relationships Flashcards
what are the factors affecting attraction?
1 physical attractiveness , including the matching hypothesis
2 self disclosure
3 filter theory
what physical features are we attracted to?
facial symmetry is thought to be a signal of genetic fitness .
neotenous faces baby face like big eyes make men want to care for them and protect them
fertility features like wide hips show women can give birth better and small waist shows no already pregnant so they can carry on their bloodline
wide top for men to protect offspring
what is the halo effect?
we believe that physically attractive people other attributes are also overwhelmingly positive like being nicer and smarter.
dion et al 1972 found that physically attractive people are consistently found kind strong sociable and successful compared to unattractive people.
what is the matching hypothesis?
Walster suggested you should be more attracted to a person who matches your attractiveness level.
all uni students secretly rate attractiveness ]and you bought a ticket
filled questionnaire told going be matched on personality but randomly put with a partner
findings didn’t support the hypothesis
spent time with someone more attractive was rated better then someone same as you
he conducted a further study this time participants met before computer dance and were given a choice of who to partner to the dance
not just physical attractiveness makes a relationship work
people have other features that make them attractive like being funny or a gentleman. this suggests that people are able to attract partners far more physically attractive than themselves by offering compensatory assets for an example an older wealthy man may pair with an attractive young women
physical attractiveness is not always import in initial attraction
research shown when we look at online dating they dont think of their own attractiveness they just think wow there attractive and go for them which doest support mathing hypothesis but actually support what walster found in comptutar dance
physical attractiveness is more important for males and are more satisfied with their relationship
meltzer provided support for this claim they found objective ratings of their wives attractiveness were positively related to levels of hsubands satisfaction at the begining of marriage and remained. in contrast and supporting women dont have correlation with attraction and satisfactory of relationship
what is self disclosure?
it is telling someone your deepest thoughts and feelings can strengthen a romantic bond when used appropriately . a way of developing trust in a relationship without trust a relationship will not develop and be long lasting
what is social penetration theory
a gradual processes of revealing your inner self to someone and them reciprocating between intimate partner when one discloses it shows trust .
as they increasingly disclose more information the partners penetrate more deeply into each others lives, this signals that a person likes us.
what is spreachers study
it was 156 uni students paired into two person couples two thirds were female and one third were male female. spreacher and hendrick found strong correlations between several measures of satisfaction and self- disclosure in hetrosexual couples
counter- spreacher and hendrick found strong positive correlations but this does not mean that self disclosure causes relationships to be satisfying. it may be that satisfied partners disclose more , or both caused by times sent together.
This suggests that self disclosure may not cause satisfaction directly which reduces he validity of social penetration theory.
a meta analysis much bigger sample more generalisable
relationship was stronger
some researchers have suggested that relationships formed over the internet involve higher levels of self disclosure than in face to face relationships
as couples do this they may lack trust which has usually developed in face to face relationships. explains why some people who leave relationships with someone that they met online usually end in disaster.
there are cultural differences when it comes to self disclosure
in western people are more likely to engage intimate self disclosure Americans are more likely to disclose.
alpha bias exaggerates difference
what is filter theory ?
suggest we chose romantic partners by using a sense of filters what narrows down the field of availables.
social demorgraphy
same location
socail class
friends
more likely same ethnic
similarity in attitude
values need to agree
best predictor of the relationship becoming stable
complementary attributes
somebody meeting a need you need in them
if one partner s particular low n a particular attribute in the other it should be high
longitudinal study
evidence to support found complementary of needs more important where relationships gets to 18 months. our needs change as our relationships develop
Duck 1973
suggest real value of the filtering process
that it allows people to make predictions about their future interactions and so avoid investing in a relationship that wont work. real life application
important is that males and females filter out different things due to having different needs applies to age and culture
most research to support filter theory was performed in individualistic cultures where relationships are affected by different limiting factors. cultural relativism not generalisable
what is natural selection?
when certain features exist because they provide an advantages which insures survival. therefore the features are passed on through genes to the future offspring.
what is sexual selection?
when certain bodily features exist because they are valued by potential partners and deemed attractive , leading to increased opportunities for mating and greater reproductive success.
what is anisogamy and mate selection?
the difference between males and females sex cells. male sperm is extremely mobile small and produced in vast numbers. whereas female eggs are large static and not plentiful. this leads to two types of mating strategies - sexual selection theory.
inter sexual selection
takes place when members of one sex often females choose males from the other sex. females may choose mates for a range of reasons these could be because they could appear more healthy so will pass a good genes to offspring.
intra sexual selection
takes place when members of one sex usually makes compete for access to the other sex. characteristics that make a male more successful in a fight are likely to be passed on to offspring.
What was buss 1989 study?
a study of 10,000 adults in 33 countries : females place greater value on resources ranked characteristics such as good financial prospects ambition and industriius makes valued reproductive capacity in terms of good cooks chasity and youth. these finding reflect sex differences in mating strategies due to anisogamy and support predictions about partner preferences from sexual selection theory.
