relationships- theories of romantic relationships: Duck's phase model Flashcards
what are the four phases in ducks model?
-intra-psychic
-dyadic
-social
-grave dressing
what is ducks model a theory of?
the breakdown of a relationship
-argued it wasn’t a one-off event its a process that takes time and goes through 4 stages
what does duck argue each phase has?
a threshold
what is the significance of thresholds to the phases?
-perception of relationship changes
-dissatisfied partner may reassess and decide relationship isn’t s bad, halting breakdown or cross threshold into next step
what is the threshold for the intra-psychic phase?
‘I can’t stand this anymore’
-indicates determination for something to change
intra-psychic phase
-first phase
-p becomes dissatisfied w relationship in current form. worry about the reasons and focus on p’s shortcomings
-dissatisfied p tends to keep this to themselves but may share thought w trusted friends weighting up pros/cons of continuing
what is the threshold for the dyadic phase?
‘I would be justified in withdrawing’
dyadic phase
-once p concludes justified in ending relationship they have to discuss with their p. dissatisfactions about equity, commitment, etc. are aired
-s-d may be more frequent as p feel they can reveal true feelings
what is the threshold for the social phase?
dissatisfied partner concludes ‘I mean it’
social phase
-once p want to end relationship will seek support particularly from joint friends
-friends may choose side but some may try prevent breakup acting as go-between
-once news public though generally point of no return
what is the threshold for the grave dressing phase?
‘it’s now inevitable’
grave dressing phase
-once end inevitable suitable story of relationship and end prepared for wider consumption
-likely to include attempt to ensure storyteller judged most favourably
-creation of personal story in addition to public one necessary for p to move on
what’s the final threshold of ducks phases?
‘time to get a new life’
ao3 of Ducks phase model: real world application
-application to real world relationship breakdown
-model suggests some repair strategies more effective at one stage than others
-i.e. intra-psychic stage p could worry more positively ab each other. improving communication skills is beneficial in the dyadic phase
-model can provide supportive insights to help people through difficult times in their lives
ao3 of Ducks phase model: incomplete
-rollie and duck (2006) added resurrection phase in which ex-p’s apply what they’ve learned from relationships in past
-p’s may return to earlier phases at any point and processes are more important than linear movement through phases
-means original model doesn’t take into account the complexity of breakdown and its dynamic nature
ao3 of Ducks phase model: phases less well explained
research p’s recall breakdown retrospectively, so report may not be accurate (especially earlier phases)
-intra-psychic happens ‘longer-ago’ and p may spend a long time in it, so recall of what happened could actually be distorted
-so model doesn’t explain early part of the breakdown processes