filter theory

• Kerckhoff & Davis


  filter theory believes that choice of partners is affected by factors limiting the availability of those possible to select from. there is a series of filters that serves to thin down the field to those available
• what filters are present in the filter theory

  1. similarity of social demogrpahic variables
  2. similarity in attitudes
  3. complementarity
• what is social demography as a filter

  focus is upon those individuals we are realistically likely to be able to meet and with whom we will have factors in common. such individuals will generally be limited to those who live near to us, work with us, socialise with us etc. with availability further limited to those of a similar class, ethnic, religious., educational and economic background to ourselves. such people will appear attractive, as their similarity will make communication easier, aiding relationship formation.
• what is homogamy

  the oucome of filtering. we are more likely to maintain a relationship with someone who is socially and culturally similar to you
• what is similarity in attitudes as a filter

  focus here is upon individuals meeting and socialising and thus eing exposed to each others beliefs, values and attitudes. individuals who have similarity of attitudes will be perceived by each other as being more attractive and compatible. this is more important for early stages of relationships [under 18 months]
• what is complementarity as a filter

  focus herre is upon the degreee to which potential partners meet each others needs, especially emotional ones. such complementarity helps to make a relationship deeper and thus less superficial and is regarded as the most important factor in establishing commitment towards a long term relationshio
• Festinger et al 


  reported that people who lived the closest to the stairways in an apartment block has the most contact with other residents of the block and formed the most friendships with other residents, supporting the idea of social demographic variables affecting the choice of possible partners one could be attracted to. students were 10x more likely to form a friendship with those who lived in their own building. this is called functional distance
• taylor et al 


  reported that 85% of americans who got married in 2008 married someone of their own ethnic group, supporting the social demographic idea that individuals choice of partners is limited to those of a similar background.
• Byrne 


  found that strangers who had similar attitudes to participants were more liked than strangers with differing attitudes. this supports the idea of similarity of attitudes being a limiting factor in who individuals find attractive
• Tan & Singh 


  21 year old participants to complete a questionnaire concerning their attitudes and then exposed them to fake completed attitude questionnaires of a 'stranger', finding they rated the 'strangers' with similar attitudes as more attractive
• Sadeella et al 


  found that women are attracted to males who are reliable, socially dominant, self confidnt and extrovert, as such qualities indicate an ability to achieve a relatively high position in society and thus meet their need for provision of resources. this supports the idea of complementarity being an important limiting factor in which individuals are desirable as potential partners.
• Levinger 


  pointed out that many studies failed to replicate original findings that formed the basis of the original filter theory. he put this down to social changes over time and also the difficulties in defining the depth of a relationship in terms of its length
• the relative availability of potential partners due to social demographic reasons changes over time and across cultures as attitudes change to relationships between people of different backgrounds
• age is another limiting factor. people tend to socialise in similar age groups and where partners are of different ages, this tends to be between younger females and older men, with a possible evolutionary explanation, as older men tend to be more resource rich and younger females more fertile.
• much research into the filter theory focuses on liking and relationships in general, rather than specifically on attraction and romantic relationships, making accurate conclusions difficult to achieve
• one important consideration in filter theory is that males and females filter out different things, due to having different things, due to having different needs. this applies to age and culture too. filter theory can be accused of cultural bias, as most research was performed in individualistic cultures and therefore may not apply to collectivist cultures where relationships are affected by different limiting factors