Relationships Flashcards
What is natural selection?
where species with an advantageous allele are mostly likely to survive & reproduce and past down their advantageous allele to their offspring, so that their offspring are more likely to survive in the environment
what is an adaptation
a physiological, behavioural or anatomical characteristic which allows an organism to survive in a certain environment
In psychology, what do we call the last period of time in which humans were still evolving as a species?
EEA
What does EEA stand for?
era of evolutionary adaptation
define sexual selection
a form of natural selection, where traits that specifically benefit reproductive success are passed on
What is meant by the term ‘anisogamy’?
the differences between male & female sex cells
Why does evolution occur?
there is a change in allele frequency in the gene pool of a population over time
What is meant by genome lag?
because of the slow nature of evolution, adaptations sometimes stick around even if they don’t provide a survival or reproductive advantage
eg. babies getting separation anxiety around 9 months
What is key part of sexual selection?
attracting a mate with the greatest fitness & being ‘fit’ yourself
What is meant by ‘human reproductive behaviour’?
any behaviour associated with humans having sex
eg. mating preferences, being choosy or promiscuous, being monogamous or unfaithful
How does anisogamy explain why men and women may have different reproductive behaviour?
ovums take time to produce so fewer are made over a lifetime, whereas sperm are small and produced in abundance
- women may be more choose about having sex than men
What was the method of Clark & Hatfield’s study (1989)?
- several different students were approached by a opposite sex stranger and given a compliment
- they were then either asked if they wanted to go on a date or have sex.
What were the results of Clark and Hatfield’s study (1989)?
50% of men & women who were asked about the date said yes
75% of men who were asked about the sex said yes, whereas 0% of the women said yes
What is intra-sexual selection?
where members of one sex compete with each other to get with members of the opposite sex
- traits that lead to success (eg. attractiveness) are passed onto the next generation
what is inter-sexual selection?
where successful traits of one sex are determine by the preferences of the other sex
eg. if a woman like a man who is funny, then in her opinion that is a successful trait
What was Buss’ study into partner preferences (1989)?
- surveyed over 10,000 adults in 33 countries
- found that women put more importance on resource related characteristics eg. ambition, intelligence and good financial prospects
- men preferred younger women and valued physical attractiveness & youthfulness more
What was the ‘Sexy Sons hypothesis’ and how does this explain partner preferences?
- a femal would select a mate because he has ‘sexy’ traits eg. humour, musical talent etc.
- a mother’s sons would inherit the traits & her genes would stand a better chance of being passed on
What are 2 strengths of evolutionary explanations for partner preferences?
- research support for inter-sexual selection - Clark & Hatfield
- research support for intra-sexual selection - Buss
What are 2 limitations of evolutionary explanations for partner preferences?
- deterministic (does not take into account social & cultural factors eg. women’s income has increased -> women don’t need to depend on their husband
- has an alpha bias
What are the 3 main factors affecting attraction?
- self-disclosure
- physical attractiveness
- filter theory
What is meant by ‘self-disclosure’? in relationships
revealing personal info about yourself
What is social penetration theory?
for a relationship develop, self-disclosure needs to occur gradually
What are the 4 stages of self-disclosure within a relatioship?
- limited self-disclosure
- penetration increases
- breadth is narrow at start
- depth increases
What is Altman and Taylor’s research
What happens in the pentration of a relationship?
romantic partners increasingly disclosure more info & penetrate more deeply into each other’s lives
Why is breadth narrow at the start of a relationship?
if too much info is revealed - this can be off-putting and one partner may quit the relationship
What happens as depth increases in a relationship?
more layers are gradually revealed - more likely to reveal more intimate information
Who conducted research into the reciprocity of self-disclosure?
Reis & Shaver
What did Reis & Shaver discover about the reciprocity of self-disclosure?
- for a relationship to develop, there needs to be a reciprocal element to disclosure
- balanced self-disclosure increases self-disclosure
eg. revealing your own intimate info should hopefully allow your partner to respond in an rewarding way, also with their own intimate thoughts & feelings
What are strengths of self disclosure, as a factor affecting attraction?
- research support eg. Sprecher & Hendrick
- real-life applications eg. learning how to self-disclose can improve communication in relationships eg. Haas & Stafford
What did Sprecher & Hendrick discover about self-disclosure?
- found strong correlations between satisfaction & correlation
- men & women who believed that their partner reciprocated self-disclosure were more commited to their relationship
What was Gunnell & Ceci’s research into physical attractiveness?
The Halo Effect
- physically attractiveness indivdiuals tend to also be assigned other positive traits such as intelligence, trustiworthiness & sociability
What was Murtstein research into physical attractiveness?
