Factors affecting relationship - Filter theory

• An explanation of relationship formation.

  It states that a series of different factors progressively reduce the range of available romantic partners to a much smaller field

  The filters included social demography, similarity in attitudes and complementary
• Kerckhoff and Davis proposed that there are three filters
• Social demography - the wide range of factors that influence the likelihood of the potential partners meeting in the first place

  Includes geographical location, education level, ethnic group etc

  You are much more likely to meet people that are physically close to you and who share several demographic characteristics

  Anyone who is too different is discounted as a potential partner
• the outcome of social demographic filtering is homogamy meaning you are likely to form a relationship with someone who is socially and culturally similar
• similarity in attitudes - partners will often share important beliefs and values often because the field of available has already been narrowed down in the first filter

  Kerckhoff and Davis found that similarity of attitudes was important in the development of romantic relationships but only for couples who had been together for less than 18 months. there is a need for partners in the early stages of relationships to agree over basic values
• Byrne has described the constant findings that similarity causes attraction as the law of attraction.

  If such similarity doesn’t exist the relationship is likely to fizzle out
• complementary is the ability for romantic partners to meet each others needs

  Two partners complement eachother when they have traits that the other lacks.

  Kerckhoff and Davis found that the need for complementary was more important for the long term couples (at later stages of relationships opposites attract)

  It is attractive because it gives romantic partners the feeling that together they form a whole
• There is support from Kerckhoff and Davis’s original study.

  They conducted a longitudinal study in which both partners in dating couples competed questionnaires to assess - similarity of attitudes and complementary of needs

  relationship closeness was measured by another questionnaire seven months later.

  it was found that closeness was associated with similarity of values but only for couples who had been together for less than 18 months. for couples in longer relationships complementary of needs predicted closeness
• Levinger pointed out that many studies failed to replicate the original findings of Kerckhoff and Davis.

  He put this down to social change overtime as well as problems defining the depth of relationships.

  Kerckhoff and Davis chose an 18 month cut off point to distinguish between short term and long term relationships

  They assumed that partners who had been together longer than this were more committed.

  Filter theory undermined by lack of validity
• complementary may not be central to all long term relationships

  the filter theory states that in the most satisfying relationships partners are complementary. However Markey and Markey found that lesbian couples of equal dominance were the most satisfied their sample of couples had been romantically involved for a mean time of 4 and a half years.

  similarity of needs rather than complementary might be associated with long term satisfaction
• filter theory claims that reduce the field of availables to a relatively small pool of people similar to ourselves. However the role of filters has changed over time. in terms of the first level, online dating and apps have increased the field of availables so that location no longer limited partner choice

  Social changes have led to relationships that were not that common 30 years ago.