Filter theory

• What is the filter theory?

  • Kerckhoff and Davis (1962) compared attitudes and personalities of student couples in short (18 months) and long-term relationships and found 3 main filters they used to select a partner
  • The filter theory is a way we choose romantic partners by using a series of filters that narrow down the field of availables, as not everyone who is desirable is available
• What is the 1st filter?

  • Social demography: dependent on factors that influence the chances of potential partners meeting in the first place, such as location, social class, level of education, ethnic group, religion, etc.
  • Field of available partners narrows down due to social constraints - anyone too different is discounted as a potential partner
  • Homogamy is high likelihood to form a relationship with someone we are socially or culturally similar to due to having more in common
• What is the 2nd filter?

  • Similarity in attitudes: there is a need for partners to have agreement over basic values and important beliefs as this encourages deeper communication
  • Byrne (1997) found that similarity causes attraction and without it, the relationship is likely to fizzle out, known as the law of attraction
• What is the 3rd filter?

  • Complementarity: the ability of romantic partners to meet each other's needs and complement each other when they have traits that the other lacks, making them feel as if they form a 'whole' together
  • For example, someone who likes to be nurtured being in a relationship with someone who likes to nurture
  • More important for long-term relationships, making them more likely to flourish
• What is one strength of the filter theory?

  • Research support: Festinger et al (1950) observed friendships that formed in a block of 17 buildings mainly for students
  • Found that students were 10x as likely to make friends with people who lived in their own building, and that the most popular people lived nearest to staircases and postboxes as they were most likely to be 'bumped into'
  • Supports social demography filter as a factor affecting selection
• What is another strength of the filter theory?

  • Further research support: Kerckhoff and Davis' original longitudinal study had couples complete questionnaires to assess similarity of attitudes and complementarity of needs
  • Relationship 'closeness' was measured by another cquestionnaire 7 months later
  • Closeness was associated w/ similarity of values in short-term relationships and complementarity w/ long-term relationships
  • Provides evidence that similarity is important in early stages and complementarity is more important later on
• What is one limitation of the filter theory?

  • Perceived similarity: where an individual believes the other person to be similar to them, which is more important than actual similarity
  • Montoya et al. (2008) conducted a meta-analysis of 313 studies which found that perceived similarity was a stronger prediction of attraction and actual similarity only affected attraction in short-term lab based interactions
  • Suggests perceived similarity may be an effect of attraction not a cause, an idea not predicted by this model
• What is another limitation of the filter theory?

  • Complementarity not universal: Markey and Markey (2013) found that lesbian couples of equal dominance were the most satisfied out of a sample of couples lasting for a mean time of over 4.5 years
  • Suggests in some couples it is similarity of needs rather than complementarity that is associated with long-term satisfaction, challenging the predictions of the theory