Relationships Flashcards
Summarise Darwin’s (1859) theory of Natural Selection
- Natural selection influences the way that species change over time and become increasingly better adapted to their environment
- Any characteristic that maximise an individual’s ability to survive and reproduce successfully are highly adaptive and likely to be ‘naturally selected’
- Individuals with these genes go on to form successive generations
What is sexual selection?
- A view that competition for mates between individuals of the same sex affects the evolution of certain traits
- If a characteristic increases the individuals chance of reproduction, this characteristic will be adaptive because the animal will have more offspring
What are the two types of sexual selection?
Intra-sexual selection
Intersexual selection
What is in Intra-Sexual selection?
- When members of one sex (usually male) compete with each other for females
- The winners get to mate, and the loser’s genes are not passed on
Trivers (1972) -> Intra-Sexual Selection
According to Trivers (1972)…
- When females invests considerably more than males, members of the male latter will compete among themselves to mate with members of the former females.
What is Intersexual Selection?
- The battle of the sexes
- The preference of females for member of the male sex who possess certain qualities (height, aggression, muscular) etc.
- Thus women will be more discriminating than men in their choice of sex partner because the consequences of mating with an unsuitable partner are greater
What did Fischer (1930) say about intersexual selection?
- The sexy son hypothesis
- Found that we have seen overtime an increase in height of males (a distinguished male quality)
What did Noe and Hammerstein (1995) say about intersexual selection?
- Genes that show attractive features are more ‘saleable’ according to the biological market place explanation
Why sexual selections?
- Males reproduce sperm in thousands at relatively little physiological cost (its quick and easy)
- Therefore, their best stratergy is to mate with many females, becuase this should result in the maximum number of offspring
- Women need to be choosey with who they reproduce with as they have a limited supply of eggs and years of fertility, they also undergo a physiological cost of being pregnant
Referring to Anisogamy, explain the difference in the level of investment in reproduction
- Men are more likely to have a high number of short relationships as it is in their best interest to have sex with as many females as possible to pass their genes on and they also can’t get pregnant so have no physiological costs
- A women is more likely to have a small amount of long relationships, as they have a limited supply of eggs, so want quality of male traits
SUMMARY:
- Male -> Quantity
- Female -> Quality
What is the research supporting inter-sexual selection?
Clark and Elaine Hatsfield (1989)
What is Anisogamy?
Refers to the difference between males and females’ different sex/reproductive cells
Explain the research on Clark and Elaine Hatsfield (1989)
- Clark and Elaine Hatsfield (1989) showed that females choosiness is a reality of heterosexual relationships
- Male and female psychology students were sent out across a university campus
- They approached other students individually with this question, “I have been noticing you around campus. I find you to be very attractive. Would you go to bed with me tonight?”
- Not a single female student agreed to the request, whereas 75% of males did, immediately
- This supports evolutionary theory because it suggests that females are choosier than males when it comes to selecting sexual partners and that males have evolved a different strategy to ensure reproductive success
- However sample is not very representative and western society focused
What is the Research support from lonely hearts research?
Waynforth and Dunbar (1995)
Explain Waynforth and Dunbar (1995)
- Waynforth and Dunbar (1995) studied lonely hearts advertisements in American newspapers.
- These slightly quaint historical documents were opportunities for men (usually) and women to describe the qualities they desire in a potential partner, whilst cataloguing what they had to offer.
- The researchers found that women more than men tended to offer physical attractiveness and indicators of youth (’flirty, exciting, curvy, sexy’).
- Men, on the other hand, offered resources more than women did (’successful, fit, mature, ambitious’) and sought relative youth and physical attractiveness.
- However, Lack of temporal validity but can still be applied to dating apps/social media also was western society focused
What is the relationship support for preferences related to anisogamy?
