ducks phase model

• ducks phase model?

  • relationship breakdown
  • argued that ending of relationship is not one off but a process that takes time & goes through 5 main phases
• threshold?

  • each phase has threshold
  • point in which their perception of relationship changes
• 5 phases of relationship breakdown?

  1. intra psychic
  2. dyadic
  3. social
  4. grave dressing
  5. resurrection
• intra psychic phase?

  • dissatisfaction with current relationshop from 1 partner is expressed
  • begins to withdraw from other partner & brood on their partners faults & re-evaluate alternatives to relationship
  • threshold - i cant stand it anymore
• dyadic phase?

  • unhappiness is now out in open
  • couple have "our relationship" discussions & talk through possible changes to solve difficulties
  • may go to counselling & if its successful relationship may continue
  • threshold - i would be justified in leaving
• social phase?

  • relationship problems are now aired publicly as couple start to tell their friends & family about difficulties & take possibility of split
  • friends may offer support/take sides
  • threshold - i mean it
• grave dressing phase?

  • both parties try to get their side of story/explanation of break up across to people they want to think well of them
  • each partner creates their own version of what went wrong & whos to blame
  • versions are usually face saving to show they are not totally bad person who is rubbish at relationships
  • threshold - its now inevitable
  • eventually it leads to partner finally concluding that " its time to get a new life"
• resurrection phase?

  • this is where individual makes sense of their own value
  • they make sure to not make same mistakes again
  • prepare to move on & become emotionally available for potentially another relationship in future
• * practical application?

  • due to this theory it has raised awareness of how romantic rs breakdown so we can use this info in real world in order to prevent this from happening
  • phase model has highlighted that talking during dyadic phase is important in order to rescue rs & is something thats been used in real world by marriage & relationship counsellors
  • has halped prevent rs from breaking down showing that principles of model must be accurate
• 4 X of ducks phase model?

  1. ignores individual differences
  2. retrospective
  3. socially sensitive
  4. descriptive not explanatory
• X ignores individual differences?

  • as its a stage theory it suggests all rs will go through these phases when they break up
  • but some people may not go through phases in exact same order/each other
  • eg very introvered private person may no go through social phase as dont want to share personal life with everyone
  • extroverted may be incredibly open & wish to share every detail on social media
  • its too simplistic to say all rs go through same stages in exact same way so you cannot generalise to all break ups
• X retrospective?

  • it involves looking back at old rs in order to create stages
  • when doing this people may have forgotten exactly how it happened & over exaggerate when describing elements that led to breakdown of rs especially if they believe they were to blame for breakdown
  • may be inaccurate & could be based on bias as grave dressing phase may cause individual to give false info so cant be sure that stages actually occur in this way
• X socially sensitive?

  • by asking people to look back on their rs it may bring back personal,painful memories which could cause people to become upset & relive traumatic memories
  • people may not give accurate info as they dont want to give all info
  • ? credible
  • due to sensitive nature of research studies into these stages may be subject to ethical implications if its distressing for individual to talk about
• X descriptive not explanatory?

  • as model only describes stages we go through in breakup it doesnt epxlain why we go through these stages
  • or why we dont break up instantly when something goes wrong
  • doesnt explain why stages occur/present any logical reasoning for their seqeunce
  • lack of explanation means we cannot fully understand process of breakdown of romantic rs suggesting its too simplistic as a theory & may be better explanations