relationships lessons 1-4 factors affecting relationships Flashcards
what is self disclosure
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
what is self disclosure as trust increases
the breadth and depth of self disclosure increases and people reveal more personal information. self disclosing too quickly reduces attraction
what is reciprocal self disclosure
when people expect the same level of self disclosure from others that they give
evaluation of self disclosure
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
what is sexual selection
when males and females choose partners to maximise their chances of reproductive success
what is anisogamy
the differences between sperm and ova which allows males and females to use distinct categories to choose a partner
what is intra sexual selection
when males compete with one another for the other sex.
what is anisogamy for males
It is the best evolutionary strategy to have as many partners as possible to produce more offspring.
what is mate guarding
when males guard their female partner to prevent them mating with anyone else
what is cuckoldry
when males are fearful that they will have to raise another man’s child
what is inter sexual selection
when females choose from available options for mates according to attractiveness
what is anisogamy for females
that women’s best evolutionary strategy is to be selective when choosing a partner with good characteristics such as high status, strength, resources
evaluation of evolutionary explanations of partner preferences
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.
how does physical attractiveness affect attraction
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.
what is the halo effect
when the general impression of a person is incorrectly formed from one characteristic alone. physically attractive people are seen as more sociable and trustworthy
what is a self fulfilling prophecy
when a physically attractive person behaves even more positively because of the positive attention they receive
evaluation of the halo effect
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
what is matching hypothesis
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
evaluation of matching hypothesis
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
what is filter theory
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
what is social demography
from the beginning we screen people based on age, sex, education and social background
what is similarity in attitudes
choosing people with similar attitudes and ideologies to our own
what is complementarity of needs
choosing people who complement our own traits in the long term
evaluation of filter theory
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.
