Lesson 8: Duck’s Phase Model

Question 1

Relationship breakdown

Answer 1

• Relationship breakdown or termination occurs when one or both people in the relationship feel it is not working, and therefore wish the relationship to end.

Question 2

What are the four phases of Duck’s model?

Answer 2

Intra-psychic processes, dyadic processes, social processes, grave-dressing processes

Question 3

Intra-psychic processes

Answer 3

• This is characterised by the dissatisfied partner privately thinking about their relationship and brooding about the problems they have identified. The dissatisfied partner focuses on their partner’s faults and the fact that they are under-benefitting from the relationship
  They might feel depressed and withdraw from social interactions with their partner.

Question 4

Dyadic Processes

Answer 4

• The dissatisfied partner privately communicates with their partner about the fact that they are dissatisfied with the relationship. Both partners might think carefully about investments they have in the relationships e.g. house, children, joint possessions etc. There could be reconciliation if the partner accepts the validity of the dissatisfied parenter’s views and promises to change their behaviour or makes agreements to sort out issues. Martial therapy might be useful at this point if the process becomes difficult. The dissatisfied partner might still believe that, ‘I would be justified in withdrawing from the relationship’ in which case the breakdown process would continue.

Question 5

Social processes

Answer 5

• If there is a breakup, it is made public to friends and family which means that the problem is harder to deny or ignore. Advice and support are given from people outside the relationship and alliances are made. This can involve criticising former partners and scape-goating. Younger adults might experience breakdown very frequently in this period of their life as they are striving to meet their ideal partner and are testing the market. Older couples experience breakdown less frequently, and some might be resigned to not finding a new partner in the future if the relationship breaks down.

Question 6

Grave-dressing processes

Answer 6

• As the relationship dies and breaks down, there is the need to mourn and justify our actions. We need to create an account of what the relationship was like and why it broke down. Ex-partners begin their post relationship lives and begin to publicise accounts of how the relationship broke down, making sure their social credit remains high. Stories might be told about betrayal, or how they both struggled to make it work and different versions of the relationship are given to different people. Partners might reinterpret their point of view of their ex partners e.g. ‘they were rebellious’ become ‘they were irresponsible’.

Question 7

Strength of DPM (Rollie, 2006)

Answer 7

• Duck’s phase model was devised in 1982. However, improvements have been made to the model as time has passed. Duck teamed up with a psychologist called Rollie in 2006 and introduced a fifth phase to this model called, the resurrection phase. This is where the person engages in personal growth and gets prepared for new romantic relationships.

Question 8

Strength of DPM (SET)

Answer 8

• Support for Duck’s phase model comes from the social exchange theory. This theory would support Duck’s phase and would state that if a relationship has high costs and minimal rewards the relationship is not worth continuing, but instead would breakdown.

Question 9

Weakness of DPM (Akert, 1998)

Answer 9

• Akert has criticized Duck’s phase model. Akert found that the role that people had in deciding if the relationship should breakdown, was the most important prediction of the breakdown experience. Akert found that those who did not initiate at the end of the relationship, were the most miserable,lonely, depressed and angry in the weeks after the relationship ended. Those who initiate the breakdown were the least stressed and least upset, but did feel guilty.

Question 10

Weakness of DPM (Kassin, 1996)

Answer 10

• DPM ignores gender differences that exist when analysing the breakdown of relationships. Kassin (1996) found research evidence to suggest that females emphasise unhappiness, lack of emotional support and incompatibility as reasons for relationship breakdown, whereas males state lack of sex and/or fun. Females often wish to stay friends with an ex-partner, but males would rather have a clean break.

Question 11

Weakness of DPM (simplistic)

Answer 11

• Duck’s phase model could be viewed as overly simplistic. It is reducing the complexity of phenomenon of relationship breakdown into four simple stages that must follow a specific order. In the real world, it would seem unlikely that relationship breakdown can be compartmentalised or reduced into four basic stages. Relationship breakdown is very unpredictable, and it could be the case that breakdown does not happen in this chronological order. Some couples break up, make up, break up etc.