Relationships

• Sexual Selection


  Attributes or behaviours that increase reproductive success are passed on
• Human Reproductive Behaviour


  Behaviours which relate to opportunities to reproduce and thereby increase survival chances of our genes (includes evolutionary mechanisms underlying partner preferences)
• Anisogamy


  Differences in male and female sex cells eg. males have more sperm, females less eggs.
• Inter-sexual selection


  Mate choice by males or females.
• Intra-sexual selection


  competition for mates; usually between males
• Self-disclosure


  Revealing personal information about yourself
• Social Penetration Theory

  Altman & Taylor; gradual process of revealing inner self to someone
• Reciprocity


  Reis and Shaver; balance of self-disclosure in a relationship
• Symmetrical Face


  Honest sign of genetic fitness
• Neotenous Face


  Baby-faced, triggers caring instinct
• Matching Hypothesis


  Walster; People tend to opt for those at their same level of attractiveness
• Halo Effect


  Dion et al; A predisposition to attribute positive qualities to physically attractive people
• Filter Theory


  Series of different factors progressively limits the range of available romantic prospects
• Social Demography


  Geographical location/classage/gender etc
• Similarity in Attitude


  Share basic values in earlier stages of relationship; individuals differing markedly are discounted
• Complementarity


  Similarity becomes less important as a relationship develops, and is replaced by the need for partners to balance out traits
• Social Exchange Theory


  Thibault & Kelley; Assumes that a person weighs the rewards and costs of interacting with another; relationship maintained when rewards exceed costs and potential alternatives are less attractive
• Comparison Level


  Expectations about what people think they deserve or expect to get out of a relationship
• Comparison Level for Alternatives


  Expectations about what people think they can get out of alternative relationships/being single
• Sampling Stage


  Explore rewards and costs of relationships by experimenting with them in all relationships/observing others
• Bargaining Stage


  Beginning of relationship; romantic partners start exchanging various rewards and costs, finding most profit
• Commitment Stage


  Sources of costs and rewards become more predictable and relationships becomes more stable
• Institutionalisation Stage


  Partners settled because the norms of the relationship, in terms of rewards and benefits, are firmly established
• Equity Theory


  The perception that partners have a fair distribution of rewards and costs in the relationship
• Rusbult's Investment Model

  Suggests that commitment is produced by satisfaction, investments, and quality of alternatives
• Satisfaction


  The extent to which romantic partners feel the rewards of the relationship exceed the costs
• Investment


  The resources associated with a romantic relationship which partners would lose were it to end
• Intrinsic Investment


  Added by a single partner e.g. money towards a date
• Extrinsic Investment


  Shared by both partners e.g. house/car/children
• Relationship Maintenance Mechanisms

  AccomodationWillingness to sacrificeForgivenessPositive IllusionsRidiculing alternatives
• Duck's Phase Model


  Explanation of the stages people go through when their relationship is not working
• Intra-psychic phase


  Partners has doubts; pros and cons lists; may share with trusted friend
• Dyadic phase


  Partners discuss feelings, usually leads to hostility; renew investment or realise breakdown
• Social phase


  Friends pick sides, share gossip. Partners seek approval of friends at others' expense
• Grave-dressing phase


  Relationship over; each partner creates favourable narrative to justify selves; internal narrative reframes narrative
• Reduced cues theory


  Sproull & Kiesler; CMC relationships less effective than FtF because they lack cues like facial expressions/tone of voice
• Hyper personal model


  Walther; online relationships are more personal and involve greater self-control; manipulated to promote intimacy
• Absence of gating

  Barriers in FtF communication removed e.g. stutter or physical deformity
• Parasocial Relationship


  One-sided, unreciprocated relationship, normally with a celebrity, on which the 'fan' spends a lot of time, commitment and emotional energy
• Entertainment-social

  Enjoy watching/talking about celebrity