relationships

Question 1

what is evolutionary theory?

Answer 1

First theorised by Charles Darwin. Evolution refers to the gradual development of different kinds of living organisms as time progresses.

Question 2

what does sexual selection explain?

Answer 2

why some characteristics that might seem disadvantageous might have advantages in terms of human reproductive behaviour.

Question 3

what does anisogamy refer to?

Answer 3

to the differences between male and females sex cells.

Question 4

what are sperm cells like?

Answer 4

Male gametes or sperm, are very small, highly mobile, created continuously and in vast numbers from puberty to old age, and do not require a great expenditure to produce.

Question 5

what are egg cells like?

Answer 5

Female gametes or eggs are relatively large,static produced at intervals for a limited number of fertile years and require a huge investment of energy.

Question 6

what is intersexual competition?

Answer 6

Selecting who you believe is fit to continue family in the opposite sex
Eg if height is considered an attractive trait then, over successive generations of fmeales, it would increase in the male population because females would mate with tall males and, over time, produces males.

Question 7

what is intersexual known as?

Answer 7

This is known as a runaway process, encapsulated by fisher 1930 in his sexy sons’ hypothesis. A female mates with a male with a desirable trait and this sexy trait is inherited by her son. This increases the likelihood that successive generations of females will mater with her offspring.

Question 8

what is intrasexual

Answer 8

Preferred strategy of the male quantity over quality. Refers to the competition between (intra) males to be able to mate with a female. The winner gets to pass on to his offspring the characteristic that contributed to his victory. This has given rise to dimorphism in humans, the obvious difference.
Intrasexual sexual selection has behavioural and psychological consequences, although these are more controversial. For example, for males to acquire fertile females and protect them from competing males, they may benefit from aggression.

Question 9

what does anisogamy dictate about intrasexual competition?

Answer 9

Anisogamy dictates that the males optimum reproductive strategy is to mate with as many fertile females as possible. This is because of the minimal energy required to produce enough sperm, and the relative lack of post coital responsibility. A behavioural consequence of this competition for fertile mates is a distinct preference for youth and a sensitivity to the indicators of youth as well as fertility.

Question 10

what are the strengths for the sexual selection theory?

Answer 10

Research support for preferences related to anisogamy. Buss 1989 10000 adults in 33 countries. Questions asked relating to age and a variety of attributes that evolutionary theory predicts should be important. Females are more interested in resource related characteristics. Males valued reproductive capacity in terms of good looks and chastity, and preferred younger mates, more than females did.

Clark and Hatfield showed that female choosiness is a reality of heterosexual relationship. Found that not a single female student agreed to sleep with the confederate and 75% of males did, immediately. Shows men are less choosy

Hip to waist ratio
Singh 1993-2002 what matters in male preference is not female body size as such but the ratio of waist to hip sizes. Males generally find any hip to waist sizes attractive so long as the ratio of one to the other is about 0.7. This combination is attractive because it is an honest signal.

Waynforth and Dunbar studied lonely hearts advertisements in American newspapers. Were opportunities for men and women to describe the qualities they desired in a potential partner. Researchers found that women more than men tended to offer physical attractiveness and indicators of youth. Men, on the other hand offered resources more than women and sought relative youth and physical attractiveness

Question 11

what are the weaknesses of sexual selection theory?

Answer 11

Ignores social and cultural influence
Social norms of sexuality have been changing. This changes quicker than evolution timescales imply and have instead come about due to cultural factors such as contraception. Women are no longer dependent on men to provide for them. Bereczhei et al 1997 argue that this social change has consequences for women’s mate preferences, and may no longer be resource oriented.

Chang et al 2011 compared partner preferences in China over 25 years and found that some had changed but others remained the same, corresponding with the huge social changes in that time. Fails to account for cultural influences

Question 12

what is self disclosure?

Answer 12

information we choose to reveal about within a romantic relationship. The aim is to increase the intimacy, understanding and empathy between two individuals. Self disclosure has vital roles in relationships beyond the initial attraction.

Question 13

what did Altman and Taylor propose?

Answer 13

that self disclosure allows a person to penetrate deeper into the life of their partner, thus increasing intimacy and trust. When one partner reveals information, they display trust; to go further the other partner must also reveal sensitive information. As they disclose more information romantic partners penetrate more deeply into each other’s lives and gain a greater understanding of each other.

