RELATIONSHIPS Flashcards
define evolution
each thing has a set of characteristics which is encoded by genes, the offspring receives this during reproduction
therefore the variation between organisms is the difference in genotypes
3 main steps in evolution
to live to reproductive age
to mate successfully
to ensure offspring survival
whats natural selection
the ability to survive in a specific environment
whats sexual selection
the ability to attract and reproduce, the attributes and behaviours that inc reproductivity are passed onto future generations
whats anisogamy
the difference between male and female cells
male- continuous and cheap
f- produce in intervals and limited for no of years+ expensive
female is rare- 2 mating strategies
whats inter sexual selection and whats the female preference
selection of mates between sexes eg: strategies female use to attract
female- quality over quantity as they want the best for their offspring
what is the male preference within inter sexual selection
reproductive success, they aim to reproduce a lot and usually go for a large hip to waist ratio which reflects ability to reproduce
whats the impact of inter sexual selection
females become more choosy as they want the best for their offspring ( sexy sons hypothesis )
whats intra sexual selection
the selection of mates within sexes eg: males compete with other males for female access
what do males go for within intra sexual selection
quantity, they want to compete for female access as sperm is plentiful “ the winners “ pass on traits
whats the impact of intra sexual selection
dimorphism, males have exaggerated characteristics to become attractive however a weakness of this is that it also attracts predators
strength of evolutionary explanation
review of lonley hearts study found males go for young women and males go for professional and wealthy
SUPPORTS EVOLUTIONARY THEORY
strength 2 of evolutionary explanation
a study was completed where students were i asked ‘ i find you attractive, would you go to bed w me’
0% women
75% males
supports f is choosy and m have evolved a strategy to reproduce
weakness of evolutionary explanation
buss claims sexual selection theory is too simplistic as it states different strategies used for different sexes
buss suggests the same strategy is used when looking for long term partners
SUGGESTS OVER SIMPLISTIC AND PROPOSES A MORE COMPLEX THEORY WHICH CONSIDERS CONTEXT
weakness 2 of evolutionary theory
partner preferences have been influenced by changing social norms and culture
eg: contraception, changing workplace roles
partner preference no longer resource orientated
EE DOESN’T CONSIDER CULTURE BOTH, limited
define physical attraction
assumes we seek to form relationships with most attractive
whats the evolutionary explanation within physical attractiveness
attraction is result of sexual evolution, using attractions as a symbol of genetic fitness
what was the study of evolutionary explanation within physical attractiveness
Shackleford: found people w symmetrical faces attractive. Baby face features eg: big eyes, small nose to represent caring feauture
strength of evolutionary explanation within physical attractiveness
research support
found women w big eyes and large nose were rated as attracted across white, asian and hispanic
features consistent across cultures
whats the halo effect within physical attractiveness
people who are seen as attractive are seen in a positive light
Dion found people who were kind sociable and successful were attractive when compared to others
strength of halo effect
research support.
found attractive politically education and competent.
supports theory but raises the question of if we chose politics based of suitability or attractiveness
whats the matching hypothesis
we look for partners that are on a similar level of attractiveness to what we think of ourselves
strength of matching
feingold research support
meta analysed 17 studies of rl couples and found correlation between partners attractiveness, supports
weakness of matching hypothesis
walsters computer dance
students invited and matched up w partners
secretly judged by panel
during intervals and 4-6m later partners were asked if they wanted a second date and if they found partner attractive.
found higher appreciation of partners than themselves
define self disclosure
revealing personal information and true self to partner, even dark secrets to become more intimate due to more disclosure
whats the social penetration theory
the sp theory suggests we gradually reveals emotion.
reciprocal sharing of experiences. people develop a greater understanding of each other and trust increases
who suggests the onion metaphor and what is it
altman and taylor
self disclosure is a process of removing layers
whats breadth and depth
breadth is the outer layer of self disclosure, the low level risk information
depth is the deep information, which increases self disclosure
whats reciprocity within self disclosure
shaver stated for a relationship to develop, there needs to be reciprocity
a balance in sp inc intimacy
whats depenetration
dissatisfied partners share less until disengaged
strength of self disclosure
research support
strong correlation between satisfication and sd, men and women who use sd and reciprocity were more committed. supports
however only correlation
strength 2 of self disclosure
in depth research .
