Relationships Flashcards
(124 cards)
1
Q
What does the evolutional theory state?
A
mens best chance at offering is quantity and for women it is quality
2
Q
What is intrasexual selection?
A
where members of one sex (usually males) compete with members of the same sex to gain access to members of opposite sex
3
Q
What is physical dimorphism?
A
Differences in body size+ appearance between males and females, explained by intra-sexual selection
4
Q
What is inter-sexual selection?
A
female choice, based on the idea that females place greater investment of time+ energy into raising a child, so they are more selective when choosing a partner
5
Q
What does inter-sexual selection state females will look for?
A
Men who can provide the right genetics, and necessary resources to provide for them and their child
6
Q
What did Clarke and Hatfield do and find?
A
A sample of male and female students approached total strangers of opposite sex+ asked 1/3 requests
1) Will you go out with me tonight? (50% women, 56% male)
2) Will you come back to my place? (6% women, 69% men)
3) Will you have sex with me? (0% women, 75% men)
7
Q
Which theory did Clarke and Hatfield support?
A
Sexual selection, men trying to pass on genes by having many sexual partners
8
Q
What are the two dimensions of self-disclosure theory?
A
Breadth and Depth
9
Q
What does social penetration describe about self-disclosure?
A
At first, people share lots of information about certain aspects of themselves (breadth), but consider some topics to be off-topic, as trust is built depth of information becomes deeper
10
Q
What is sexual selection?
A
Natural selection for mating success, aim is to reproduce so that genes are passed on
11
Q
What is anisogamy?
A
Differences between male and female sex cells
12
Q
According to intrasexual selection, what do males need to compete for?
A
Fertile females, sexual selection favours strong and aggressive males
13
Q
What did Singh study?
A
Studied preferred waist-to-hup ratio for winners of the Miss America contest for a decade
13
Q
What did Singh find?
A
Men generally found any waist+ hip size attractive, as long as rartio between them is around 0.7
- this occurs when female has larger hips+ smaller waist
- men liked that because it is a sign a woman is fertile but not currently pregnant
13
Q
What did Singh’s study support?
A
Theory of sexual selection
14
Q
What is the strength of sexual selection?
A
Large amounts of supporting studies (Singh, Clarke+Hatfield, Buss)
15
Q
What are the weaknesses of the sexual selection theory?
A
- Gender bias, exaggerates the differences between mating tactics in men+women
- reductionist, takes biology as a main factor and also doesn’t explain same-sex relationships
- evolutionary theory assumes mate preferences is due to biological factors, could be due to culture+ environment, Kasser and Sharma found 37 cultures studied by Buss, higher female value placed on security sand male resources in culture with limited female access to education+status
This suggests preference for males who provide resources is due to culture+ being denied opportunities
16
Q
What is the self-disclosure theory?
A
A theory by Jourard that is based on the idea that relationship formation is built on trust and demonstrated by gradually revealing personal information
17
Q
According to Jourard, what does disposing thoughts and feelings allow a partner to do?
A
Reveal their “true self”, and lead to greater intimacy in romantic relationships
18
Q
What is the social penetration theory and who was it proposed by?
A
Proposed by Altman+Taylor, the theory claimed that by gradually revealing emotions, people gain greater understanding and deeper trust in relationships
19
Q
What did Collins and Miller say about familiarity?
A
They said that people reveal more intimate information to those they like and people like who they have revealed intimate information to (a cycle)
20
Q
What did Berg and Archer say about reciprocity?
A
The more one person discloses to another, the more disclosure that they expect in return
21
Q
What did Derlega and Grzelak say about the appropriateness of disclosure?
A
They said that people should engage in moderate level of self disclosure early in the relationship
High and low intimacy self-disclosure decrease attraction in early stages
22
Q
What are the strengths of self-disclosure theory?
A
Research support for self-disclosure as factor affecting attraction in romantic relationships, Laurenceau et al asked Pps to write a daily diary entry about relationship, found that self-disclosure led to greater feelings of intimacy (reverse true)
Further supporting evidence, Sprecher et al paired up and questioned via skype, alternative self disclosure or one then the other (reciprocal turn taking off self disclosure led to greater satisfaction+ enjoyment)
23
What are the weaknesses of self-disclosure theory?
