Theories of Romantic Relationships: Duck's Phase Model of Relationship Breakdown

Question 1

What are the three types of relationship breakdown?

Answer 1

Pre-existing doom
Mechanical failure
Sudden death

Question 2

What is pre-existing doom?

Answer 2

The relationship was doomed to end from the start. Could be a result of the partners simply being incompatible for each other

Question 3

What is mechanical failure?

Answer 3

Partners who are compatible slowly grow apart over a long period of time and decide that things are no longer working (the most common cause of breakups)

Question 4

What is sudden death?

Answer 4

This is where the relationship suddenly ends. Discovering a partner has cheated or the couple has a huge argument, which swiftly ends the relationship.

Question 5

What are the five minor reasons which contribute to relationship dissolution?

Answer 5

Predisposing personal factors - Bad habits or poor personal hygiene
Precipitating factors - Things like love rivals, long work hours, boredom
Lack of skills - If your partner is sexually inexperienced or doesn’t fulfil your sexual needs. Poor cooking skills could also contribute.
Lack of motivation - Previous theories cover this – e.g. inequity. Or perhaps an individual does not put the effort into the relationship
Lack of maintenance - Spending much time apart, not setting time aside for the relationship, independence too much of a feature.

Question 6

What are the four phases of relationship dissolution?

Answer 6

Intrapsychic
Dyadic
Social
Grave dressing

Question 7

What is the intrapsychic stage?

Answer 7

Focus on partners behaviour
Assess the adequacy of partners performance
Focus on the negative aspects of the relationship
Consider the costs of withdrawing from the relationship
Look at what the individual gets from the relationships in terms of benefits
Private dilemma of whether to raise the issues with the relationship or not.

Question 8

What is the dyadic stage?

Answer 8

Confront partner over inadequacies
Negotiation of future behaviour
Possible attempt to repair problems (although not always)
Both assess the costs of withdrawing from the relationship

Question 9

What is the social stage?

Answer 9

Negotiate post-relationship dynamic with partner
Gossip in friendship/family circles
Face-saving stories are created in case of breakup. Blame is also attributed.
Consideration of the social backlash of relationship breakdown.

Question 10

What is the grave dressing stage?

Answer 10

Perform ‘getting over it’ activities
Retrospective, reformative post-mortem attribution
Publicly distribute own version of breakup.

Question 11

What is an overview of the model?

Answer 11

Intrapsychic - One partner privately begins to feel dissatisfaction with the relationship.
Dyadic - Dissatisfaction is discussed with partner. If nothing changes, the next stage is activated.
Social - The breakdown is made public to friends and family. Negotiations may occur (with children, finances, etc).
Grave Dressing - Post-relationship perception is created. Ex-partners now rebuild their life towards new relationships.

Question 12

What was the later stage which was added?

Answer 12

In 2006, Duck and his colleague Rollie proposed an addition to the model: the resurrection phase. They suggested that at this stage people move beyond the pain and distress associated with ending the relationship, and experience personal growth.

Question 13

DUCK’S MODEL - Research evidence?

Answer 13

Tashiro & Frazier (2003), who found when surveying 92 students about r’ship breakdown, a number of personal growth factors that had led from breakdowns helped them in the future e.g. gaining wisdom from past relationships and learnt lessons from the breakdown. This evidence helps support the final stage (grave dressing) about recovery and personal growth following a breakdown giving the theory some credibility.

Question 14

DUCK’S MODEL - Practical applications?

Answer 14

During couples counselling, if someone is clearly in the INTRAPSYCHIC they could be encouraged to open up to the partner sooner and share concerns while they are still at the early stage of concerns. Whereas, if someone was in the dyadic phase they could be encouraged to have a non confrontation way to air the concerns and be provided with more possible solutions together.

Question 15

DUCK’S MODEL - Limited explanation?

Answer 15

The model does not consider reasons why this dissatisfaction & unhappiness has occurred which is likely to have a massive influence on the breakdown
For instance there is likely to be a big difference (personally and socially) between R/ships that have ended due to infidelity compared to long distance obstacles.

Question 16

DUCK’S MODEL - Cross cultural research?

Answer 16

For example , Moghaddam et al ( 1993) found relationships in individualistic cultures are generally voluntary and frequently come to an end ( ie divorce). But relationships in collectivist cultures tend to be less easy to end and involve wider family. In fact they suggested the whole conception of a romantic relationship differs between cultures.