Relationships Flashcards
Evolutionary explanations for partner preferences inc the relationship between sexual selection and human reproductive behaviour.
Humans behave in a way that successfully enable our ancestors to select the right mate, reproduce and raise children. SEXUAL SELECTION explains the evolutions of characteristics which enable reproductive success (characteristics that are attractive to the opposite sex that enable us to successfully reproduce) rather than survival success. (Natural selection)
What is a key factor in human reproductive behaviour
Intersexual selection and intrasexual selection.
Intersexual selection refers to when members of one sex (usually males) compete with each other for access to members of the opposite sex, victors able to pass on their successful characteristics e.g being stronger, this allows males to reproduce with as many fertile females as possible.
Intrasexual selection refers to the preferences of one sex (usually females) for members of the opposite sex who possess certain qualities, females become more choosy as the consequences are more major and they need their offspring to be protected.
Support for the notion of intersexual selection comes from Clark and Hatfield.
Male and female psychology students approached other students and asked would you go to bed with me, no women agreed but 75% of women did- males are trying to maximise reproductive success where’s females are much more choosy.
Evidence to support the idea of intrasexual competition between males comes from Buss
Women and men were asked how often their closest friend of the same sex bragged about resources (e.g how much money they earn) in trying to attract a partner in the past 3 months, men were significantly more likely to to behave in this way than women.
One problem that evolutionary explanations may ignore.
Rapidly changing social norms: for example women now have a greater role in the workplace and therefore there is less dependency on a man to provide for them.
Factors affecting attraction in romantic relationships: SELF DISCOLURE.
Self disclosure refers to the extent to which a person reveals intimate personal information about themselves to another person. It is an important process in the development of a romantic relationship as it leads to greater feelings of intimacy and attraction.
(Self-disclosure) what did Altman and Taylor suggest.
The two elements of self-disclosure BREADTH (narrow as lots of topics are off limits) AND DEPTH (not too much detail as only low risk information is shared) as the relationship develops more intimidate details will be shared.
What did Reis and shaver argue.
Self disclosure must be reciprocal if the relationship is to develop. When a person discloses highly personal info they hope their partner will respond with understanding but also with their own intimate thoughts and feelings.
Evidence to support self discolure come from Laurenceau.
Self disclosure in a partner were linked to higher levels of intimacy in long term married couples, this suggests that the theory-disclosure as a factor affecting attraction is a valid one.
Hass and Stafford found that?
57% of gay men and women in their study said that open and honest self disclosure was the main way they maintained their deep committed relationships.
Factors affecting physical attractiveness: physical attractiveness, including the matching hypothesis.
Buss argued that men in particular place a great importance on physical attractiveness as it is an important cue to a woman’s health and fertility. Signals important to both sexes include face symmetry as it means greater attractiveness as it is an honest signal of genetic fitness. People are also attracted to faces with neotenous features at it triggers a protective and caregiving instinct.
What is the matching hypothesis?
It claims that people look for romantic partners who are of similar attractiveness to themselves. Individual must first assess their own attractiveness then make a realistic judgement about their own value to a potential partner and then select the best available candidates who are likely to reciprocate their affection.
Evidence to support the role of physical attractiveness and the matching hypothesis comes from feingold.
Meta analysis of 17 studies and found significant correlation in ratings of attractiveness between romantic partner, this suggests that people tend to be attracted to partners who are a close match in terms of their physical attractiveness.
Factors effecting romantic relationships - filter theory
Kerckhoff and David s proposed that there are three consecutive factors that act as filters to narrow down the range of available romantic partners to a much smaller pool of possibilities.
1st level of the filter
Social demography: variable which determine the likelihood of individuals meeting in the first place such as age, geographical location or social class e.g. anyone that is too far away is discounted as a potential partner.
2nd level or filter
Similarity in attitudes: the best predictor of a relationship becoming stable is similarity of attitudes this is when romantic partners agree over basic values and beliefs which makes communication much easier.
3rd level of filter:
Complementarity, this refers to how well two people fit together as a couple and meet each others needs, two partners complement each other when they have traits that the other lacks e.g. the need to car and the need to be cared for - mutual satisfaction.
Evaluation of filter theory. Support comes from kerckhoff and Davis
From studying dating couples at university although couples who had been dating for less than 18 months reported similarity of attitudes was the most important factor those who had been together longer than 18 months reported complementarity of needs was more important
However 18 month cut off does not represent a long term relationship.
A criticism into all factors affecting attraction is that it is..?
Research is based on correlational data this only establishes a link and cannot say that one co-variable caused the change in the other this is a problem as explanations of factors affecting attraction may be misleading
Much of the research into factors affecting attraction lack …?
They lack temporal validity, due to the rise of online dating which has drastically changed the process of beginning a romantic relationship issues such as self disclosure have all changed in nature, this may mean that new theories are required.
Finally research into factors affecting attraction may suffer from cultural bias.
Most theories have been proposed by western researchers who live in individualist cultures like the US rather than collectivist cultures like china, levels of similarity of attitudes may not be as important in collectivist cultures. This suggests that explanations of attraction are limited and are not universal.
Theories of romantic relationships. D1: social exchange theory.
This theory argues that all social behaviour is a series of exchanges where individuals try to maximise their rewards (being cared for, companionship and sex) and minimise their costs (effort financial costs and time wasted e.g. missed opportunities)
REWARDS minus the COSTS indicate the OUTCOME: this will result in a profit or loss and the chances of a relationship being maintained depends on the profitability of the outcome.
What is meant by COMPARISON LEVEL in social exchange theory?
We judge the profit of a relationship against a comparison level. This is a product of our experiences in past relationships if we judge that the profit in a relationship exceeds our CL then it is worthwhile but not if the outcome is negative.
