Relationships

• How does the absorbtion-addiction model link to the levels of parasocial relationships?

  Those in entertainment social may be triggered by a certain stressful event to a more intense involvement
• What is the absorption-addiction model?

  Explains the tendency to form parasocial relationships in terms of deficiencies in their own lives and parasocial relationships helps them to escape from reality.
• What is the borderline pathological phase?


  This is identifies through the person feeling empathy towards the celebrity as they feel their successes and their failures. It also shown through uncontrollable fantasies and behaviours
• What is the intense personal phase?


  This is where they feel intensive and compulsive feelings towards the celebrities and love to talk to people who are also fans of the celebrity's
• What is the entertainment social phase?


  When fans learn about celebrities for the purpose of gossiping and entertainment.
• What are the three levels of parasocial relationships?

  Entertainment social, intense personal, borderline pathological
• What ages are parasocial relationships most common?

  11-17 but can occur at all ages
• Define Parasocial relationships?

  A one-sided relationship that occur with media personalities outside of an individuals real social network generally without the personalities knowledge
• What are problems with both the hyper-personal model and the reduced cue theory model?

  A problem with studying online relationships is the way we communicate online is constantly changing.e.g. models are based before facetime was available.This is a weakness of the theories as the research supporting may be lacking temporal validity as the research doesn't explain how disclosure would be affected know.
• What is a strength of the reduced cue theory?

  There is evidence to support the reduced cue theory and contradict the hyper personal model.e.g. Mesch and Talmud surveyed 987 Israeli teens and found their online relationships were significantly shorter and they only discussed very specific interests.This suggests that reduced cue theory may be better explanation of online self-disclosure than hyper personal model.However friendship not a relationship
• What are strengths of the hyperpersonal model?

  One strength is may be a biological basis for self-disclosing online.e.g. Tamir and Mitchell found that increased MRI activity in brain regions associated with reward when people were talking about themselves.This increases the validity of the hyper-personal model as it shows that self-disclosure makes people happy.There is evidence to suggest that the gating theory might support the hyper-personal model ideas on self disclosure in online relationships.e.g. Baker and Oswald found a correlation between shyness, greater Facebook use and high percentage of friendship quality online.This suggests that those who use social media sites like Facebook are able to overcome gates such as shyness and increased self-disclosure meaning increased validity of the self-disclosure model.
• Does absence of gating support reduced cue theory or Hyperpersonal model.

  Hypepersonal model
• Absence of gating


  The idea that in person-to-person relationships there are gates such as attractiveness and ethnicity whereas online these gates are absent causes increases self disclosure.
• What did Cooper and Sportolari find?

  Relationships may end quicker. As they start with high levels of self-disclosure so the self-disclosure disappears quickly as you've already shared everything you needed to. Additionally trust is never established in the relationship - boom and bust phenomena
• Whose research supports the hyper-personal model?

  Walther argued that these relationships should therefore be more intense and intimate and self-disclosure will occur quicker.
• Why does the hyper personal model suggest that online relationships are more effective?

  As self disclosure happens very quickly due to anomity as people feel like they can share more intimate details as the other person will never know
• What does the hyper personal model suggest about online relationships?

  That online relationships are effective for increasing self disclosure
• Why are relationships less effective when online according to the reduced cue theory?

  Cannot fully communicate when there are no non-verbal cues so we become deindividuated (lose our identity).

  Deindividuation makes us lose our inhibitions and make us blunter and say things we wouldn't in real life causing us to be less connected and therefore not self disclosing.
• What does the reduced cue theory suggest about online relationships?

  Online relationships are less effective than in person relationships due to a lack of non-verbal cues
• What are the two opposing theories which can explain how self-disclosure is affected online?

  Reduced cue theory and hyper personal model
• What are virtual relationships?

  Amy relationships that are conducted on the internet rather than face to face
• What are weaknesses of the breakdown model?

  Ethical issues in researching the breakdown of relationships.e/g/ carrying out research into sensitive area raises particular issues in vulnerability and can be distressing.This is important because researcher need to consider they aren't breaking protection from harm.Impact of social phase varies.Teenagers and young adults are seen as more unstable than adult relationships as they are testing the waters meaning less dramatic social phase.Reduces the validity as it cannot accurately explain the breakdown of every relationship.There are limitations of the original model.e/g/ Duck and Rollie added a 5th stage resurrection stage.This is a limitation as it means that 4 step model isn't the full theory.Additionally Tashiro and Frazier surveys 92 undergrads and found they recently broke up with their partner and found they typically experienced emotional distress but also personal growth.
• What is the final stage that Duck and Rollie added?