Cultural differences, Tang et al, reviewed research regarding sexual self-disclosure and concluded that in USA (individualist) self-disclosure more than China (collectivist)- not generalisable to all cultures
24
What did Shackleford and Larsen find?
Those with symmetrical faces are rates are more attractive which may indicate genetic fitness
25
What can physical attraction be linked to?
Sexual selection
26
What is the Halo effect?
People are perceived as a certain way based on how attractive they are
27
What did Clifford and Walter find about the Halo effect?
Teachers judge attractive students as more intelligent that unattractive students
28
What did Dion et al find about the Halo effect?
Adults and nurse in paediatric wards punish unattractive children more harshly than attractive children
29
What did Eastwick et al find linked to physical attractiveness?
Suggested that despite physical attractiveness having been linked to male sexual selection it may be just as important to women although they suggested more so in selecting a short term mate
Physical attractiveness less important in serious relationships, however men more likely to rely on physical attractiveness in long-term
30
What is the matching hypothesis?
When people estimate whether a partner will fin them attractive based on their own attractiveness- will go for someone on "same level"
31
What did Walster+ Walster research?
- Researchers used 376 m+ 276 f volunteers in a dance, and 4 independent judges secretly rated students on attractiveness
- Pls asked to fill in questionnaire (told ir was to determine their ideal partner, however pairing was random)
- during interval at party+ 4-6 months later students asked whether they found their partner attractive
32
What did Walster+ Walster find?
Pps responded positively to those whose rating was higher on attractiveness scale, regardless of own attractiveness
Rejects the matching hypothesis theory because people regardless of their own attractiveness, favoured attractive dance partners
33
What did Taylor et al?
Found no evidence that online daters initial attractions based on similar PA, found a preference for attractive partners even if they were out of their league
- despite this, more responses were gained from those who were more suitably matched
34
What are the strengths of theory of physical attractiveness?
Research support for matching hypothesis, Feingold et al found significant correlation in ratings of attractiveness between partners in a meta-analysis of 17 studies, supporting matching hypothesis
Matching hypothesis research not gender specific, Aronson et al claimed when using homosexual couples to investigate matching hypothesis, physical attractiveness still priority when seeking mate
35
What are the weaknesses of theory of physical attractiveness?
Research contradicting matching hypothesis, Taylor et al studied activity logs of dating website+ found online daters sought meetings with those more physically attractive, did not consider own level of attractiveness.
36
What did Kerckhoff and Davies study and find?
Studied student couples and discovered important criteria people use to help them choose a partner
37
What are criteria filters?
These are criteria that hep people sift through all potential partners to choose the "right one"
38
What are some social characteristics that affect who we start relationships with?
Gender, Location, Age, Culture
These determine the likelihood of people meeting in first place
39
Why is it important we have similar social characteristics to a partner?
Helps us feel similar to people and more at ease- making them more attractive
39
What are some psychological characteristics that affect who we start relationships with?
- Similarity in attitudes
- beliefs
- values
- sense of humour
- preferences
39
What did Bryce say about the similarity of attitudes?
Noted that similarity of attitudes is especially important in earlier stages of relationships, for couples who have been together fewer 18 months
- If partners have very little in common then relationships rarely develop
40
What did Kerckhoff and Davis find about filter theory?
Complementarity is important in relationships and refers to each of the partners having some traits that other partner lacks and helping each other to fulfil their needs
41
What did Kerckhoff and Davies do?
Did a longitudinal study of 94 couples and did 2 questionnaires 7 months apart
42
What did Kerckhoff and Davies find?
Initial analysis revealed only similarity between partners appeared to be related to ratings of closeness towards a partner
43
What are the strengths of filter theory?
- Has face validity, assumes key factors in a relationship change over time, has face validity because makes sense and agrees with most people experience of romantic relationships
- support from research evidence, Winch found similarities of personality, interests and attitudes between partners are typical of early stages of relationship- shows matching hypothesis in terms of needs
44
What are the Weaknessess of filter theory?
- Failure to replicate, George Levinger showed that many studies have failed original findings of filter theory- down to social changes over time (difficult to apply)
45
What is social exchange theory?
