Relationships- Duck's model

Question 1

How many types of r/ship breakdown are there

Answer 1

3

Question 2

What are the 3 main types of r/ship breakdown

Answer 2

Pre-existing doom Mechanical failure Sudden death

Question 3

What is pre-existing doom

Answer 3

The relationship was doomed to end from the start. Could be a result of the partners simply being incompatible for each other

Question 4

What is mechanical failure

Answer 4

Partners who are compatible slowly grow apart over a long period of time and decide that things are no longer working (the most common cause of breakups)

Question 5

What is sudden death

Answer 5

This is where the relationship suddenly ends. Discovering a partner has cheated or the couple has a huge argument, which swiftly ends the relationships.

Question 6

What other 5 minor factors link to breakdown

Answer 6

Predisposing personal factorsE.g. Bad habits or poor personal hygiene
Precipitating factorsE.g. love rivals, long work hours, boredom
Lack of skillsE.g. If your partner is sexually inexperienced or doesn’t fulfil your sexual needs. Poor cooking skills could also contribute!
Lack of motivatione.g. inequity. Or perhaps an individual does not put the effort into the relationshipLack of maintenanceE.g. Spending much time apart, not setting time aside for the relationship, independence too much of a feature

Question 7

What are the phases of break down, in order

Answer 7

Intra-psychic Dyadic Social Grave dressing

Question 8

What does the intra psychic stage involve

Answer 8

This stage involves a personal focus on the partners behaviours and assessing their faults and relationship costs, a sense that they are under-benefiting mat arise. This may involve considering the relational costs of withdrawal and the positive aspects of alternative relationships.

Question 9

What happens internally during intra-psychic phase

Answer 9

At this point nothing is overtly said to the partner, but a private dilemma over whether to raise issues starts, and signs of dissatisfaction may be picked up on through non-verbal communication

Question 10

What happens during the dyadic phase

Answer 10

Here people can confront their partners and begin to discuss their feelings and the future or be faced with an avoidance dilemma.

Question 11

What is likely to surface during the dyadic phase

Answer 11

Feelings of guilt and anger are likely to surface at this point, and it may actually be reciprocated.

Question 12

What can happen during the dyadic phase

Answer 12

At this point the relationship may be saved when partners re-evaluate their feelings, anxieties and goals, and consider the forces that bind them together e.g. kids. Both tend to assess the costs of withdrawing at this point.

Question 13

What happens during the social phase

Answer 13

This is where we initially go public with the news of a potential breakup and seek support off third parties e.g. by blame placing stories.

Question 14

What is involved during the social phase

Answer 14

Denigration of partner and alliance building in the wake of a potential social network effect i.e. some friendship groups may be disrupted and take sides (and gossip may start), and either speed up or slow down the process.

Question 15

What is hard to deny in the social phase

Answer 15

That there is an issue

Question 16

What happens in the grave dressing phase

Answer 16

We formulate stories about how the relationship ended. This is done retrospectively, and people may offer strategic reinterpretations of events or the qualities of their ex partner.

Question 17

What do we offer in the grave dressing phase

Answer 17

Public distribution of our own version e.g we grew apart

Question 18

During grave dressing how must individuals presents themselves and why

Answer 18

As trustworthy and loyal – key attributes to find a new partner – i.e. they must leave with ‘social credit’ and reputation in tact

Question 19

Evaluation - Practical applications

Answer 19

P- Ducks model of R/ship breakdown could offer some useful practical apps, especially to help prevent R/ship breakdown

E- As people can be found in different stages – key advice could be tailor made for individuals

E- If someone is clearly in the INTRAPSYCHIC they could be encouraged to talk to their partner.

L- This implies DUCKS model help direct couples therapy & possible restore R/ships

Question 20

Evaluation -Theoretical problems

Answer 20

P-Ducks model starts at the point where the dissatisfaction has occurred and could be missing crucial considerations

E-The model does not consider reasons why this dissatisfaction & unhappiness has occurred which is likely to have a massive influence on the breakdown

E-For instance there is likely to be a big difference (personally and socially) between R/ships that have ended due to infidelity compared to long distance obstacles

L-In this respect, Ducks phases do not necessarily give us a complete picture of relationship breakdown, and other theories could be more informative.

Question 21

Evaluation -Ethics

Answer 21

P- There may be some ethical problems i.e. (its socially sensitive) when it comes to studying relationship breakdown that DUCK and researchers must be conscious of.

E-For ethical reasons it’s difficult to study R/ships during breakdown, this is because asking questions about potential breakup could speed up the breakdown. But it could also be argued that self reports is the only real sensible and practical way to study breakdowns

L- This ultimately implies that knowledge of DUCKS model is acquired sensitively and retrospectively, so we must be aware of the potential validity and reliability problems that this creates

Question 22

Evaluation - Evidence (Tashiro and Frazier)

Answer 22

P-There is evidence to support some aspects of Ducks theory of R/ship breakdown

E- Tashiro & Frazier (2003)survey 92 students. Found number of personal growth factors that led from breakdowns to help in the future e.g. gained wisdom from past R/ships

L-Supports final stage about recovery and personal growth