Theories of Romantic Relationships- Duck's Phase Model of Relationship Breakdown Flashcards
What are the 3 major types of relationship breakdown?
- Pre-existing doom
- Mechanical failure
- Sudden death
What is pre-existing doom?
- The relationship was doomed to end from the start
- Could be a result of the partners simply being incompatible for each other
What is mechanical failure?
Partners who are compatible slowly grow apart over a long period
What are the 5 minor reasons which contribute to relationship breakdown?
- Predisposing personal factors
- Precipitating factors
- Lack of skill
- Lack of motivation
- Lack of maintenance
What are the 5 stages of relationship breakdown?
- Intrapsychic
- Dyadic
- Social
- Grave dressing
- Resurrection phase
What is the intrapsychic stage and when does it occur?
- 1st
- 1 partner privately begins to feel dissatisfaction with the relationship
What is the dyadic stage and when does it occur?
- 2nd
- Dissatisfaction is discussed with the partner
- If nothing changes, the next stage is activated
What is the social stage and when does it occur?
- 3rd
- Breakdown is made public to friends and family
- Negotiations may occur (children/finances)
What is the grave dressing stage and when does it occur?
- 4th
- Post relationship perception is created
- Ex partners now rebuild their life towards new relationships
What is the resurrection phase and when does it occur?
- 5th
- Reconsidering oneself for future relationships
If the point is:
A strength of Duck’s relationship breakdown theory is that there is evidence to support some of its aspects.
What is the evidence and link?
Evidence- Tashiro and Frazier surveyed 92 students about relationship breakdown. They found a number of personal growth factors led from breakups which helped them in the future. For example, gaining wisdom from past relationships and learning lessons from the breakdown.
Link- This helps to support the grave dressing stage about recovery and personal growth following a breakdown.
If the point is:
A strength of Duck’s relationship breakdown theory is that it could offer some useful practical applications, especially to help prevent relationship breakdown.
What is the explanation, evidence and link?
Explanation- As people can be found in different stages, key advice could be tailor made for individuals.
Evidence- If someone is clearly in the intrapsychic stage they could be encouraged to talk it through with a partner or therapist and address their problems. Subsequently, if someone was in the dyadic phase they could be encouraged to think about the consequences of relationship breakdown.
Link- This implies that Duck’s model can help society deal with breakups as well as reduce them, which could overall lead to lower divorce rates.
If the point is:
A weakness of Duck’s relationship breakdown theory is that the model starts at the point where the dissatisfaction has occurred and could be missing crucial considerations.
What is the explanation, evidence and link?
Explanation- The model does not consider reasons why this dissatisfaction and unhappiness has occurred, which is likely to have a massive influence on the breakdown.
Evidence- For instance, there is likely to be a big difference, personally and socially, between relationships that have ended due to infelicity compared to long distance obstacles.
Link- In this respect, Duck’s phases do not necessarily give us a complete picture of relationship breakdown and other theories could be more informative.
If the point is:
A weakness of Duck’s relationship breakdown theory is that there may be some ethical problems, such as it being socially sensitive, when it comes to studying relationship breakdown that Duck and researchers must be conscious of.
What is the evidence and link?
Evidence- For ethical reasons, it’s difficult to study relationships during their breakdown as the people going through it may find it distressing to discuss. However, it could also be argued that we are gaining insight through the research, leading to support and help for future people.
Link- This implies that knowledge of Duck’s model is acquired sensitively and retrospectively, so we must be aware of the potential validity and reliability problems that this creates.
What are the evaluation points for Duck’s relationship breakdown theory?
+ Evidence to support some aspects of the theory
+ Could offer some useful practical applications, especially to help prevent relationship breakdown
— Duck’s model starts at the point where the dissatisfaction has occurred and could be missing crucial considerations
— There may be some ethical problems, such as it being socially sensitive, when it comes to studying relationship breakdown that Duck and researchers must be conscious of