Social exchange theory is an economic theory, saying that relationships are exchanges between partners, aiming at balancing costs and rewards
46
What is the minimax principle?
We try to minimise losses and maximise gains in relationships
47
According to social exchange theory, who do we find most attractive?
Those who offer the most rewards
48
What is comparison level in social exchange theory?
Describes that we also have schemas of how relationships should be and we compare profit received to profit expected
Also factor what we could achieve from pursuing a different relationship
49
What can comparison level be affected by?
- Comparisons with previous relationships
- comparisons with social norms
- self-esteem
50
What is the stage theory as part of social exchange theory?
According to Thibaut and Kelly, all relationships proceed through 4 stages
51
What are the 4 stages proposed by Thibaut and Kelly?
Sampling stage- people explore rewards and costs
Bargaining stage- first stage of romantic relationship, partners exchange rewards+ costs and negotiate
Commitment stage- when relationships become more stable+ familiar with rewards and costs at each others expectations
Institualisation stage- rewards and costs are well established
52
What are the strengths of social exchange theory?
- evidence to support, Floyd et al found commitment develops when couples feel rewarded+ when more attractive relationships not available- supports theory
- evidence to support it, Kurdek+ Schmitt found relationship satisfaction= higher when partners perceive benefits of relationship to outweighs costs
- real-life applications, IBCT aims to increase positive exchanges, Christensen et al treated 60 couples using IBCT (2/3 reported improvements)
53
What are the weaknesses of social exchange theory?
- Key concepts difficult to define+ measure, rewards and costs highly subjective and ca only be measured by self-report
- Contradicting evidence, Argyle argued people rarely assess relationships, only tend to after dissatisfaction- contradicts SET that assumes assessing profit loss is the way all relationships start and are maintained
54
What does equity mean?
fairness
55
What is relationship maintenance?
Idea that individuals become dissatisfied when they put in more than they receive or receive more than they put in- inequitable
56
According to equity theory when are people most happy?
When they get out a fair amount compared to what they put in
57
How is the equity theory different to social exchange theory?
Social exchange states person feels they need to be in profit, equity theory person just feels they need to be in balance
58
According to equity theory, a person who gets more benefits than what they put in will feel...
Guilty and shame
59
According to equity theory, a person who gets less benefits than what they put in will feel...
Angry and resentful
60
What can happen to perception of equity over time?
Can change, what seemed fair in the beginning may not seem fair later on, and balance needs to be restored
61
Who did research into equity theory?
Utne et al
62
What did Utne et al do and fine?
used self-report to measure equity+ satisfaction in married couples, 118 participants aged 16-45 married for 2+ years
- found partners who rated their relationships as more equitable were more satisfied
63
What is the strength of equity theory?
Supporting research evidence, Utne et al found couples who considered their relationship suitable were more satisfied than those who saw themselves over/under-benefitting
63
What are the weaknesses of equity theory?
- Cultural influence, Katherine Ryan et al found cultural found Individualist considered their relationships most satisfying when relationship equitable, whereas collectivist more satisfied with over benefiting- cannot be generalised to all cultures
- Individual differences, not all partners concerned with achieving equity, Huseman et al found some partners prepared to contribute more whereas others believe they deserve to be over benefited- shows equity not applicable to all relationships
64
Who was the investment model proposed by?
Rusbuldt
65
According to Rusbuldt's investment model, what are the 3 factors that lead to commitment?
1) Satisfaction level
2) comparison with alternatives
3) investment size
66
What is satisfaction based on according to the investment theory?
Concept of the comparison level, relationship is judged by comparing rewards and costs and is seen to be profitable if many rewards and few costs
67
According to investment theory, when are partners generally satisfied?
When they are getting more out of the relationship than they expected (based on prev experience+ social norms)
68
What did Rusbult argue the two types of investment are?
Intrinsic investments and extrinsic investments
68
What are intrinsic investments
Any resources we put directly into the relationship; tangible such as money or intangible such as self disclosure
68
What are extrinsic investments
Resources that previously did not feature in the relationship, but are now closely associated with it
69
According to investment theory, if partners experience high levels of satisfaction and alternatives are less attractive, what can we predict?
partners will be committed to the relationship
70
What did Rusbult argue was more important than satisfaction?
