relationships lessons 1-4 factors affecting relationships

Question 1

what is self disclosure

Answer 1

central concept of social penetration theory by altman and taylor. It is the gradual revealing of emotions and experiences to their partner. It increased attraction

Question 2

what is self disclosure as trust increases

Answer 2

the breadth and depth of self disclosure increases and people reveal more personal information. self disclosing too quickly reduces attraction

Question 3

what is reciprocal self disclosure

Answer 3

when people expect the same level of self disclosure from others that they give

Question 4

evaluation of self disclosure

Answer 4

AD: research support by altman and taylor who found self disclosure on a first date is inappropriate and didn’t increase attraction levels. lito found research evidence to support self disclosure in different cultures.
DIS: It is unlikely that attraction to a partner is based on self disclose alone as there is other factors such as attraction, similarity of needs

Question 5

what is sexual selection

Answer 5

when males and females choose partners to maximise their chances of reproductive success

Question 6

what is anisogamy

Answer 6

the differences between sperm and ova which allows males and females to use distinct categories to choose a partner

Question 7

what is intra sexual selection

Answer 7

when males compete with one another for the other sex.

Question 8

what is anisogamy for males

Answer 8

It is the best evolutionary strategy to have as many partners as possible to produce more offspring.

Question 9

what is mate guarding

Answer 9

when males guard their female partner to prevent them mating with anyone else

Question 10

what is cuckoldry

Answer 10

when males are fearful that they will have to raise another man’s child

Question 11

what is inter sexual selection

Answer 11

when females choose from available options for mates according to attractiveness

Question 12

what is anisogamy for females

Answer 12

that women’s best evolutionary strategy is to be selective when choosing a partner with good characteristics such as high status, strength, resources

Question 13

evaluation of evolutionary explanations of partner preferences

Answer 13

AD: research support by buss who conducted survey of 10000 adults in 33 countries and found females valued resource based characteristics and males valued younger partners.
DIS: evolutionary approach is deterministic and suggests we have little free will. evolutionary theory doesn’t explain other types of relationships like homosexual.

Question 14

how does physical attractiveness affect attraction

Answer 14

men find it very important when choosing a female partner in the short and long term. women find it important in the short term but less in the long term.

Question 15

what is the halo effect

Answer 15

when the general impression of a person is incorrectly formed from one characteristic alone. physically attractive people are seen as more sociable and trustworthy

Question 16

what is a self fulfilling prophecy

Answer 16

when a physically attractive person behaves even more positively because of the positive attention they receive

Question 17

evaluation of the halo effect

Answer 17

AD: palmer and peterson found physically attractive people were rated as more politically knowledgeable even if they weren’t.
DIS: study where pps had to rate how much they liked a person based off a photo. they then completed MACHO scale which measure sexist behaviour. pps who score higher on MACHO were more influenced by physical attractiveness. therefore physical attractiveness is moderated by other factors

Question 18

what is matching hypothesis

Answer 18

most people prefer to form a relationship with someone who is physically attractive but in order not to get rejected, many people will approach others who are of a similar level of attractiveness

Question 19

evaluation of matching hypothesis

Answer 19

AD: fangold carried out a meta analysis of 17 studies using real life couples and found a strong correlation between the partners ratings of physical attractiveness.
DIS: sometimes a physically attractive person forms a relationship with an unattractive person whereby the less attractive one has traits that makes up for it. this is called complex matching

Question 20

what is filter theory

Answer 20

people use filtering to reduce the field of available partners down to desirable partners. split into three levels: social demography, similarity in attitudes and complementarity of needs

Question 21

what is social demography

Answer 21

from the beginning we screen people based on age, sex, education and social background

Question 22

what is similarity in attitudes

Answer 22

choosing people with similar attitudes and ideologies to our own

Question 23

what is complementarity of needs

Answer 23

choosing people who complement our own traits in the long term

Question 24

evaluation of filter theory

Answer 24

AD: research support by taylor who found 85% of americans who got married in 2008 had married someone of their own ethnic group supporting SD.
DIS: levinger conducted research on 330 couple and found no evidence that SOA or CON was important when looking at how permanent the relationship was. research of online dating shows lack of support as there is a reduction in social demographic variables when we meet someone as it’s easier to meet someone far away and of different ethnicity.