57% homosexual men and women rely on sd as maintenance, couples w less communication are enc to use .
supports and in depth
weakness of self disclosure
cultural variations.
people in us sd more than china and there is no difference in satisfaction.
sd may be accurate in individualistic not collectivist
weakness 2 self disclosure
contradicting research .
sp claims sd is associated with higher satisfaction however when a relationship breaks, partners disclose more and often, but this doesn’t save the relationship.
contradicts theory
whats the filter theory
an explanation of attraction that states a series of factors that limit the range of desirables
who compared attitudes between long term and short term relationships in student couples
kerchoff and davis
1st filter- social demography
influence chance of meeting
eg: age, location
anyone too different gets filtered
meaningful encounters w those physically close
2nd filter- similarity
share basic beliefs for couples less than 18 months
promotes communication and growth
3rd filter- complimentary
similarity replaced, opposites attract, partner balances traits w opposite
eg: one can cook, one cant
strength of filter
research support, couples completed questionnaire on similarity of attitudes and complimentary of needs. complimentary of needs in lt and similarity in st, supports
weakness of filter theory
original findings not replicated. this could be due to social changes and assumptions that partners over 18m must be more committed. reduces validity
weakness 2 of filter
research contradict
2013( modern ) found lesbians in a long term relationship were more satisfied when equal in relationship eg; both can cook. similarity associated w lt in some
weakness 3 of filter
actual similarity linked to brief interactions
perceived more important
some suggest perceive similarity as they grow more attracted to each-other.
PS MAY BE AN EFFECT OF ATTRACTION NOT CAUSE
this isnt predicted by filter theory
whats the social exchange theory
suggests relationships can be explained through economics- an exch of goods
THIABUT AND KELLEY 1959
explain rewards and costs within social exchange
costs- rewards= satisfaction
minimax theory
profitable relationships continue
benefits: friendship, emotion supp
negative: time money arguing
whats the first stage within social exchange
sampling
- exploring rewards and costs
whats the second stage within social exchange
bargaining
- negotiating costs and rewards
whats the third stage within social exchange
committment
- relationship becomes stable due to costs decreasing and rewards increasing
whats the fourth stage within social exchange
institutionalisation
norms are established
costs and rewards don’t fluctuate as relationship is locked in and extremely stable
whats committment level?
a judgement of what level of rewards we deserve based on level of self esteem
high se- high CL
low- low CL
whats CL alternative
cl alternative is where we analyse if being with another or breaking off our relationship would lead to a more rewarding situation
THEREFORE WE STAY WITH PARTNERS IF WE TRULY BELIEVE NO OTHER SITUATION COULD BE MORE REWARDING
one strength of social exchange theory
research support. interviewed homosexual and heterosexual couples ,they perceive they had rewards and few costs if committed. alternatives were also said to be unattractive. supports and findings are generalised to all types of couples
one weakness within social exchange
studies into SET ignore equity, which suggests fairness over balance, therefore SET is limited and cant account for important equity research.
weakness 2 within social exchange
SET claims we become dissatisfied if we perceive costs outweigh rewards. it has been argued that costs follow dissatisfaction. cant establish cause and effect as it is only a relationship, direction may be opposite
weakness 3 within social exchange
costs and rewards hard to define as they may change over time due to social norms. CL and CLAlt are unclear as they do not state what leads to dissatisfaction. SET hard to test as we cant operationalise due to these issues.
