Psychology - Relationships - Factors affecting attraction: Filter theory Flashcards
What is the filter theory?
An explanation of relationship formation. States that different factors progressively reduces the range of available romantic partners to a much smaller pool of possibilities.
What can filters include in filter theory?
social demography, similarity in attitudes and complementary
Kerchoff and Davis (1962)
found that there were filtering factors at different stages of the partner selection process as people try to choose the “best fit” partner for the, and “narrow down the field of availables”
What is the first level of filter?
Social demography
Social demography (1st level of filter)
Social characteristics and concerns variables such as age, ethnicity, social background, geographical location and the likelihood of meeting.
What is the second level of filter?
Similarity in attitudes
Similarity in attitudes (2nd level of filter)
Psychological characteristics and looks at whether they have the same attitudes, beliefs and values, can help predict stability.
What is the third level of filter?
complementarity of needs
Complementarity of needs (3rd level of filter)
Emotional characteristics. People who have different needs that compliment each other can cause attraction due to mutual satisfaction
What was the procedure of Kerckhoff and Davis’s study?
Longitudinal study of 94 couples from Duke University in the USA, 1 person in each couple answered 2 questionnaires to assess degree of shared attitudes and complementarity of needs to assess closeness. 7 months later they each completed another to see how close they felt and it was compared.
What were the findings of Kerckhoff and Davis study?
Couples divided into: short term (18 months or less), found similarity of attitudes and values were important; and long term (18 months or more), found complementarity of needs predicted closeness
What was the conclusion of Kerckhoff and Davis study?
Long term and short term relationships rely on different filters to predict closeness, attraction and permanence in a relationship
What are the strengths of filter theory?
- Research support by Kerchoff and Davis’s study - Research support by Taylor (2010) - Research support by Hoyle (1993) and Tidwell
Taylor (2010)
Supports filter theory. 85% of Americans who got married in 2008 was to someone in their own ethnic group supporting the social demographic idea
Hoyle (1993)
Supports filter theory in the importance of attitude similarity and sharing common values as perceived attitude similarity can predict attraction more strongly than actual attitude similarity
Tidwell
Tested Hoyle’s (1993) hypothesis during a speed dating event whereby participants had to make quick decisions about attraction through a questionnaire and found perceived similarity predicted romantic liking more than actual similarity.
What are the weaknesses of the filter theory?
- Failure to replicate K&D’s research by Levinger (1970) - Criticised and contradicted by Anderson (2003) - Online dating contradicts it so it lacks temporal validity
Levinger (1970)
Many studies failed to replicate Kerckhoff and Davis findings. Levinger researched 330 couples and found no evidence of filter theory of the 2nd and 1st filter. And the question “when does a short term relationship become a long term relationship?”
Anderson (2003)
contradicted filter theory and found from longitudinal study that over time couples become similar in attitudes and emotional responses increasing attraction - Emotional convergence