David Buss (1989)
Explain David Buss (1989)
- David Buss (1989) carried out a survey of over 10,000 adults in 33 countries
- He asked question relating to age and a variety of attributes that evolutionary theory predicts should be important in partner preferences
- He found that female respondents placed greater value on resource related characteristics, such as good financial prospects, ambition and industriousness, than males did
- Males valued reproductive capacity in terms of good looks and chastity, and preferred younger mates, more than females did
- These findings reflect sex differences in mate strategies due to anisogamy. They support predictions about partner preference derived from sexual selection theory
- Furthermore, the findings can be applied across vastly different cultures, reflecting fundamental human preferences which are not primarily dependent upon cultural influences
Outline and briefly discuss the relationships between sexual selection and human reproductive behaviour (8 MARKS)
AO1
Sexual selection is a view that competition for mates between individuals of the same sex affects the evolution of certain traits. If a characteristics increases the individuals chances of reproduction, this characteristic will be adaptive because the animal will have more offspring. For example characteristics in males include strength, height, facial hair which highlight the aspects of maturity and protecting. An example in women is wide hips and it shows how the females are fertile. There are two types of sexual selection, intra-sexual and intersexual. Intra-sexual selection is where males compete with each other for female attention, to obtain the desired genetics for their offspring whilst also passing on their own. Intersexual is where females have the choice of males to mate with, wanting to obtain males who possess certain genetic qualities. Anisogamy refers to the differences between males and female have different sex/reproductive cells, because of anisogamy there is a difference in the level of investment in reproduction. This highlights that females look for quality as they only have a limited supply of eggs and fertile years, whereas males look for quantity as they reproduce sperm in thousands at very little physiological cost.
AO3
Clark and Elaine Hatsfield (1989) showed that females choosiness is a reality of heterosexual relationships. Male and female psychology students were sent out across a university campus. They approached other students individually with this question, “I have been noticing you around campus. I find you to be very attractive. Would you go to bed with me tonight?”. Not a single female student agreed to the request, whereas 75% of males did, immediately. This supports evolutionary theory because it suggests that females are choosier than males when it comes to selecting sexual partners and that males have evolved a different strategy to ensure reproductive success. However the sample size is not very representative as it is only university students taken in the United States, this makes the study hard to generalise across the world, which is an example of ethnocentrism.
David Buss (1989) carried out a survey of over 10,000 adults in 33 countries . He asked question relating to age and a variety of attributes that evolutionary theory predicts should be important in partner preferences. He found that female respondents placed greater value on resource related characteristics, such as good financial prospects, ambition and industriousness, than males did. Males valued reproductive capacity in terms of good looks and chastity, and preferred younger mates, more than females did. These findings reflect sex differences in mate strategies due to anisogamy. They support predictions about partner preference derived from sexual selection theory. Furthermore, the findings can be applied across vastly different cultures, reflecting fundamental human preferences which are not primarily dependent upon cultural influences
What is self-disclosure?
- The idea that relationship formation is built on trust with another person, which is demonstrated by gradually revealing personal information, such as thoughts, feelings and experiences that they might share with anyone else.
- As a result leads to more satisfaction in a relationship
Name and describe the metaphor used to describe the social penetration theory
- Onion Metaphor
- As breadth and depth increase, romantic partners become more committed to one another. We disclose a lot of information about ourselves at the beginning, but it is mainly ‘low risk information’, the the top layer of an onion
- The breadth of disclosure is narrow as we might threaten the relationship with too much information
- The deeper the relationship goes, the more layers are peeled back, thus revealing more about ourselves
What did Reis and Shaver (1988) say about self-disclosure?
- For a relationship to develop, there has to be a balance of self-disclosure between partners
- Instead of one sharing and one listening, there needs to be an even exchange in return
- This could to greater intimacy and a deeper understanding of the romantic relationship
What did Hass and Hartford (1998) say about self-disclosure?
- 57% of gay men and women said that open and honest self-disclosure was the main way they maintained and deepened their committed relationship
- Self-disclosure research allows for individuals to improve on their own personal relationships
Who conducted the study of reciprocal self-disclosure in relationships?
Sprecher et al (2013)
Describe the study done by Sprecher et al (2013)
Sprecher et al (2013) investigated the role of reciprocal self-disclosure in relationships. 156 American University students, female-female or male-female dyads in a Skype conversation.