Buss evaluation
outdated view change society women provide for herseck and dont need to look for a male to do that
supports intra selection
what did Clark and halfreud suggest?
women are less likely to agree to a one night stand. Whereas males would support inter selection no females
#wherea 75% males agreed to one night stand
clark and halfreud evaluation
limited sample only done on university students
however supports that women are more choosy than males have evolved a different strategy to ensure reproductive success to carry on their bloodline
women arent sociallised to talk freely about sexual relationships
also socially desirable
what’s Cunningham’s research?
men were attracted to women with large eyes and small nose and chins. theses are all features which are child like which is important to men as it shows youth.
Cunningham’s evaluation
neonates face
shows more fertile which shows carry on bloodline
which supports intra selection
whats singh 1993 findings?
that men found women with small waists and large hips most attractive as this is a honest signal that the women is fertile but not currently pregant .
Singh evaluation
support intra selection raising babies that are their theirs and no one elses
what is the social exchange theory?
this is an economic ( weakness , oversimplify) theory of relationships which suggests that we seek to give and receive valuable goods in relationships. the theory assumes that we act of self - interest.
we aim to minimise losses and maximise profits. we just our satisfaction in relationhsips by how much profit we gain. we stay in relationships because we are in profit.
comparison level
one way in which we measure profit
will consider previous relationships and cultural norm to decide whether a relationship is profitable. our expectations are based on media ideas what relationships should look like
it is also linked with our self esteem- high self esteem means we have high expectations
low self esteem might have lower expectations
comparison level for alternatives
another way which we measure profit
a partner may consider whether the alternative another relationship or being alone is more profitable than the current relationships
people stay in relationships if they are more profitable than the alternative
duck suggests that contented partner wont even consider alternatives and may not realise they exist
Thibault and kelley suggest relationships develops through four stages which are:
1 sampling explore cost and rewards to offer
2 bargaining negotiate what is a cost and what is a reward at this point they make the decision if they want to carry on the relationship
3 commitment more stable relationship cost reduce rewards increase
4 institutionalisation when partner becomes settled because norms of the relationships are established
What do clark and mills suggest?
that this theory fails to distinguish between two types of relationships more likely in romantic relationships then platonic ones
therefore ungeneralisable
What does Set theory suggest?
That dissatisfaction sets in when costs out weigh the rewards. or alternatives seem more attractive However potential problem with cause and effect but argyle argues dissatisfaction comes first then we start to perceive costs and alternatives committed partners do no even notice alternatives. therefore considering costs/alternatives is caused by dissatisfaction rather than the reverse a direction not predicted by social exchange theory
it is difficult to measure costs and rewards in relationships because
its subjective as its different for different people therefore cant generalise the findings
what is equity theory?
the term equity means fairness both partners level of profit needs to be fair so roughly the same. levels of costs and rewards do not need to be the same.
when there is a lack of equity for example one partner over benefits and the other under benefits from the relationships there will be disatisfaction.
over benefitted partner will feel guitly
under benefitted partner will feel resentful and frustrated this partner wil be more likely wanting to change this- inequity
consequences of inequity
both partners will feel disatisfieds
over benefitted will feel guilty and under benefitted will feel resentful and most wanting a change
changes in perception of equity
view things as fair
might be happy at the start to put loads of effort in but as the relationships develop so does our perception of whether this is okay.
Dealing with inequity
just accept it or say goodbye to the relationship, under benefitted feel more dissatisfied try have change level of profit which is behavioural or changing what you think about cost and rewards which is cognitive so they feel more equitable even though nothing has changed
what was once perceived as a cost can seem and become as the norm for the relationship
There is research to support
Mary Utne looked at couples that have been recently married found their relationship to be equitable were more satisfied then those who believed they were under or over benefitted
on the other handf correlation adn self reports which give socially desired answers instead of truthful ones positive correlation
this study supports the central predictions of equity theory that equity is a major concern of couples and is linked with satisfaction.
dont know about long term marriages as it was only recently married.
cultural limitations
found that individualist cultures consider their relationship to be most satisfying when their relationship was equitable. however partners in a collectivist culture jamaica were most satisfied when over benefitting men and women so not explained by gener differences. this suggests that the theory is limited as it only applies to some cultures,
individual differences
some people are more concearned about equity then others. they describe some partners as benevolent who are prepared to contribute more to the relationship.
on the other hand others believe they are entitled to being overbenefitted and accept it without feeling guilty. this shows that a desire for equity varies from one individual to another and is not a universal feauture of romantic relationships/
what is rusbults investment model?
if satisfaction levels are high comparison with alternatives are low. when you invest more in a relationship like a house or children or finances you are less likely to leave.
we stay because we are committed satisfaction contributes to this
behavioural maintenance strategies
Accommodation promote the relationship no tit for tat point scoring. putting their partners interests first willingness to sacrifice.
forgiving them for any serious transgressions
cognitive maintenance strategies positive illusions taking about partner in a positive way.
ridiculing alternatives negative views about alternative no one else will put up with me or with that
extrinsic
resources that are acquired from the relationship
e.g. kids house
instrinisic
resources we directly put in
