Relationships

Question 1

What is sexual selection?

Answer 1

an evolutionary explanation of partner preference. Attributes or behaviours that increase reproduction success of passed on and may become exaggerated over succeeded in generations of offspring.

Question 2

What is an example of sexual selection?

Answer 2

Peacocks - bright tail on male peacock seen as genetically fit

Question 3

what is anisogamy?

Answer 3

The differences between male and female sex cells

Question 4

What is intersexual selection?

Answer 4

between sexes, strategies makes use to select females visa versa.

Question 5

What did Trivers say about intersexual selection?

Answer 5

females make a greater investment of time, commitment and other resources before during and after birth of offspring. Have to be especially selective

Question 6

what was Fisher’s sexy sons hypothesis?

Answer 6

A female who mates with a male who has a certain characteristic or then have sons who inherit this trait, so the sons are more likely to be selected by successive generations of females

Question 7

what is intrasexual selection?

Answer 7

within sexes, strategies between males to be successful. competition to be selected. led to dimorphism. larger males have advantages so more likely successful

Question 8

evaluate evolutionary explanations

Answer 8

strength inter - support, choosiness in women, Clark and Hatfield - uni will you go to bed tn, 75% males said yes no women.

strength intra - support, Buss - survey in 33 countries found females placed greater value in resource related characteristics eg. financial and ambition. Males valued physical attraction more. Show constant sex differences in partner prefences.

limitation - overlook social and cultural factors, eg contraception. women no longer need to rely on men. Bereczkei et al - social changes consequences in women’s pref. Lack temporal validity

Question 9

what is self disclosure?

Answer 9

revealing personal information about yourself gradually

Question 10

explain the social penetration theory

Answer 10

Altman and Taylor - gradually giving away deepest thoughts and feelings. Involved reciprocal exchange

Question 11

what is breadth and depth?

Answer 11

Altman and Taylor - two elements of self disclosure. de penetration if unsatisfied.

Question 12

what did Reis and shaver say about reciprocity of self disclosure?

Answer 12

need reciprocity as well as breadth and depth

Question 13

evaluate self disclosure

Answer 13

strength - support, Sprecher and Hendrick heterosexual dating, strong correlation between satisfaction and self disclosure from both. increase validity of theory.

strength - can help people who want to improve communication. Hass and Stafford - 57% homosexual men and women said self disclosure main way to strengthen bond.

limitation - not true for all cultures, Tang et al - men and women from US self disclose more then Chinese but satisfaction no diff. not generalisable

Question 14

who found people with more symmetrical faces more attractive ?

Answer 14

Shackelford and Larsen

Question 15

what is the halo effect?

Answer 15

more positive attitudes to attractive people. Dion et al - physically attractive rates more strong kind etc. this leads to us finding them even more attractive

Question 16

explain Walsters computer dance research

Answer 16

invited to dance, rated for appearance by objective researchers, questionnaire , said partnered up accordingly but not. hypothesis not supported as most liked also most attractive.

Question 17

what did Berscheid et als replication of computer dance study find ?

Answer 17

each pps could choose partner and finding supports idea go for similar level to us

Question 18

Evaluate physical attractiveness

Answer 18

strength - support, Palmer and Peterson - attractive seen as most knowledgeable. political implications and dangers for democracy if judged for appearance.

strength - support, Cunningham et al - women who had large eyes, small nose etc rated attractive by white, hispanic and asian men. symmetry favoured in all cultures.

limitation - no support for matching, Taylor et al - dating site, sought more attractive, undermines validity as contradicts

Question 19

what is the filter theory ?

Answer 19

explains relationship formation and series of factors in creating smaller pool of potential partners

Question 20

what is the first level of filter theory ?

Answer 20

social demography - area, social class etc that influence how likely to meet in first place

Question 21

what is the second level of filter theory ?

Answer 21

similarity in attitudes - share basic values, Kerckhoff and Davis found most important but only for under 18 months. Byrne - relationship fizzle out without similarity

Question 22

what is the third level of filter theory ?

Answer 22

complimentarity - balance traits with one’s opposite of your own, long term couples

Question 23

evaluate filter theory

Answer 23

strength - support, Kerckhoff and Davis longitudinal study measures similarity of attitudes and complimentarity. fitted that complimentarity more important later on.

limitation - complimentarity not central to all long term relationships. Markey and Markey - lesbian couples equal dominance most satisfied. similarity may be more important long term for some.

limitation - actual similarity matters less than perceived. meta analysis 313 studies Montoya et al - similarity affected only in very short term lab interactions. real world perceived similarity stronger predictor of attraction.