similar over time
Differences are irrelevant as become similar

Question 13

What else did the study procedure involve

Answer 13

7 months later did another questionnaire to compare and assess closeness to partner

Question 14

Study findings were split how

Answer 14

Short term couples less than 18 months

Long term couples dating longer than 18 months

Question 15

Findings of the study

Answer 15

Similarity of attitudes and beliefs was important for closeness
LT needed CoN to predict closeness
ST/LT couples need different factors to predict closeness and attraction