Duck's phase model

• Duck's theory of relationship breakdown

  Increasing dissatisfaction in a relationship triggers the process of breakdown which goes through four distinct stages
• Intra Psychic Phase


  1. Personal cognitive processes where one or both partners have become increasingly dissatisfied and give consideration to whether they might be better off leaving the relationship

  2. Individual reflects on the relationship and may experience feelings of resentment and a sense of being under-benefitted

  3. Little outward sign of dissatisfaction, may express discontentment in other ways (e.g. social withdrawal)

  4. Determination to put things right, but once dissatisfaction is great enough, progression to next stage
• Dyadic Phase

  1. Interpersonal processes between the two partners where the dissatisfied individual informs the other partner about their unhappiness

  2. Reciprocated feelings of dissatisfaction may also be disclosed

  3. Overt (open) confrontations, where feelings of inequity and discontentment are aired

  4. Couple may reflect on what binds them together and what costs would be incurred by ending the relationship

  5. Maintenance and repair strategies may be used, still possibility relationship might be saved

  6. If dissatisfaction not acceptably resolved, movement to next phase
• Social Phase

  1. Relationship breakdown turns from private to public

  2. Distress one or both partners are experiencing becomes public, problematic relationship cannot be denied

  3. Partners tell friends and family, others become involved

  4. Some friends/family become judgemental, blaming one partner and may speed up end of relationship

  5. Other people may offer advice and support, helping resolve disputes

  6. Partners may try to forge alliances, mutual friends may be expected to take sides

  7. Social implications (e.g. who has the house) are negotiated

  8. If relationship not saved here, goes to final stage
• Grave Dressing Phase

  1. Ex-partners begin their post-relationship lives

  2. They begin to publicise their own accounts of the breakdown in a favourable way so they do not hinder their chances of having other relationships

  3. Ex-partners present a representation of the failed relationship so it does not reflect on them in disreputable terms, enabling them to keep their 'Social Credit' intact

  4. Individuals may reinterpret ex-partner traits they once found attractive in negative terms

  5. Individuals justify their actions so they appear to others as trustworthy and loyal, key attributes for future relationships

  6. Alternative 'story' involves some ex-partners deciding they were not compatible from the beginning
• Incomplete Model


  This model of breakdown was criticised for being incomplete and oversimplified
• Extended model

  • Includes a 'Resurrection Phase'
  • Where ex-partners move away from the distress associated with the end of the relationship and engage in the process of personal growth
• Evidence to support the existence of the Resurrection Phase


  • Tashiro & Frazier (2003) found 92 undergraduates who had recently broken up with a romantic partner reported they had experienced personal growth as a result of the breakdown
• Refined version

  • Clarifies the point that movement through the stages is neither linear nor inevitable and partners may return to an original stage
• With the increasing use of social media as a relationship tool, it is argued the complexity of modern day relationships is too difficult to explain using a 5 process linear model
• Duck's model


  • Shows that breakdown is not just a sudden event but a process
  • Has a useful practical application
• Practical application of Duck's model

  • In problematic relationships, the model can be applied to identify the stage of breakdown and suggest appropriate ways to attempt to repair the relationship
• Applying Duck's model to problematic relationships

  1. Paying attention to the things that people say, and the way in which they talk about their relationship

  2. Offers an insight into how they are thinking about their relationship

  3. Suggests appropriate interventions by friends, family or professionals
• In the intra-psychic phase of Duck's model


  Partners could be encouraged to focus their 'brooding' on the positive aspects of their partner in an aim to re-establish their liking for them
• Such strategies demonstrate how the model has real-life application to relationship counselling and can be used successfully to help couples contemplating break-up to improve their relationships and stay together
• Duck's model

  • It is the product of experiences of relationships in individualistic cultures
  • It is a reasonable representation of the process of breakdown in individualistic cultures where relationships are voluntary and frequently end
  • It does not represent what occurs in collectivist cultures, where relationships may be arranged, involve the wider family or be much harder to end
• This is an example of an imposed etic
• It is very unlikely that the process of breakdown is universal, therefore undermining the model as an accurate description of all relationship breakdowns
• Duck's theory of breakdown


  • Does not account for the individual experiences of the same phase
  • Does not take into account the type of relationship that is breaking down
• Young adult romantic relationships


  May be perceived as more unstable than long-term older adult relationships
• Young adult romantic relationships


  May have little support for reconciliation offered by friends or family
• Older adult relationships

  May experience a greater intensity of others trying to help the couple work things out
• Romantic relationships of young adults


  Viewed as a testing ground for 'more serious' relationships
• Older adult relationships

  Viewed as having 'more to fight for' and less chance of being able to find a replacement partner
• Grave dressing phase


  A phase in Duck's model of relationship breakdown
• Students who experienced the end of a romantic relationship for the first time

  Had a greater risk of depression
• Viewing the situation, rather than own faults, as being responsible for ending the relationships


  Helps people to see the break-up in a more positive light and move on
• Grave dressing phase


  • The individual is able to create stories that play down their role in the break-up and therefore does not threaten their psychological well-being
• The existence and role of the break-up phases described in Duck's model are supported by research evidence, specifically for the grave dressing phase
• This strengthens the claims made by the model and highlights the application of the theory to everyday relationships