- Condition 1 → Self-disclosure in a reciprocal manner, taking turns to ask questions
- Condition 2 → Self-disclosure was not reciprocal, one disclosed while the other listened
Condition 1 participants reported a greater liking, closeness, similarity and enjoyment to one another compared to condition 2. Reciprocity of self-disclosure has positive outcomes for romantic relationships
Limitations of Self-Disclosure
- Prediction of self-disclosure leading to more romantic relationships might not be applicable to all cultures. Men and women in the USA (Individualist) self-disclosure significantly more sexual thoughts/feelings than men and women in china (collectivist). Self-disclosure is based on Western romantic relationships.
- Other theories state that couples discuss and negotiate the sate of their relationship, involving deep self-disclosure conversations. However, this may not be enough to save a relationship and may contribute to a relationship breakdown
- Self-Disclosure research is mainly correlational, but a correlation does not mean there is a valid conclusion to be made - other factors contribute to a relationship
Positives of Self-Disclosure
- The concept of self-disclosure is that is it supported by research. For example, Has and Hartford (1998) found that 57% of gay men and women considered open self-disclosure as a main way to maintain close relationships. This demonstrates the importance of self-disclosure in romantic relationships, just as the theory has predicted.
- Cooper and Sportolari (1997) found that anonymity of online interactions gave web-users a sense of security and made them disclose personal information much earlier in relationships than they would face-to-face, making relationships exciting and intense (‘boom’). However, because the necessary trust foundation had not been established, the intensity of the relationship was impossible to sustain, leading to break-up (‘bust’). This shows that breadth of relationships needs to be established first, before proceeding to a deeper self-disclosure, just as Social Penetration Theory suggests.
- Self-disclosure has strong face validity for many young people as a way of improving anxiety and depression outcomes.
What did McNulty et al (2008) say about physical attractiveness?
Physical attraction is a huge part of a romantic relationship even years after marriage
What did Brown et al (2009) say about physical attractiveness?
- Individuals rate body symmetry highly, as symmetry is a strong indicator of biological fitness, therefore it is viewed as attractive
What is the halo effect?
The idea that people who are judged to be attractive are typically perceived in a positive light.
What did Dion et al (1972) say about the Halo effect?
- Dion et al. (1972) found that attractive people are consistently rated as successful, kind and sociable when compared with unattractive people.
- This means that we not only believe that good-looking people are more physically attractive, we expect them to have other desirable characteristics as well and tend to behave more positively towards them.
What did Palmer and Peterson (2012) say about the Halo effect?
- Palmer and Peterson (2012) asked participants to rate attractive and unattractive people in terms of how politically competent and knowledgeable they believed them to be.
- It was found that attractive people were consistently rated higher on these characteristics compared to unattractive ones.
What Research shows us that the reality is that we don’t date the best looking person for men and highest earning for women?
Eastwick and Finkel (2008)
Discuss Eastwick and Finkel (2008)
- Although men may value physical attractiveness more than women do, these differences may not predict real-life partner choice
- Evidence from speed dating and longitudinal studies 30 days later
- Before speed dating, partners showed traditional sex differences when stating the importance of physical attractiveness (men) and earning prospects (women) in an ideal partner
- These preferences did not predict their behaviour at speed dating
- Their actual preferences were more likely to reflect their evaluation of a specific speed-dating partners characteristics
and their romantic attraction to the other
Who came up with the matching hypothesis?
Walster (1966)
What is the Matching Hypothesis?
A cognitive mechanism that uses self-rating to assume that people tend to pair up with partners who are of roughly the same level of attractiveness as they themselves are
What does the matching hypothesis revolve around (socially)?
- The ideas of self-worth and self-esteem
i.e. if your partner is deemed to be ‘ugly’ then this will affect your social standing but if your partner is a ‘looker’ then your social status will rise
- Either outcome will have an effect on how you view yourself (as worthy or not worthy)
Why do people choose romantic partners who are of similar attractiveness?
- Individuals need to make a realistic judgement about their own “value”
- Our choice of partner is a compromise
- We balance the need for evolutionary and biological satisfaction with avoiding being rejected by an individual who is
“out of our league” - There is a difference between what we like and what we will settle for.
What were the two studies on matching hypothesis?
- Walster et al (1966)
- Taylor et al (2011)
Method of Walster et al (1966)
- Walster advertised a ‘computer dance’ for freshers in the first week at university of Minnesota
- Around 400 males and females volunteered and were let in for $1
- Four independent judges secretly rated the students in terms of attractiveness whilst they were collecting their tickets.
