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theories of romantic relationships Flashcards

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Conversation Starters flashcards
1
Q

what is social exchange theory?

A

all social behaviour is a series of exchanges where individuals try to maximise their rewards and minimise their costs

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2
Q

what are rewards in a relationship?

A

being cared for, companionship and sex

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3
Q

what are costs in a relationship?

A

effort, financial costs and time wasted

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4
Q

what is meant by profit in a relationship?

A
  • rewards minus the costs indicate the outcome and this will either result in ‘profit’ or ‘loss’
  • a relationship being maintained depends on the profitability of this outcome
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5
Q

what is comparison level (CL)?

A
  • argued we judge the profit of a relationship, against a comparison level
  • this is a product of our experiences in past relationships
  • if we judge the profit in a relationship exceeds our CL, the relationship will be judged as worthwhile
    -if not the outcome is negative
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6
Q

what is comparison level of alternatives (CLA)?

A
  • people may weigh up potential increases in rewards offered by alternative partners, minus the costs of ending the current relationship
  • a relationship may only be maintained if there is no ‘profit’ to be made from such alternative relationships
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7
Q

what are the stages of thibaut and kelley’s model of romantic relationships?

A

sampling, bargaining, commitment and institutionalisation

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8
Q

what is stage 1 sampling?

A

we explore the rewards and costs of social exchange by experimenting with them in our own relationships, or by observing others doing so

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9
Q

what is stage 2 bargaining?

A

this marks the beginning of relationship formation. romantic partners start exchanging rewards and costs, negotiating, and identifying what is most profitable

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10
Q

what is stage 3 commitment?

A

as time goes on the sources of costs and rewards become more predictable and the relationship becomes more stable as rewards increase and costs lessen

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11
Q

what is stage 4 institutionalisation?

A

the partners are now settled down because the norms of the relationship, in terms of rewards and costs, are now firmly established

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12
Q

what is research support for SET from kurdeck (1995)?

A
  • asked 185 couples to complete questionnaire measuring relationship commitment and set variables
  • found greater relationship commitment was associated with: individuals received more rewards than cost (CL) and individuals who viewed alternatives as less attractive than current relationship (CLA)
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13
Q

what did the findings from kurdeck show?

A
  • perceived profitability judged against the CL and the CLA predict relationship commitment independently of each other
  • increases validity of SET as it shows how both SET variables are important in the maintenance of a romantic relationships
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14
Q

what do clark and mills (2011) argue in contrast to SET?

A
  • people don’t make rational and calculated decisions about romantic relationships
  • partners give and receive without keeping score
  • if they did it would suggest a lack of trust and commitment
  • SET may not be a valid explanation for romantic relationships
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15
Q

what are the practical applications of SET that can be used to resolve relationship issues?

A
  • christensen (2004) found that integrated behavioural couples therapy (IBCT) which helps partners increase positive exchanges and reduce negative ones is effective at increasing relationship satisfaction
  • the effectiveness of IBCT supports the idea that romantic relationships are more likely to be maintained when the rewards outweigh the costs
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16
Q

what is equity theory?

A
  • another economic theory of romantic relationships
  • unlike SET, the central assumption of equity is people strive for fairness
  • people are most comfortable and satisfied when what they get out of a relationship is roughly equal to what they put in
17
Q

what does it mean to be truly equitable?

A

one partners benefits minus their costs should = the other partner’s benefits minus their costs

18
Q

what happens if inequity is present in a relationship?

A
  • people who give a great deal in a relationship and get little in return (under-benefitted) would perceive inequity would be dissatisfied in the relationship, experiencing resentment, anger and sadness
  • same is true for those who receive a great deal and give little in return (over-benefitted), may experience pity, guilt and shame
19
Q

if inequity is perceived how do people try to restore equity?

A

restore actual equity and restore psychological equity

20
Q

what is restoring actual equity?

A

both partners communicating and actively working towards a balance. usually driven by under benefitted partner

21
Q

what is restoring psychological equity?

A

the couple change their cognitions about the perceived imbalance and convince themselves things are perfectly fair as they are. thus, what may have appeared as a cost (eg moving in with partner) is now accepted as the norm

22
Q

what is the research support for equity theory by stafford and canary (2006)?

A
  • found out of 200 married couples, satisfaction was highest for those who perceived their relationships to be equitable, followed by over-benefitted partners, followed by under-benefitted partners
  • this is consistent with the predictions of equity theory
23
Q

what is a criticism of equity theory?

A
  • huseman (1987) suggested that the existence of benevolent partners who are more tolerant of under-benefitting in a relationship and entitled partners who believe they deserve to be over-benefitting and would be dissatisfied in an equitable/under benefitting relationship show that there are individual differences in equity and relationship satisfication
  • thus, the desire for equity is not a universal feature of all relationships as equity theory would suggest
24
Q

why could equity theory be seen as gender biased?

A
  • steil and weltmaan (1991) found that when husbands earned more than wives, they rated their own career as more important than their wives’ and the wives would generally agree
  • however, in couples where the woman’s income was higher, neither partner rated their career as more important
  • suggests wives tend to seek less for themselves than husbands and therefore are less likely to perceive inequity
  • seems gender biased to assume ‘equity’ is perceived in the same way by men and women
25
Q

what is rusbult’s investment model of commitment?

A
  • an extension of SET
  • explanation of relationship stability that emphasises the importance of 3 factors: satisfaction, comparison with alternatives and investment in determining relationships commitment
26
Q

what is satisfaction (R)?

A

the extent to which romantic partners feel the rewards of the relationship outweigh the costs

27
Q

what is comparison with alternatives (R)?

A

individuals assessing whether a relationship with a different partner, or no partner, would bring more rewards and less costs

28
Q

what is investment(R)?

A

resources contributed towards the relationships which would be lost if the relationship were to end, eg, shared friendships, time, possessions and self disclosure

29
Q

what is commitment (R)?

A
  • considered to be the main psychological factor that cause people to stay together
  • its high in romantic partners who have high satisfaction levels, little to gain in a new relationship and high loss in ending a current relationship
  • commitment is low with the opposite
  • rusbult argues even if satisfaction is low, partners may choose to stay to work at it because of high investment
30
Q

what is the support for the investment model from le and agnew (2003)?

A
  • meta analysis of 52 studies over 30 years including 11,000 participants from 5 countries
  • found satisfaction, comparison with alternatives and investment all predicted relationship commitment and most committed relationships were the most stable and long lasting
31
Q

how does the model over simplify the idea of investment?

A
  • goodfriend and agnew (2008) suggest investment is more than the resources that are put into a relationship, but also future plans the couple may take together
  • more motivated to commit because they want to see their cherishes plans come to fruition
  • fails to recognise true complexity of investment
32
Q

how can the investment model explain why people stay in abusive relationships?

A
  • rusbult and martz (1995) argue when a large amount of investment has been made in a relationship (eg children) and alternatives are low (nowhere else to live), commitment can remain high, despite satisfaction being very low
  • relationships that can be hard to explain on surface, can be by investment model

relationships (6 decks)

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