whats equity
equity is where people strive to achieve fairness over balance, through inputs and outputs
equity is not…
EQUALITY
the theory suggests its not the amount of rewards and costs but the ratio of the two
whats inequity
if inequity is perceived, dissatisfaction will inc
eg: one putting in more effort than another
what do we do to resolve inequity
behavioural changes
- more/ less effort
cognitive changes
- change demands
strength of equity theory
research support. utne surveyed 118 married couples (16-45), relationship that were equitable were more satisfied . supports theory, high ext validity
weakness of equity
research contradicts . equity doesn’t inc over time as theory suggests, they didn’t find a difference within ended and carried on relationships. SD more important . dec validity
weakness 2 of equity
cultural differences . individualistic equitable however collectivist preferred over benefiting. doesnt apply universally, therefore is ethnocentric
weakness 3 equity
individual differences . some people happy to contribute more and “ entitles “ like to over benefit. reduces validity as not universal and cant be applied to all ( equity theory suggested everyone desires equity )
whats rusbults investment model
suggests committment depends on
- satisfaction
- alternatives
- investment
what does rusbults model look like
3 factors- com level- stay or leave
whats an intrinsic investment
something we put into the relationship
eg: time, money, effort
whats an extrinsic investment
the shared things that may be lost if the relationship ends
eg: memories, house, children
whats a maintenance behaviour
communication behaviors used to ensure the continuation of valued relationships
eg: forgiveness, promotion
strength 1 of rusbults
rusbult asked students in heterosexual relstionships to complete questionnaire over 7 months and found committed = more satisfaction, lower investment and lower alternatives. supports 3 factors
strength 2 rusbults
le agnew meta analysed and found 3 factors predicted committment and length of relationship in both genders, cultures and sexualities
strength 3 of rusbults
study of abused women staying in shelter found those who reported high investment and low alternatives would go back due to high committment level
weakness of rusbults
may be more to invest than resources eg: early relationship partners make dec investment but invest in future plans which inc committment. original model limited.
what does ducks phase model suggest
the ending of a relationship is a long process that takes time
whats the first stage within ducks phase model
intra- psychic
one partner is dissatisfied but doesnt discuss
threshold of intra psychic stage
“ i cant stand this anymore “
whats the second stage within ducks phase model
dyadic
they discuss dissatisfaction
threshold in dyadic stage
“ i would be justified in leaving “
whats the third stage in ducks phase mode
social phase
seek support from friends, they may choose sides
relationship has ended
threshold of social phase
“ i mean it “
whats the last stage of ducks phase model and the first threshold
grave dressing stage
suitable story to put you in a positive light
“ its inevitable “
second threshold of grave dressing stage
“ time to get a new life “
strength of ducks phase
real world application, repair strategies may be effective in some stages eg: communication in dyadic. model provides rw insights
weakness of ducks phase
cultural differences, based on breakdown in individualistic cultures where relationships are voluntary, not collectivistic eg: arranged. ethnocentric and hard to generalise
weakness 2 of ducks phase
rollie and duck added resurrection in which ex partners apply this relationship to future relationships. doesn’t consider complexity of breakdown
weakness 3 ducks phase
limited detail. ducks model describes breakdowns but not why they occur. model may be improved using other theories.
whats an example of dimorphism to talk about
the peacocks tail
name 3 differences between male gametes and female gametes
- sperm is small and highly mobile
- female gametes require energy, males dont
- ova is produced in intervals for a limited no of years, sperm continuously
sd within virtual
sd happens at different rates in virtual relationships due to 2 factors
reduced cues theory
hyperpersonal model
whats the reduced cues theory
virtual relationships less effective due to lack of nonverbal cues ( eg: physical appearance, facial expressions)
lack of cues lead to deinviduation
people feel freer from contraints of social norms and leads to blunt communication and reluctance to self disclosure
hyperpersonal
suggests sd happens quicker in virtual relationships, therefore the relationship develops
sender has control of how they present themself
anonymity can help disclose
define absence of gating
in real life ohr attraction to others may be influenced by appearance, manners however in virtual, these barriers are absent
whats a parasocial relationship
one sided with a celebrity/ important person in society
who found levels of parasocial
giles and maltby
name 3 stages of parasocial relationship
entertainment
intense personal
borderline pathological
whats the absorption addiction model
mccutcheon
absorb- seeking fulfillment
addiction- a psychological addiction, needs to ind dose to gain satisfaction