- Participants filled in a questionnaire and told the data would be used to determine the similarities between males and females, to find a partner for the dance.
- Pairing was however done completely randomly for the dance.
- During intervals at the dance, and 4-6 months later students were asked whether they found their partner attractive and whether they would like to go on a date with them
What were the results of Walster et al (1966)?
- Participants were paired in a male and female partnership
- Partners responded more positively to others who had been rated as physically attractive, irrespective of their own level of attractiveness.
- Pattern was echoed in willingness to ask out the paired partner on another date.
- Females who were rated as physically attractive were frequently asked out on a second date by males who were not rated as physically attractive.
What was the conclusion of Walster et al (1966)?
- Students expressed higher appreciation of their partner if the partner was attractive, regardless of their own level of attractiveness.
- THIS DOES NOT SUPPORT THE MATCHING HYPOTHESIS
Summarise Taylor et al (2011)
- Investigated the activity log on a dating website
- Found that website users were more likely to try and arrange a meeting with a potential partner who was more physically attractive than them.
- This contradicts the Matching Hypothesis
- Website users should seek more dates with a person who is similar in terms of attractiveness because it provides them with a better chance of being accepted by a potential partner.
Strengths of the Halo Effect
- There is some predictive validity in the halo effect: Landy & Sigall (1975) found that essays written by attractive schoolchildren were graded higher than those written by unattractive schoolchildren
- There are important real-life, practical applications associated with an increased understanding of
the halo effect and its influence on individual perceptions of others. For example, Palmer and Peterson (2012) found that even when participants were informed that the images of physically attractive people represented those of people with little knowledge of political matters, respondents still judged these images as representative of people who were highly politically-skilled, mature and trustworthy. This has important implications on the state of politics, where the success of some politicians or political parties may be more easily or accurately explained as a result of the halo effect, rather than actual political expertise. Therefore, this knowledge could be used to the
advantage of some parties when selecting candidates!
Limitations of the Halo Effect
- Notions of ‘what is attractive?’ are highly subjective and prone to individual differences which means that associated theories lack scientific validity
Advantages of the matching hypothesis
- Feingold’s(1998) meta analysis of research on the matching hypothesis using actual couples found that partners tended to be equally attractive: this finding increases the external validity of the theory as it can be seen in operation in real life
Disadvantages of the matching hypothesis
- Taylor et al
- Western Culture / Culture Bias
What is the filter theory?
The idea that when meeting a person, we engage in the three stages, filtering social demography, similarities in attitudes and complementarity
Who came up with the Filter theory?
Kerckhoff and Davis (1962)
What did Kerchoff and Davis (1962) conduct and conclude?
- Conducted research with real-life couples, asking them what it was that attracted them to each other in the first place and why the relationship was (up to that point) successful
- Concluded that people apply a set of criteria - filters - which help them to narrow down the field of availables to a field of desirables who represent the best choice in terms of potential partner
What are the three stages of the filter theory?
- Social Demographics
- Similarity in Attitudes
- Complementarity
Describe Social Demography?
Refers to many factors that influence the chance of potential partners meeting each other, including:
- Proximity
- Social class
- Level of education
- Ethnicity/religion
- Even though there is a vast range of partners, the choice of partner is much narrower due to our social circumstances
Describe Similarity in attitudes
- Individuals will look for partners with similar psychological factors and shared beliefs
Describe Complementarity
- Refers to the ways in which a couple provides what each other needs in a relationship
- They complement each other
- Complementarity, according to Kerckhoff & Davis (1962), is not so important in the early stages of a relationship but is crucial for long-term happiness
- A successful relationship may well depend on complementarity as each person fulfills the needs of their partner which results in a relationship that does not consist of two separate individuals but is instead a whole
What is short-term and long-term according to Kerckhoff and Davis (1962)?
- Short term is bellow 18 months
- Long term is above 18 months
Strengths of Filter Theory
- Face Validity, theory assumes that key factors in a relationship change over time
- Winch (1958)
Evidence that similarities of personality, interests and attitudes are typical in the early stages of relationships.
This agrees with the Matching Hypothesis.
Winch said complementarity of needs was more important than
similarity ,in partners happily married for several years.