Question 14

what are the elements to self disclosure and what happens when they increase

Answer 14

breadth and depth.
when one increases the other does and intimacy increases.

Question 15

what does Reiss and Shaver propose?

Answer 15

for a relationship to develop there needs to be a reciprocal element to disclosure. Once you disclose something, hopefully your partner will respond in a way that is rewarding with understanding, empathy and also their own thoughts and feelings.

Question 16

what is the breadth of disclosure like at the beginning and why

Answer 16

Breadth of disclosure is narrow because many topics are off limit. We think if we were to reveal too much too soon, we might threaten the relationship. Eventually we are prepared to reveal intimate,high-risk information.

Question 17

what is the advantages for self disclosure?

Answer 17

research support
Sprecher and Hendrick 2004 found in heterosexual couples and found strong correlations between several measures of satisfaction and self disclosure.

Laurenceau et al 2005 found that self disclosure and perception of self disclosure in a partner were linked to higher levels of intimacy

Real life application can improve communication is struggling relationships. Used deliberately and skillfully to increase intimacy

Hass and Stafford found that 57% of gay men and women found that self disclosure was beneficial

Question 18

what are the drawbacks of self disclosure

Answer 18

Cultural differences
Increasing the breadth and depth of self disclosure will lead to a more satisfying relationship is not ture for all cultures. Tang et al reviewed the research regarding sexual self disclosrue and found that people in the USA found that more sexual thoughts than men and women in China

Self disclosure and satisfaction
Theories of relationship breakdown often recognise how couples discuss and negotiate the state of their deteriorating relationship in an attempt to save it. Their discussions frequently involve deep self-disclosure but it isn’t enough to rescue the relationship. Doesn’t explain why when people stop a relationship they disclose the most intimate information.

Self disclosure is correlational to a good relationship but not causational. Can never establish “cause and effect” relationship between two variables as there may be other variables involve.

Question 19

what did Shackleford and Larsen 1997 find?

Answer 19

people with symmetrical faces are rated as more attractive. May be an honest signal of genetic fitness.

Question 20

what are neotenous features and why are they considered attractive?

Answer 20

they are baby features and they are considered attractive because they invoke protective instincts in people.

Question 21

what did McNulty et al 2008 find?

Answer 21

Found that initial attractiveness continued to be an important feature of the relationship after marriage for at least several years.

Question 22

what is the Halo effect?

Answer 22

The idea that people who are attractive are perceived in a positive light

Question 23

who supports the Halo effect

Answer 23

Dion 1972

Question 24

what did Dion find?

Answer 24

Dion 1972 found that attractive people are consistently rated as successful,kind and sociable when compared with unattractive.

Question 25

what is the matching hypothesis?

Answer 25

a theory of interpersonal attraction which argues that relationships are formed between two people who are equal or very similar in terms of social desirability. This is often in the form of level of physical attraction.

Question 26

what does the matching hypothesis theory suggest?

Answer 26

Suggests that people assess their own value and then make “realistic choices” by selecting the best available potential partners who are also likely to share this same level of attraction.

Question 27

what are the strengths of physical attractiveness as a factor effecting attraction?

Answer 27

Research support for Halo effect
Palmer and Peterson found that physically attractive people were rated as more politically knowledgeable and competent than unattractive people. The Halo effect persisted even when participants knew that these “knowledgeable” people had no expertise.
Dangers for democracy if politicians are judged as suitable for office merely because they are considered attractive by enough voters.

Question 28

what are the weaknesses of physical attractiveness as a factor affecting attraction?

Answer 28

Taylor et al 2011 found that one dating site’s online daters sought meetings with potential partners who were more physically attractive than them. This goes against the matching hypothesis because if it was true this wouldn’t happen.

Question 29

what did Kerckhoff and Davis 1962 study?

Answer 29

compared the attitudes and personalities of student couples in relationships that are less than 18 months and long term. From their research, they devised the filter theory of attraction to explain how such romantic relationships form and develop.

Question 30

what does filter theory state?

Answer 30

we are first exposed to a “field of available” but in order to form relationships, we must narrow this down into a”field of desirables”, using three filters: social demography,similarity in attitudes and complementarity.

Question 31

what does the significance of the filter depend on?

Answer 31

The length of the relationship.

Question 32

what does social demography describe?

