Relationships

Question 1

Sexual selection

Answer 1

Drives partner preferences
- Males & females choose partners to maximise reproductive success
- Individuals with traits that maximise reproductive success are more likely to survive & pass on their genes

Question 2

Anisogamy

Answer 2

The difference between how often men and women are able to reproduce. Leads;
- Men to use intra-sexual selection
- Women to use inter-sexual selection

Question 3

Intra-sexual selection

Answer 3

Members of one sex (Typically male) compete for access to the other sex. This leads to male-female dimorphism

Question 4

Dimorphism

Answer 4

Accentuation of secondary sexual characteristics in those with greater reproductive fitness

Question 5

Anisogamy — Suggestion for men

Answer 5

The best evolutionary strategy is to have as many partners as possible
- Males may engage in mate guarding to prevent cuckoldry (Men are fearful of having to raise another mans child)

Question 6

Inter-sexual selection

Answer 6

Members from one sex (usually female) choose from available prospective mates (Usually males) according to attractiveness

Question 7

Anisogamy — Suggestions for women

Answer 7

The best evolutionary strategy is to be selective when choosing a partner
- Tend to seek males that display the characteristics of physical health, high status and resources
Therefore they can provide and protect

Question 8

Strengths of the evolutionary explanation for partner preferences

Answer 8

• Buss conducted a survey of 10,000 adults in 33 countries and found that females value resource based characteristics, while men valued good looks and younger partners
• Clark and Hatfield conducted a study where male and female students approached fellow students (of the opposite sex) and asked them to go to bed with them. 75% of men accepted, while 0% of women did, however 50% agreed to a date

Question 9

Weaknesses of the evolutionary explanation for partner preferences

Answer 9

• Determinsic & suggest we have little free will in choosing our partners
• Makes little attempt to explain other types of relationships eg homosexual, and cultural variations exist eg arranged marriage
• Approach is socially sensitive as it promotes traditionally sexist views regarding what is ‘natural’ and what is desired. Also ignores the existence of contraception

Question 10

Self- disclosure

Answer 10

Revealing personal information (Thoughts, feelings, experiences) about yourself to another person

• Central concept in social penetration theory (Altman and Taylor)
• This proposes that gradually revealing emotions & experiences to another person increases trust & attraction

Question 11

What does self disclosure look like at the beginning of a relationship, and after some time within the relationship?

Answer 11

Beginning: People only disclose superficial things

As time passes this deepens, as people begin to reveal more intimate details

Self-disclosing too quickly can reduce attraction

Question 12

Reciprocal self disclosure

Answer 12

People expect the same level of self disclosure as given

Question 13

Strengths of self disclosure

Answer 13

• Altman and Taylor found that self disclosure on the first date is inappropriate & the person is seen as maladjusted and not likeable
• Kito supported that self disclosure is present across cultures. Kito found that the level of self disclosure was high for both Japanese and American hetero couples

Question 14

Weaknesses of self disclosure

Answer 14

• Sprecher found research evidence that the level of self disclosure received is the best predication of likening and loving, rather than the amount of self disclosure given — This goes against reciprocal self disclosure
• It seems unlikely that attraction is based off self disclosure alone. Self disclosure might be an important element but other factors, such as physical attraction, similarity of attitudes, and complementarity of needs might also be needed to increase attraction

Question 15

Physical attractiveness

Answer 15

Men place a great deal of importance on physical attractiveness when choosing both a long and short term female partner

Women place more emphasis on physical attractiveness in the short term than the long term

Physical attractiveness varies across cultures & time

Question 16

Halo effect

Answer 16

When the general impression of a person is incorrectly formed from one characteristic alone (eg physical attractiveness). Physically attractive people are seen as more sociable, optimistic and successful. People tend to behave positively towards physically attractive people and this creates a self fulfilling prophecy wherein the person behaves more positively due to the attention

Question 17

Strength of the halo effect

Answer 17

Palmer and Peterson (2012) found that physically attractive people were rated as more politically knowledgable than unattractive people. The halo effect was so powerful it was found to persist even when the pps found out the attractive person had no knowledge of politics

Question 18

Weaknesses of the halo effect

Answer 18

Towhey (1979) asked male and female pps to rate how much they liked an individual based on a photograph. Participants. Also completed a MACHO scale (measure sexist attitudes/behaviours). Pps who scored high on the MACHO scale were more influenced by physical attractiveness

Question 19

The matching hypothesis

Answer 19

Most people would prefer to form a relationship with the most attractive person possible, but due to fear of rejection will instead pursue someone of equal attractiveness to them

Question 20

Strengths of the matching hypothesis

Answer 20

Fangold (1988) carried out a meta analysis of 17 studies using real life couples. He established a strong positive correlation between the partners rating of physical attractiveness as predicted by the matching hypothesis

Question 21

Weaknesses of the matching hypothesis

Answer 21

• Walter (1966) invited first year students to attend a dance, they were randomly matched to their partners, but a panel secretly judged their attractiveness. Students were asked if they found their partner attractive and if they would like to go on a second date with them. Students expressed higher appreciation if their partner was attractive, regardless to their own attractiveness
• Physically attractive people can form a relationship with an unattractive person due to a rebalance of traits, whereby the less attractive person makes up for this with traits such as money, personality or status. This is called complex matching whereby a very attractive person forms a relationship with an unattractive person

Question 22

Filter theory

Answer 22

Kerchoff and David (1962) - People use filtering to reduce the field of available partners to desirable partners

Social demography -> Similarity in attitude -> Complementarity of needs

Question 23

Social demography

Answer 23

Age, sex, education etc
We tend to be more attracted to people with backgrounds similar to our own