Attraction: Filter theory

• Kerckhoff and Davis's 'filter theory' of attraction suggests that we choose romantic partners by using a series of filters that narrow down the 'field of availables' from which we might eventually make our choice.
• Social demography refers to variables such as age, social background and location, which determine the likelihood of individuals meeting in the first place.
• Similarity in attitudes:


  If people share similar attitudes, values and beliefs, communication is easier and so a relationship is likely to progress. Partners who are very different to the individual in terms of their attitudes and values are not considered suitable for a continuing relationship, and so are 'filtered out' from the field of possible long-term parnters.
• Complementarity of needs refers to how well two people fit together as a couple and meet each other's needs. This is important, because finding a partner who complements them ensures that their own needs are likely to be met.
• Kerckhoff and Davis (1962)'s procedure:

  Longitudinal study of 94 dating couples at a university in the US. Each partner in the couple completed two questionnaires assessing the degree to which they shared attitudes and values and also the degree of need complementarity. 7 months after the initial testing, the couples completed a further questionnaire assessing how close they felt to their partner compared to how they felt at the beginning of the study.
• Kerckhoff and Davis (1962)'s findings:

  For those couples that had been seeing each other for less than 18 months, similarity of attitudes and values was the most significant predictor of how close they felt to their partner. For those who had been dating for more than 18 months, only complementarity of needs was predictive of how close each individual felt to their partner.
• AO3 - Lack of research support for filter theory:

  In a study by Levinger et al. (1970), 330 couples who were 'steadily attached' went through the same procedure as in Kerckhoff and Davis's study. There was no evidence that either similarity of attitudes and values of complementarity of needs influenced progress towards permanence in relationships.
• AO3 - The real value of the filtering process:

  Duck suggests that the real value of the filtering process is that it allows people to make predictions about their future interactions and so avoid investing in a relationship that 'won't work'. People use a variety of different strategies to gather information about each other, including encouraging a partner's self-disclosure through questioning, in order to cut through the polite front to get at the other person's real feelings.
• AO3 - Complementarity of needs may not be that important:

  Research by Dijkstra and Barelds (2008) studied 760 college-educated singles on a dating sire who were looking for a long-term mate. Participants' own personalities were measured and they were then asked to rate personality characteristics they desired in an ideal mate. There were strong correlations between individual's own personality and their ideal partner's personality.
• AO3 - Theory lacks temporal validity:


  As the dating world has changed and moved increasingly online, social demography has taken on less importance. For example, the likelihood of dating someone outside our culture has increased. This is not predicted by the initial level of filtering in the model. These social changes in dating bring into question the temporal validity of filter theory as a factor in attraction.