Matching Hypothesis
- asked dating couples to rate themselves in terms of physical attractiveness
- independent judges rated them
- found that real pairs were more similar in terms of physical attraction than random pairs
What was Walster’s research into physical attractiveness?
The Computer Dance Study
- didn’t find support for matching hypothesis
- physical attractiveness proved to be most important factor in liking, rather than similarity
- best predictor of the likelihood that they would see each other again
What was Taylor’s research which challenged the matching hypothesis?
findings: online daters sought meetings with potential partners who more physically attractive than them
Who was the filter theory invented by?
Kerckhoff & Davis (1962)
What are the 5 main factors involved in the formation of relationships?
- physical attractiveness
- proximity
- attitude similarity
- demographic similarity
- personal similarity
What are the 3 filters in Filter Theory?
- Social demography
- Similarity in attitudes
- Complementarity
What is meant by social demography?
variables such as physical proximity, social class, ethnic group, age & education, due to a person’s upbringing
What is meant by similarity in attitudes?
where a 2 individuals have similar opinions, beliefs & values
What is meant by complementarity in a relationship?
being able to meet one another’s needs
What was the procedure of Kerckhoff & Davis’ study?
a longitudinal study of couples in short-term & long-term relationships, in which both individuals completed questionnaires assessing factors within filter theory
What is filter theory?
- explain how romantic relationships form & develop
- the idea that we have a ‘field of availables’ as our potential partners, however due to the different levels of filter theory, we narrow down our options to a ‘field of desirables’
What is meant by ‘field of availables’ in filter theory?
all the people that we could realistically form a relationship with
what is meant by field of desirables in filter theory?
all the people that we would actually want to form a relationship with
What were the findings of Kerckhoff & Davis’ study?
short-term: individuals were more likely to be close if they had similarity of values
long term: individuals were more likely to be close if they had complementarity
What are 3 limitations of filter theory?
- deterministic - suggests that this is the only way relationships form, doesn’t take into account physical attraction
- reductionism - the formation of relationships is more complicated that just 3 factors
- lack of research support for similarity of values - meta-analysis of 313 studies by Montoya found actual similarity affected attraction only in short-term lab-based interactions, real world interactions were actually percieved reality
What is a strength of filter theory?
- real-life applications - dating apps use filter theory to find someone who is a potential partner for them
Who came up with social exchange theory?
Thibaut & Kelley (1959)
What is social exchnage theory? (3 features)
- theory of how relationships form & develop
- assumes that romantic partners look to exchange rewards & costs with the other person, out of self-nature
- a satisfying & committed relationship is maintained when the rewards>costs
- & when potential alternative is less attractive than current relationship
Why are the rewards & costs of a relationship so subjective?
different people see different things as rewards & costs
eg. a large cost for one person, might be a smaller cost for another
According to social exchnage theory, what are the 2 requirements for a relationship to be profitable?
- comparison level
- comparison level alt
What is comparison level in soc-exchange theory?
the rewards we expect from each other
Why might the comparison level of a relationship change?
according to experience with previous relationships
What is comparison level for alternatives?
how our relationships compares to available alternatives
According to social exchnage theory, what are the 4 stages of relationship?
- sampling stage
- bargaining stage
- commitment stage
- institutionalisation stage
What is the sampling stage, in relationship development?
the costs and rewards of associating with others are explored
What is the bargaining stage, in relationship development?
a process of negotiation in which rewards & costs are agreed
What is the commitment stage, in relationship development?
exchange of rewards & acceptance of costs begin to stabilise
greater focus on relationship itself
What are 2 strengths of social exchange theory?
- real life applications - SET is used in Intergrated Behaviour Couples therapy, teaching how to increase rewards & decrease costs
- research support - Kurdek (1995)
What was Kurdek’s research supporting social exchange theory?
procedure: heterosexual & homosexual couples to complete questionnaire on relationship commitment & other SET variables
findings: partners who were more committed also percieved more rewards & less costs
What are 2 limitations of Social exchange theory?
- individual differences - not everyone has the same rewards & costs, so relationship isn’t guaranteed to be profitable
- disproving cause & effect - Argyle argued that we don’t monitor rewards & costs, or consider alternatives, until after we are dissatified or decide the relationship isn’t profitable
What is equity theory?
like SET, acknowledges the impact of rewards & costs for satisfaction, but also emphasises the need for balance & fairness
What happens if a partner percieves inequity?
the partner becomes distressed & dissatisfied with the relationship
Why can changes in percieved equity lead to the most dissatisfaction?
if someone used to put effort into the relationship, then slowly starts to put less effort in, costs & rewards are not equal
How is inequity dealt with?
the underbenefitted partner is usually motivated to make the relationship salvageable
- the more inequity, the harder to they will work to restore equity
