Relationship essay plans

FORMATION OF RELATIONSHIPS - PART ONE

Main Assumption

• The similarity theory suggests that relationship formation is based on the amount of similarities between two people. There are two stages to this theory and two key features; personality and attitude.

AO1 - Similarity Theory

• Step one sort out people that have dissimilarities, step two sort remaining potential partners by looking at attitudes and personality traits.
• People with similar personality traits and attitudes are more attracted to each other
• Attitude alignment occurs 

AO2 - Supporting Research: Leher + Geher

• Lab experiment of attitude similarity and mutual liking
• Given descriptions of strangers (some with similarities)
• Results show people who had similar attitudes were mutually attracted 

AO3- Methodological  Criticism

• Lab experiment so lacks ecological validity
• Self report method increases chances of social desirability
• Cant be generalised and may be untruthful so lowers validity

AO2 - Limitation

• The dissimilarity repulsion hypothesis by Rosenbaum said dissimilarities are more important
• Initial attraction fades when dissimilarities are found 
• Limits the similarity theory as its not completely accurate

FORMATION OF RELATIONSHIPS - PART TWO

Main assumption

• The reward/need theory is a behaviourists approach to explain the formation of relationships. It is best described as a learning process and has two main components; classical and operant conditioning. 

A01 - Reward/Need Theory

• Operant conditioning (direct reinforcement) 
• suggests there are different consequences
• Classical conditioning (indirect reinforcement)
• learning through association with events or moods

AO2 -  Research Support: Griffit + Guay

• participants did a creative task and rate how much they liked the experimenter 
• the people who were praised by the experimenter rated them higher (evidence for operant)
• also rated an onlooker highly (evidence for classical)

AO3 - Limitation

• This focuses on receiving rewards more than giving
• Hays found that giving reward is also ‘rewarding’

AO2 - Research Support: Aron et al

• people measured high romantic love on a self report questionnaire
• These people also showed strong dopamine activity

IDA- Reductionist

• Has simplified relationships and broken it down into two suggestions
• May be other factors such as evolutionary explanations (fundamental goal is to reproduce)
• Limits the theory of formation of relationships

BREAKDOWN OF RELATIONSHIPS - Part One

Main Assumption

• Duck and Rollie suggested there are several reasons for breakdown and there is also a stage process of a relationship break down.

AO1 - Ducks Reasons for Breakdown

• lack of social skills, lack off stimulation, maintenance difficulties
• lack of social skill: poor conversation so cannot portray feelings
• lack of stimulation: relationship is going different directions 
• maintenance difficulties: long distance 

AO2 - Conflicting Research: Rohlfing

• Suggested that this is historically bias (maintenance difficulties)
• 70% of people in the study had been in a long distance relationship and 90% had  long distance friendship
• Additionally, Holt and Sone found there is little dissatisfaction if there is regular contact

AO2 - Research support: Boekout et al.

• Found that lack of stimulation or social skills may be an influence on extramarital affaires
• Asked undergraduates to rate emotional and sexual reasons to have an affaire
• sexual reasons more likely…