Relationships Flashcards
What do evolutionary psychology believe about our partner preferences?
Evolutionary psychology says that we choose our partners based on psychological processes that come from out evolution
Our preferences are evolved adaptations
Outline the evolutionary explanation for partner preferences.
(6 or 8 marks)
- preferences are evolved adaptations
- we choose attractive traits because they are reliable indicators of reproductive ability
- process of sexual selection
- difference between inter-sexual and intra-sexual selection
- conflict between sexual and natural selection
- males and females have different strategies based on their evolution and anisogomy
- anisogomy
- female strategies
- male strategies
- gender differences in jealousy - sexual and emotional
- Buss, Singh, Clarke & Hatfield
Evaluate the evolutionary explanation for partner choice.
(10 marks)
supported by Buss (1989)
- more similarities between genders than differences
- both genders agreed that other factors (intelligence) are most important
- greater difference between cultures than between genders
- suggests other factors at play
supported by Singh (1993)
- unrepresentative sample
Does not look at other factors such as social factors
- enviornment/culture may have more influence than evolution, though evolution still plays a part
- e.g. countries where women do not have as many opportunities to provide for themselves as men do affects their partner preferences
What is meant by the term ‘anisogamy’?
Anisogamy refers to the difference between male and female gametes that means that men and women use different strategies when choosing their partners male and female gametes are different male female
What is intersexual selection?
Inter-sexual Selection (AO1)
Females lose more resources than men if they choose a sub-standard partner, so are pickier about who they select. They are more likely to pick a partner who is genetically fit and willing to offer the maximum resources to raise their offspring (a man who will remain by her side as the child grows to protect them both and potentially provide more children).
If they have made a good choice, then their offspring will inherit the positive features of their father and are therefore also more likely to be chosen by women or men in the next generation.
What is intra-sexual selection?
Intra-sexual Selection (AO1)
Whilst females prefer quality over quantity, anisogamy suggests that men’s best evolutionary strategy is to have as many partners as possible.
To succeed, men must compete with other males to present themselves as the most attractive mate, encouraging features such as muscles which indicate to the opposite sex an ability to protect both them and their offspring.
How do conflicts arise between natural selection and sexual selection?
A trait that makes an individual more attractive makes them less likely to survive
e. g. male peacocks and brightly coloured feathers - attractive but more noticeable to predators
e. g. masculine facial features from high levels of testosterone - attractive but makes immune system less responsive
Zahavi 1975
argued that unhelpful characteristic/threaten survival/hanicaps actually indicate survival strength
surviving dispite a handicap indicates superior genes
called this the handicap hypothesis
explains why some women are attracted to men who display reckless behaviour and take drugs
Give examples of attractive physical features.
These features are used as reliable indicators of reproductive ability
- WHR
- facial symmetry
- body symmetry
Give examples of attractive non-physical features.
intelligence personality attitudes beliefs
How do attractive features evolve?
Attractive features evolve through sexual selection
Those with features that increase their reproductive ability:
- ability to attract a mate (i.e. being physically attractive)
- ability to mate (i.e fertility)
- ability to give birth to healthy offspring who are also reproductively fit
are more likely to pass on their genes to future generations.
These features are reproductively advanatageous, so they become more prevalent in the population.
Discuss how sexual selection is related to human reproductive behaviour. (16 marks)
How does the Halo Effect work?
A person is judged to have attractive personal qualities such as being kind, trustworthy, sociable, interesting and more fun based on their physical attractiveness alone
Which research gives evidence of the halo effect at work?
Gunnell & Ceci (2010) People who are less physically attractive are 22% more likely to be convicted in court than people more physically attractive and that they are also likely to get sentences that are on average 22 months longer This suggests that physical attractiveness has a big impact on how we perceive others and that we deem physically attractive people to be more trustworthy than less physically attractive people.
What does the study by Gunnell & Ceci (2010) suggest?
It suggests that physical attractiveness has a big impact on how we perceive others and that we deem more physically attractive people to be more trustworthy than less physically attractive people
What is the Matching Hypothesis by Walster et al. (1966)?