Answer 32

factors which make potential partners attractive to us. Key to this is the idea of similarity in terms of these factors which include religion,sexuality, ethnicity, social class, educational attainment and proximity.

Question 33

what demography’s are people supposed to find attractive?

Answer 33

those which are similar to them

Question 34

what did Kerckhoff and Davis find about similarity of attitudes?

Answer 34

are important to the development of romantic relationships. Only important for f18 months. Considerable evidence that most people find similarity attractive, to begin with Bryne 1997 has described this as “the law of attraction”.

Question 35

what is complementarity?

Answer 35

Concerns the ability of romantic partners to meet each other’s needs: two partners complement each other when they have traits that the other lacks.

Question 36

what did Kerckhoff and Davis find about complementarity?

Answer 36

Found that the need to complement each other is more important in long term relationships. In other words opposites attract in later stages in

Question 37

why is complementarity attractive?

Answer 37

it gives the partner the feeling they form a whole, this adds depth to a relationship and makes it likely to flourish.

Question 38

what is the evaluation of filter theory?

Answer 38

Support form research evidence
Winch 1958 found evidence that similarities of personality,interests and attitudes between partners are typical of the earliest stages of a relationship. Between partners happily married for several years, complementarity is more important than similarity according to Winch.

Levinger 1974 many studies have failed to replicate the original findings. This is down to social change and due to the difficulties in defining the depth of a relationship. Doesn’t take into account differences in relationship depth. Isn’t temporally valid.

Is evidence that the suggestion that people are initially attracted to each other because they are similar is wrong Anderson et al found in a longitudinal study that cohabitating partners became more similar in emotional response over time in a phenomenon called emotional convergence. David and Rusbuldt discovered an attitude alignment effect in longer term relationships. Bring each other’s view into line.

Lack of temporal validity
Due to online dating the process of beginning a relationship has changed; reduced the importance of some social demographic variable. Might pursue someone outside the usual demographic limits

Anderson et al 2003 found that similarity increases over time which suggests that complementarity is not necessarily a common feature of long.

Question 39

what does self disclosure refer to?

Answer 39

to the information we choose to reveal about within a romantic relationship. The aim is to increase the intimacy, understanding and empathy between two individuals. Self disclosure has a vital role in relationships beyond the initial attraction.

Question 40

what did Altman and Taylor?

Answer 40

that self disclosure allows a person to penetrate deeper into the life of their partner, thus increasing intimacy and trust. When one partner reveals information, they display trust; to go further the other partner must also reveal sensitive information. As they disclose more information romantic partners penetrate more deeply into each other’s lives and gain a greater understanding of each other.

Question 41

what elements are there of self disclosure?

Answer 41

breadth and depth

Question 42

what is the breadth of the relationship like over time?

Answer 42

narrow because many topics are off limit in the early stage. We think if we were to reveal too much too soon, we might threaten the relationship. Eventually we are prepared to reveal intimate,high-risk information.

Question 43

what did Reiss and Shaver say?

Answer 43

for a relationship to develop there needs to be a reciprocal element to disclosure. Once you disclose something, hopefully your partner will respond in a way that is rewarding with understanding, empathy and also their own thoughts and feelings.

Question 44

what is the evaluation for self disclosure?

Answer 44

Support from research
Sprecher and Hendrick 2004 found in heterosexual couples and found strong correlations between several measures of satisfaction and self disclosure.

Laurenceau et al 2005 found that self disclosure and perception of self disclosure in a partner were linked to higher levels of intimacy

Real life application can improve communication is struggling relationships. Used deliberately and skillfully to increase intimacy

Hass and Stafford found that 57% of gay men and women found that self disclosure was beneficial

Cultural differences
Increasing the breadth and depth of self disclosure will lead to a more satisfying relationship is not ture for all cultures. Tang et al reviewed the research regarding sexual self disclosrue and found that people in the USA found that more sexual thoughts than men and women in China

Self disclosure and satisfaction
Theories of relationship breakdown often recognise how couples discuss and negotiate the state of their deteriorating relationship in an attempt to save it. Their discussions frequently involve deep self-disclosure but it isn’t enough to rescue the relationship. Doesn’t explain why when people stop a relationship they disclose the most intimate information.

Self disclosure is correlational to a good relationship but not causational. Can never establish “cause and effect” relationship between two variables as there may be other variables involve.