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    Cards (22)

    • Filter theory
      Kerckhoff and Davis compared attitudes and personality of student couples in short term and long term relationships and devised the filter theory to explain how romantic relationships form and develop The theory suggests people choose romantic partners by narrowing down potential romantic partners through a series of filters. At each stage different factors become more important in determining compatibility
    • social demography stage
      The first stage is the social demography stage where at the beginning of selecting partners people are most likely be attracted to people who share the same demographic characteristics like age , social class , education level , religion . Location The outcome of this filtering is homogamy, meaning you are more likely to form a relationship with someone who is socially and culturally similar.
    • Similarity in attitudes
      Similarity of attitudes is the second stage where couples with similar views are more likely to form a strong emotional connection Partners will often share important beliefs and values, partly because the field of available has already been narrowed by the first filter
    • According to Kereckhoff and Davis partners who share similarity of attitudes(social and cultural) develop strong Romanic relationships , but only for the couple who have been together less than 18 months. There is a need for partners in the earlier stages of a relationship to agree over basic values This also promotes greater and deep communication and encourages self-disclosure. Donn Bryne (1997) described this as the law of attraction
    • 3rd level: Complementarity
      The third filter concerns the ability of romantic partners to meet each other’s needs. Two partners complement each other when they have traits that the other lacks. One is dominant, the other is submissive One likes to nurture, the other likes to be nurtured One likes to laugh, the other makes people laugh. Kerckhoff and Davis found that the need for complementarity was more important for the long-term couples
    • Summary –
      People filter possible mates from a range of eligible candidates. This theory suggests that people use different methods at different levels of the process . We start with social variables such as race or class. We then move to more individual and internal values such as personality . For social variables we are likely to seek similarity whereas for internal values it may be more important to seek complimentary characterisation.
    • Key study: Kerckhoff and Davis (1962)
      Longitudinal study of 94 dating couples at University in the US. Completed two questionnaires shared attitudes and values degree of need complementarity.
    • 7 months after the initial testing  a further questionnaire assessing how close they felt to their partner Findings: When the researchers divided the couples into short-term and long-term couples a difference emerged. Less than eighteen months  Closeness was associated with similarity of attitudes and values. More than 18 months  Complementarity of needs predicted closeness This study provided evidence that similarity is important in the early stages of a relationship, but complementarity is more important later on.