The Matching Hypothesis suggests that people seek, are attracted to and want to start relationships with others who have the same level of physical attraction as themselves Individuals assess/evaluate their own levels of attraction first suggested to occur at a young age when we realise that not everyone can form relationships with the most attractive people identify people with the same/similar level of attractiveness as themselves because they are most attainable if we consistently choose people who are more attractive than us this would be evolutionarily foolish
The original theory of The Matching Hypothesis by Walster et al. (1966)
The original theory was that people desired partners as socially desirable as themselves and it later started to look at physical attractiveness
Self-disclosure
Self-disclosure occurs when we share or reveal personal information about ourselves such as our thoughts and opinions
How does self-disclosure affect attraction?
We reveal more to people we like and we also like the people who self-disclose to us. But self-disclosure is not always seen as rewarding or positive
Appropriateness of the disclosure
- Are you self-disclosing the right things at the right time? e.g. disclosing on the first date – over the top or too much to handle for recipient - Altman & Taylor’s (1973) study provides evidence for the appropriateness of self-disclosure being important for attraction - They found that self-disclosing at the beginning of a relationship is perceived as being inappropriate - It could be that breaking the social norms of disclosure (what is okay to reveal, at what times and in what situations) makes a person seem maladjusted and lacking in social skills - Attractive people are sensitive to these social norms
Attribution for the disclosure
The reasons we give as to why the person self-disclosed to us - If we think it is because of us, the liking increases (the person especially wants to disclose to us) - If we think the that the person is just someone who self-discloses to everyone liking decrease - If we think that the environment is the reason for the self-disclosure liking also decreases
Gender differences in self-disclosure
There are different expectations of how men and women behave Men don’t self-disclose often so if they do it could be perceived as awkward/inappropriate OR it could be rewarding for the female because she feels the male has especially chosen to disclose to her Women are seen as being better at and more interested in sharing intimate info so if they self-disclose it is generally more appropriate than men doing it BUT men may feel uncomfortable because they are not used to it or don’t know how to respond
Content of the disclosure
Looks at the levels of intimacy in the content of the self-disclosure - High and low intimacy - attraction is weaker - Moderate intimacy - attraction is stronger Brewer & Mittleman (1980) found that self-disclosure with extreme levels of intimacy does not produce the positive results of self-disclosure, especially if it occurs between relative strangers - This illustrates that both the content and the appropriateness of the self-disclosure are important - The results could be due to the person violating social norms, being inappropriate, so that the recipient doesn’t know how to respond
Evaluation of self-disclosure as a factor that affects attraction in romantic relationships 1. Self-disclosure alone probably doesn’t decide how attractive someone is 2. Individual differences such as personality 3. Self-disclosure may be more important in relationships where lots of intimacy is present 4. Is it cross-cultural/universal?
- Attraction can still be due to other factors e.g. interests and similarity of views, physical attractiveness - So SD interacts with other factors giving overall attraction 2. - the personality of the person self-disclosing and the personality of the person receiving the disclosure plays a part - People need different levels of intimacy - Effects how recipient receives the self-disclosure - E.g. if they only need low intimacy, low intimacy self-disclosure may not really affect them - People who are perceived as disclosing more than normal could be more rewarding for the recipient 3. - Research doesn’t distinguish between different types of romantic relationship, e.g. passionate, committed or intimate romantic relationships - we don’t know the effects that SD has in these types 4. Research suggests that it is: Kito (2010) - Found that self-disclosure was higher in romantic relationships among American and Japanese students than in same sex and cross-sex friendship relationships - Suggests that: SD is important in romantic and is experienced cross-culturally - Also suggests that SD is more important in determining attraction in relationships with high intimacy such as romantic compared with friendship - But: sample of students not representative of whole pop as students are younger
As in Paper One and Two, you may be asked a 16-mark question, which could include an item (6 marks for AO1 Description, 4 marks for AO2 Application and 6 marks AO3 Evaluation) or simply to discuss the topic more generally (6 marks AO1 Description and 10 marks AO2 Evaluation). There is no guarantee that a 16-mark question will be asked in this topic though so it is important to have a good understanding of all of the different areas linked to the topic.
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