Relationships: Duck's Phase Model

Question 1

What were Duck’s 3 main reasons as to why relationships break up

Answer 1

• pre-existing doom
• mechanical failure
• sudden death

Question 2

What is pre-existing doom

Answer 2

• incompatibility and failure are fairly much guaranteed from the start of the relationship.

Question 3

What is mechanical failure

Answer 3

• two compatible, well meaning people grow apart and find that they cannot live together any longer.

Question 4

What is sudden death

Answer 4

• discovery of infidelity or the occurrence of a traumatic incident (such as a huge argument) leads to immediate ending of a relationship.

Question 5

What were Duck’s other factors which contribute to relationship dissolution

Answer 5

1. Predisposing personal factors – individuals’ bad habits.
2. Participating factors – love rivals, working hours, lack of
   relationship direction.
3. Lack of skills – sexually inexperienced.
4. Lack of motivation – perceived inequality.
5. Lack of maintenance – spending too much time apart.

Question 6

What did Duck say about the partner’s behaviour after the end of a relationship

Answer 6

• each partner creates a “breakup story” which leaves them in a good light, so that they can ensure gaining a future partner.
• Therefore, romantic relationships are ended publicly in a way that signifies an individual’s freedom from their former partner and their availability.

Question 7

What are the different phases

Answer 7

1. Intra-psychic phase
2. Dyadic phase
3. Social phase
4. grave-dressing phase

Question 8

What is the intra-psychic phase (I can’t stand this)

Answer 8

• Threshold: ‘I can’t stand this anymore’, indicating a determination that something has to change.
• Partner assesses adequacy of partner’s role performance; broods on dissatisfaction, centering mostly on their partner’s shortcomings.
• Make plans: face ‘express/repress dilemma’ – whether you should express your dissatisfaction or keep it to yourself.

Question 9

What is the dyadic phase ‘I would be justified in withdrawing’

Answer 9

• Face up to ‘confrontation/avoidance dilemma’ CONFRONT partner.
• Negotiation through ‘our relationship’ talks; Dissatisfaction aired – anger resentment etc.
• Attempt repair and reconciliation?
• Assess joint costs of withdrawal or reduced intimacy.

Question 10

What is the social phase ‘I mean it’

Answer 10

• Negotiate post-discussion state with partner.
• Initiate gossip/discussion in social networks; seek support.
• Some friends will hasten the end of the relationship whilst others may try to help and repair it.
• Point of no return –> the break-up takes on a momentum driven by social forces

Question 11

What is the grave-dressing phase ‘it’s now inevitable’

Answer 11

• Perform ‘getting over it’ activities.
• create a personal story you can live with, which may differ from the public one - tidy up memories.
• Publicly distribute own version of break-up; gossip plays an important role and crucial that each partner tries to retain some ‘social credit’
• ‘Time to update the Facebook, insta….’

Question 12

List the evaluations for Duck’s Phase model

Answer 12

Positive:
- useful real-life applications

Negative:
- incomplete model -> rectified
- methodological issues
- description rather than explanation
- cultural bias

Question 13

(+) Explain how the phase model has useful real-life applications

Answer 13

• The model helps us identify and understand the stages of relationship breakdown and offers various ways to reverse the breakdown.
• Duck (1994) recommends that people in the intra-psychic phase could be encouraged to focus their brooding on positive aspects of their partner.

Question 14

(-) explain how the phase model is incomplete/oversimplified (Rollie and Duck)

Answer 14

• Rollie and Duck (2006) stated that the model is oversimplified.
• Added the resurrection phase -> Ex partners turn attention to future relationships using the exp gained from their recently-ended one.
• Rollie and Duck stated that progression from one phase to the next is not inevitable - you can return to an earlier phase.
• Processes that occur rather than linear movement.

Question 15

(-) explain the methodological issues with the phase model

Answer 15

• Most of the research is retrospective – after a relationship has ended.
• What is recalled may not be accurate or reliable.
• Early stages of breakdown tends to be distorted or ignored altogether.

Question 16

(-) explain how the phase model is simply a description rather than an explanation of relationship breakdown (Flemlee)

Answer 16

• The theory cannot explain WHY relationships break down.
• Flemlee’s (1995) ‘fatal attraction hypothesis’ argues that the cause of relationship breakdown can be found in the attractive qualities that brought romantic partners together.
• Caused by getting too much of what we were looking for!

Question 17

(-) Explain how the phase model displays cultural bias (Moghddem)

Answer 17

• Relationships in individualist cultures are generally voluntary and frequently come to an end.
• Collectivist cultures are more likely to be obligatory, involve a wider family and do not end easily.