Commitment, he said this was the main factor that caused people to stay in romantic relationships
71
Why did Rusbult say commitment is so important in the maintenance of romantic relationships?
Because people make investments that they do not want to go to waste, and therefore work hard to maintain and repair any damaged relationships
72
What is relationship maintenance mechanisms according to investment model
This is when enduring partners promote accommodation and put their partners interests first, as well as forgiving them
- this is an element to relationship maintenance and repair
73
What are positive illusions?
When committed partners think about each other and are positive about their partner
74
What are the strengths of investment theory?
- Explains abusive relationships, Rasbult+ Martz studied abused women at shelter, found those most likely to return reported making greatest investment+ having fewest attractive alternatives
- evidence to support investment theory, meta analysis by Benjamin Le+ Agnew found satisfaction, comparison with alternatives and investment size all predicted commitment- relationships with greatest commitment= most stable+ long-lasting
75
What is the weakness of the investment model?
Oversimplifies investment, Goodfriend+ Agnew say there is more than investment than resources you have already put into relationship, they argue it extends to future planning- original model limited and fails to recognise complexity of investment
76
Who proposed the stage theory about relationship breakdown?
Duck
77
How many stages did duck state relationship breakdowns go through?
4 stages
78
What is the first stage of duck's breakdown model?
Intrapsychic phase
- thinking about future of relationship, wondering if better off leaving
- sense of under-beneffiting
- not necessarily involves explicit dissatisfaction to partner
79
What is the second stage of duck's breakdown model?
Dyadic phase
- confrontation and discussion with partner about dissatisfaction
- can we fix this?- consideration of binding factors+ costs of breakdown
- couples may be motivated to fix after this stage
80
What is the third stage of duck's breakdown model?
Social phase
- breakdown no longer private, couple seeks social support from friends+ family
- makes it hard to reconcile
- at this stage support given may help or create moredistance
- negotiation about practicalities
81
What is the fourth stage of duck's breakdown model?
Grave-dressing phase
- justifying actions
- presenting self in a good light
- maintaining social credit, to be considered for future relationships
82
What did Lefebvre et al investigate?
Duck's phase model of relationship breakdown
83
What did Lefebvre do?
Used a sample of 208 college students who were users of Facebook and got them to complete a questionnaire designed to measure their use of Facebook during relationship breakdown
84
What did Lefebvre find?
22% of student Pps did not use Facebook to discuss relationship breakdown
22% used Facebook to publicise relationship status
10% used Facebook to check up on ex-partner
blocking was reported common following breakdown
85
What did Lefebvre's findings support?
Ducks phase model, in particular the social and grave-dressing phases
86
What are the strengths of relationship breakdown model?
- Evidence to support, Lefebvre et al's study supported stages of relationship breakdown
- Real-world application- couples counselling can be used successfully to help couples contemplating break-up to improve their relationships and stay together
87
What are the weaknesses of relationship breakdown model?
- culturally biased, duck's phase model is based on individualist relationships, where relationships are voluntary and separation obtainable may not be the case in a collectivist culture
- ethical issues, this is problematic if issue involves victims of DA, protection from psychological harm since PPs may experience distress in process of research
88
What are virtual relationships?
Relationships formed and conducted by electronic communication techniques such as Facebook, TikTok and text message
89
How many relationships start online now?
1/4 relationships
90
Which model leads to higher self-disclosure in VR?
Hyper-personal model
91
What is the hyper-personal model in virtual relationships?
When more self-disclosure occurs
- VR develop fast and self-dislclosure happens earlier+ mkore intense
92
What is selective self-disclosure in VR?
You present yourself in an idealised way which can be honest or dishonest
93
What is the 'stranger on the train' phenomenon described by Rubin?
Suggested that anonymity created greater openness, he suggests we are more likely to share personal info with a stranger because we may never see them again
94
What does the reduced cues theory say?
That VR leads to issues in self-disclosure
- less cues to our emotional state than fun face-to face and the reduced identity leads to disinhibition
- may reduce self-disclosure as don't share in case of negative response
- may be more aggressive, blunter or dishonest
95
What are gates in relationships
These are factors that hinder relationships, things such as stammers, social anxiety etc.
