Theories of romantic relationships: Duck's Phase Model

Question 1

What did Duck state about the ending of a relationship?

Answer 1

Duck stated ending a relationship is a process, which goes through four phases. Each has a threshold point, which when crossed, spells the beginning of the new phase

Question 2

What are the four phases outlined in Duck’s Phase Model?

Answer 2

1) The Intra - psychic phase
2) Dyadic phase
3) Social phase
4) Grave dressing phase

Question 3

What is involved in the intra - psychic phase? (3pts)

What is the threshold that needs to be met during this stage to move onto the dyadic phase?

Answer 3

The Intra Psychic Phase is a cognitive process which occurs within the dissatisfied partner.

Time is spent thinking about reasons for why they are unhappy, evaluating the pros and cons.

This cognitive process is done privately, the thoughts are not shared with partner and may only be shared with a trusted friend

Question 4

What is involved in the dyadic phase? (3pts)

What is the threshold that needs to be met during this stage to move onto the social phase? (1pt)

Answer 4

The Dyadic Phase involves both partners starting to voice their concerns as talk about the relationship can no longer be avoided.

This may take form in confrontations/discussions, where partners self - disclose deeper thoughts and feelings which had not been previously shared in the intra - psychic stage

There are two possible outcomes from this stage, where partners become determined to fix the problem or are determined to continue breaking up the relationship

The threshold in this stage is the individual feeling there are justified reasons to walk away from the relationship

Question 5

What is involved in the social phase? (3pts)

What is the threshold that needs to be met during this stage to move onto the social phase? (1pt)

Answer 5

The Social Phase involves making the break up public

In this time, friends and family may suggest the couple should attempt to repair the relationship, or they may encourage the ending

This is usually a point of no return

The threshold here is the seriousness of each partner about the split

Question 6

What is involved in the grave dressing phase?

What is the threshold that needs to be met during this stage to stay broken up?

Answer 6

The Grave Dressing Phase is when the relationship ends and partners find ways to cope with the aftermath

The relationship is now “buried” and partners may speak about each other in a negative light to save and maintain a positive reputation for themselves so they are judged more favourably

Partners try retain ‘social credit’ by blaming circumstances or the partner’s faults during the relationship

Partners may also interpret memories of the earlier stages of relationship in a more negative way - nice memories may be interpreted to consist of many hints of failure

Threshold - dissatisfied partner reaches a threshold that the break up was inevitable and that they must now move on and start a new life

Question 7

What is a limitation of Duck’s phase model? (phase model is incomplete + fifth resurrection phase)

Answer 7

One limitation of this model is that it is incomplete. Rollie and Duck added a fifth resurrection phase, in which ex - partners begin to use what they have learned from the previous relationship to prepare for a future one. This refined version also clarifies the point that movement through stages is neither linear nor inevitable and partners may return to an earlier phase. This suggests that the original phase model is therefore only a partial explanation of the process of relationship breakdown

Question 8

What is a limitation of Duck’s phase model? (theory is retrospective)

Answer 8

Research conducted into the phases proposed by Duck are deemed retrospective. This means that participants report their experiences some time after the relationship has ended. This is a problem because memory might be distorted particularly towards the intra - psychic phase as this phase occurs much earlier in the four phase model

Question 9

What is a strength of Duck’s phase model? (practical applications + useful in relationship counselling)

Answer 9

This model is useful because it has practical application. It not only shows how relationships breakdown, but it also suggests ways in which relationship breakdowns can be reversed. For example, Duck recommends that in the intrapsychic stage people could be encouraged to focus on the positive aspects of their relationship. These insights can be used in relationship counselling to help couples get through difficult times and to highlight that relationships can be saved at almost every stage. This shows the ecological validity of Duck’s phase model

Question 10

What is a limitation of Duck’s phase model? (low population validity + comparisons between individualistic/collectivist cultures)

Answer 10

Duck’s phase model is based on research into individualistic cultures, especially the US. However this affects the population validity as relationships in collectivist and individualistic cultures operate differently. Relationships in individualistic cultures can be easier top end if partners are dissatisfied whereas relationships in collectivist cultures are less easy to end and will involve more external factors, like accounting for the thoughts of the wider family. The concept of romantic relationships and relationship breakdowns differ between cultures and this model would not be useful to apply to all cultures

Question 11

What is a limitation of Duck’s phase model? (low internal validity)

Answer 11

Other psychologists have criticised this model for merely describing what happens during the process of a relationship breakdown, whilst neglecting to explain the factors that lead to/cause relationship breakdown. For this reason, Duck’s phase model is low in internal validity