  The resurrection phase where they more beyond the pain and distress association when ending a relationship and experience personal growth
• What's the grace dressing stage?


  - Having left the relationship both people formulate reasons of why the relationship broke down often trying to minimise their faults

  - Preparing themselves for a new relationship

  - "Time to start a new life"
• What is the social phase?


  - When the couple make their disagreement public to their family and friends

  - May cause anxiety and hard for relationship to be solved after this point

  - "I mean it"

  - When relationship may end
• What is the dyadic phase?


  - This phase starts with a person confronting their partner about their dissatisfaction

  - Couples become aware of the forces that hold them together e.g. children or sharing a home

  - Relationship can be solved if they work out their issue

  - "I'd be satisfied with leaving"
• What is the intrapsychic phase?


  - When people admit they are dissatisfied with their relationship

  - Haven't discussed their unhappiness with their partner but may display in ways such as social withdrawl

  - "I can't stand this anymore"
• What are the four stages of Duck's breakdown model?

  1) The intrapsychic phase

  2) The dyadic phase

  3) The social phase

  4)The grave-dressing stage
• What is Ducks relationship breakdown model?

  A model that suggests there are four stages to a relationship breakdown and that it does not occur instantly
• What are weaknesses of the investment model?

  One weakness of the investment model is methodological issues with measuring the variables of the investment model.e.g. variables such as commitment are subjective and therefore difficult to measure.This is a weakness as it suggests that the results are likely to be biased as the results are self-report techniques.However Rusbult created the investment model scale and found this scale to be a valid and reliable way to measure the different variable in the investment model therefore overcoming this problem.
• What are strengths of the investment model?

  There is support from a meta-analysis for commitment as a variable for relationship maintenance.Le analysed 38,000 participants from 137 studies over 33 years and found commitment a strong predictor of staying in a relationship.This is a strength as provides evidence for commitment being an important variable therefore increasing the validity of the model.Strong real world application for this model across cultures and contexts.Research from US, Netherlands and Taiwan found the three elements of the investment model are found to be predictors of relationship satisfaction.This is a strength as it shows the model has cross-cultural validity and therefore is a representative of relationship maintenance in both individualistic and collectivistic cultures.Investment model provides evidence of why people stay in inequitable relationships, something which the equity theory and social exchange do not.e.g. if a person lacks good alternatives they are more likely to stay with their abusive partner.This is a strength as helps explain vulnerable people behaviour and understanding is the first step to helping.
• What's the investment size?

  A measure of all the resources attached to the relationships which would be lost if the relationships was to end.
• What's the satisfaction level?


  A measure of to which the current partner gratifies a persons important needs.
• What's the comparison level for alternative?


  An individual assessment of whether their needs might be better fulfilled by someone else that their current partner.
• What is the investment model?

  Was developed to understand why people persist in some romantic relationships and not others

  Suggests relationships are maintained when both couples feel satisfied there is a high investment size and the comparison level for alternative is low

  Another economic model
• What are the strengths of equity theory?

  One strength is there is research to support the idea of inequity and dissatisfaction to be linked.For example, Utne studied 118 recently married couples who had been together for over two years before marrying and those who consider their relationship equitable were more satisfied.This is matters as it suggests there is research to support resulting in increased validity.However Clark argues that couples don't think of their relationships in terms of punishment and rewards unless they are not troubled.Evidence to support from animal studies.For example, Bronson found that female monkeys became angry whenterm-69denied a highly prized rewards (grapes) in return for playing a game and if another monkey received grapes for not playing a game the monkey also became angry.This is a strength as shows equity theory may be more universal than theory suggests and can be the concreate foundation for all relationships not just romantic ones.Is it lacks generalisability to humans
• What are weaknesses of the equity theory?

  Research suggests that not everyone is equally sensitive to inequity.e.g. Huseman found that some partners are less sensitive to equity than others.This is a strength as it suggests that there are individual differences when it comes to why relationships are maintained. Equity theory mightn't be a global feature.There are cultural difference in the importance on equity.Aumer-Ryan found that couples in individualistic cultures consider their relationship more satisfying when their relationship was equal whereas those in collectivistic cultures consider were more satisfied when hey were over-benefiting.This is a weakness as it shows that equity theory's claim about perceived fairness being universal is not rue in all relationships.
• What's the finding of Stafford and canary?

  Satisfaction was highest for spouses who perceived their relationship to be equitably tended to be happier and so were more likely to engage in behaviours that contributed to their spouses happiness
• What's the method of Stafford and canary?

  Ask 200 married couples to complete several measures of equity and relationship satisfaction including: relationship maintenance task, sharing tasks and positivity
• Whose research supports this?

  Stafford and Canary