96
Why can gates be absent in VR, and what does this mean?
Gates can be absent because its not face-to-face, creating more opportunities for shy or less attractive people
even when these factors are discovered later, they rarely decrease an attraction
97
What did Baker and Oswald do?
Asked 207 male+ female participants to complete a questionnaire, scoring their answers in terms of shyness, internet se+ perception of quality of their friendships
98
What did Baker and Oswald find?
Found that those people who scored highly on shyness and internet use perceived high quality of friendship, thus correlation was absent for people with low shyness scores
- imply online communication helps people to overcome their shyness, so quality of their face-to-face communication also improved
99
What theory did Baker and Oswald's research support?
Absence of gating
100
What are the weaknesses of the theory of virtual relationships?
- A weakness of the research into VR that it lacks temporal validity, most research conducted in late 1990s and early 2000s and technology had rapidly changed since then
- The research may also be gender biased and fails to account for gender differences in regards to VR
McKenna et al found that women tended to rate their relationships formed online as more intimate, men on the other hand, preferred activities based disclosure and rated their VR relationships as less close than face-to-face.
101
What are para-social relationships?
These are one-sided relationships, where one person expends considerable emotional energy, interest and time, although the other person is completely unaware
102
Who proposed the absorption-addiction model?
McCutcheon
103
What does the absorption-addiction model say about why people form para-social relationships?
That it is to compensate for some deficiencies in their life, such as difficulty forming intimate relationships
104
What is the absorption part of the absorption-addiction model?
This part says that looking for satisfaction celeb worship makes a person focus intensively on their par asocial relationship, and achieve sense of fulfilment
- This motivates them to become more attached to the celebrity
105
What is the addiction part of the absorption-addiction model?
Sense of fulfilment then becomes addictive for person, leading them to engage in riskier behaviours such as stalking to get closer to celebrity they worship
106
What was Maltby et al's research supporting?
Absorption-addiction model
107
What did Maltby et al measure and find?
Measured the relationship between celeb worship and body image in teenagers+ found young girls who were at intense-personal level tended to have poor body image, especially if they particularly admired
108
What did Giles Malby identify?
Three levels of par asocial relationships:
Stage 1- Entertainment (social level)
Stage 2- Intense (personal level)
Stage 3- Borderline pathological level
109
What is stage 1 of Malby's parasocial relationship scale
Entertainment level
- most people stay at this first level where celebs are seen as a source of entertainment
- least intense level of celebrity worship
110
What is stage 2 of Malby's parasocial relationship scale
Intense
- Deeper level, at this level person has a more intense relationship with celeb
- may see them as a soulmate+ have intense interest in their personal life
111
What is stage 3 of Malby's parasocial relationship scale
Borderline pathological level
- most intense level of parasocial
- at this level, worship is extreme, having obsessive fantasies, spending sums of money+ may engage in illegal activities such as stalking
112
What did Cole and Leets find about attachment and PSRs?
Insecure resistant= most likely form PSR's due to desire for intimacy, more negative about themselves
Insecure avoidant= least likely to form PSRs as they avoid intimacy with anyone
Secure= moderate level, but more when trust with relations partner is an issue
113
Who's research supported Cole and Leets finding about attachment and PSR's?
Kienlen et al
114
What Kienlen et al investigate and find?
Investigated experiences of stalkers and found that 63% of Pps experienced a loss of caregiver in childhood while 50% experienced abuse
- shows poor-quality early arrangements or disruption to attachment may be associated with PSR's
115
What did McCutheon do and find?
Used a sample of 299 students to complete a questionnaire on their early attachments to see if there childhood would influence their likelihood to form PSR's
- found no association between attachment style+ likelihood to become attached
116
What is the strength of PSR's?
Support for absorption-addiction model, Maltby found females with PSR's for female celebs often had poor body images+ links to anorexia nervosa
117
What are the weaknesses of PSR's?
- Problems with attachment theory, McCutcheon measured attachment types in 299 Pps, found PPs with insecure attachments no more likely to form PSR's- affects validity
- methodological issues, most studies on PSR's use self-report methods to collect data- subject to social desirability bias
