Relationships: Ducks Theory Flashcards
What is the Intra-psychic phase?
focuses on cognitive processes. Reasons for dissatisfaction and the partners shortcomings, as well as weighing up pros and cons (yet may not have expressed it yet)
What is the Dyadic phase?
focuses of interpersonal processes. Confonations invoving discussing the relationship and the dissatisfaction (couple argues a lot)
What is the Social phase?
focuses on wider processes, involving public networks. Break-up is made public and partners seek support from friends or family. May find out more things about the relationship.
What is the Grave-dressing phase?
focuses on the aftermath. relationship is buried and spun into stories for public and creates personal stories (e.g. criticise each other to friends and state they were hard done by)
What’s the extra phase?
the resurrection phase, which focuses on personal growth after pain and distress has subsided. (establish themselves as single and look for other potential partners)
What’s a real-life application for Ducks theory?
can be used to identify when relationships may be breaking down and could suggest how to fix things. could help provide counselling and improve future relationships.
What approach is this theory?
nomothetic approach
who supported the existence for the resurrection phase?
Tashiro and Frazier’s (2003) study with undergraduates who had recently experienced a breakup, reported experiencing growth as a result of it as well as distress
What is the support for the grave-dressing stage?
the breakdown is a very stressful event and many experience anxiety/depression.
how is retrospective data a weakness?
most evidence is given after a breakup, so relies on remembering the breakdown and what occurred, as researchers don’t want to get involved during it due to fear of influencing anything. This may allow for social desireablity bias, or people may not remember the whole story or truth, so innacurate.
what was wrong with the model before the resurrection phase?
the new model is more reliable as it ties it all together and finishes the model.
how is the model simplistic?
it is a description rather than an explanation as to why the relationships breakdown. An alternate theory is Flemlee’s Fatal Attraction Hypothesis, suggesting what initially caused attraction later became the cause of breakdown (e.g. humour is a good thing intill they can’t take anything seriously). this suggests Duck’s may lack ecological validity as it is just stages.
Who studied culture bias as a weakness?
Moghaddam eg al (1993) state while western individualistic cultures generally have relationships that are voluntary, many collectivist cultures have arranged marriages or may be pressured by family. Imposed etic as this theory generalises to all cultures, although many it may not be the case
