Relationships Chapter Summary

Reward/need Satisfaction Theory:

• Attracted to people who provide us with direct reinforcement
• We are attracted to people associated with pleasant events

Evaluation:

• Griffit and Guay (1969)
• Cate et al (1982)
• Lehr and Geher (2006)
• Aron et al (2005)

Similarity Theory:

• We sort people first for dissimilarity and then similarity
• We are attracted to people with similar personalities and attituds

Evaluation:

• Rosenbaum (1986) - dissimiliarity more important
• Yoshida (1972) - represents a narrow view of important factors
• Important because lessens chances of rejection and validates our beliefs

IDA:

• Cultural Bias - reward/need satisfaction no relevant in some cultures
• Evolutionary explanations = love is an adaptation to focus courtship energy on specific individuals

Social Exchange Theory:

• Commitment to a relationship dependent on profitability
• To judge if relationship worthwhile, we use CL and CL for alternatives

Evaluation:

• Profit and Loss = explains women in abusive relationships
• Research support from - Simpson et al (1990) and Marelich et al (2008)
• Focuses on selfish concerns

Equity Theory:

• Dissatisfaction = inequitable relationship
• Satisfaction = equitable relationship
• Equity is judged by perceived ratio of inputs and outputs

Evaluation:

• Equity less important in long-term relationships
• DeMaris = women's sense of being under-benefited most important
• Equity insufficient as theory of real-life married relationships

IDA:

• Cultural Bias = 'economic' theories may only apply to western relationships
• Gender difference - judge equality differently

Reasons for Breakdown:

Duck (1999) suggests:

• Lack of skills
• Lack of stimulation
• Maintenance difficulties

Evaluation:

• Some affairs may be a reaction to perceived lack of skills/stimulation
• Success of skills training shows importance of relationship skills
• Many LDRs prosper despite maintenance difficulties

Model of Breakdown:

• Five processes of breakdown
• Intrapsychic, dyadic, social, grave dressing, resurrection

Evaluation:

• Support from real-life relationships
• Model stresses importance of communication and possibility of intervention

IDA:

• Ethical issues - sensitive area of research
• Gender difference - men and women stress different reasons

Nature of Sexual Selection:

• Intrasexual = mate competition
• Intersexual = mate choice
• Sex differenc in short-term mating strategies
• Buss - universal differences in long-term mate preferences
• Males = youth
• Women = resources 

Evaluation:

• Logic of sexual selection - random mating costly
• Mate choice and menstrual cycle - women choose different types
• Male preferences for younger women

IDA:

• Gender bias = short-term mating may also benefit females
• Validity problems = Buss's study measured preferences rather than choice

Sex Differences:

• Human females invest more because of biological sex differences and immature status of infant
• Random mating is costly to human females
• Males experience sexual jealousy
• Females experience emotional jealousy

Evaluation:

• Females want male providers and good quality offspring
• Geher et al (2007) - psychological responses support prediction of sex differences in parental investment
• Buss = research support for male sexual jealousy and female emotional jealousy
• High costs of successful reproduction = shared parental care

Childhood experiences:

• Parent-child relationships = adult romantic love is a product of attachment, caregiving and sexuality systems from infancy
• Interaction with peers = children learn about themselves from interacting with peers

Evaluation:

• Meta-analysis (Fraley) showed link between attachment type and later relationship
• Simpson et al = emotional system in adulthood could be traced back to infancy

Adolescents Experiences

• Parent-child relationships = adolescent relationships are a product of internal model plus own relationship experiences
• Interaction with peers = romantic relationships help adolescents to separate from parents, and gain experience of physical and emotional intimacy

Evaluation:

• Connectedness = adolescents relationships supplement rather than replace parental ones
• Negative effects = early dating linked to deviance and lack of achievement

IDA:

• Gender bias = sex differences in childhood relationships have been over-emphasised, with many similarities overlooked
• Determinism
• Restricted samples (Cultural bias)

Western and Non-Western Relationships:

• Western = more voluntary
• Non-Western = less voluntary
• Western = individual rights and freedom
• Non-Western = importance of family in decisins about relationships
• Western = temporary
• Non-Western = permanent
• Relationships characterised by cultural differences in norms and rules

Evaluation:

• Moore and Leung
• Xiaohe and Whyte

IDA:

• Evolutionary approach = love is an evolutionary adaptation
• Importance of culture = often overlooked because of preference for lab experiements, but culture is a key source of variatin in relationship processes