relationships

• evolutionary explanations for partner preferences: based on evolution, that we select sexual partners based on traits that are advantageous to reproduction
• reproductive behaviour: any behaviour that relates to more opportunities to reproduce and increase the survival chances of genes
• sexual selection: to select partners with attractive traits for reproduction or they provide an advantage over competitors for reproductive rights e.g.:

  • height
  • secondary sexual characteristics
  • certain facial & bodily features
• natural selection traits help a species adapt better to the environment and survive
• anisogamy: refers to the differences between male and female sex cells, which are called gametes

  • differences in size; the energy invested into their production; whether they are mobile or static; intervals which they are produced at
  • important in partner preference because it gives rise to 2 different mating strategies -> leads to 2 types of sexual selection
• anisogamy: females - eggs/ova

  • relatively large in size
  • static
  • produced at intervals for limited number of fertile years
  • energetically expensive
• anisogamy: males - sperm

  • relatively small in size
  • mobile
  • created continuously in vast numbers
  • energetically cheap
• intersexual selection: the strategies that each sex uses to attract the other

  • 'quality over quantity'
  • favoured by females because they invest more energy into the development of eggs - which are limited
  • females experience more post-coital responsibility than males and so will be more 'picky' as to who she mates with, due to her limited reproductive resources
• intrasexual selection: a preferred male strategy, referring to the competition between intra/males to be able to mate with a female and continue their genes

  • males compete with other males for access to fertile mate
  • sexual selection favours physically strong & aggressive males
  • females don't need to physically compete for a male, so physical strength & aggression no longer holds an evolutionary advantage for females
• example of intrasexual selection

  • males behaving aggressively & being protective of their female -> reduces the likelihood that she'll be impregnated by another competing male
  • males will be larger & so more sexually desirable to women
  • males will have certain facial & physical characteristics -> strong jawline & broad shoulders
• example of intersexual selection

  • a female will choose to mate with an attractive male -> her offspring will group up to be attractive -> they will attract females to mate with
  • female genes are passed on through several generations, increasing the likelihood that these genes will remain in the gene pool
• evaluation of evolutionary explanations

  + David Buss: evidence to support preferences related to anisogamy

  • surveyed 10000+ adults in 33 countries and found that females put more importance on resource-related characteristics e.g. ambition, high intelligence, good financial prospects
  • found that males preferred younger mates & put more value on signs of a female's ability to reproduce e.g. attractiveness & modesty
  • findings reflect sex differences in mating strategies due to anisogamy, supporting predictions about partner preference derived from sexual selection
• evaluation of evolutionary explanations

  + clark & hatfield: research support for intersexual selection/female choosiness

  • asked male & female student volunteers to approach opposite sex students, asking 'i find you very attractive. will you go to bed with me tonight?'
  • found marked gender differences: 75% of males agreed; 0% of females agreed
  • suggests that females are more choosier than males & males have evolved a different strategy for genetic success
• evaluation of evolutionary explanations

  + singh: evolutionary theory makes predictions that can be tested empirically

  • studied the waist-hip ratio for the winners of miss america contest
  • found that males generally find any hip & waist size attractive as long as the ratio is about 0.7
  • wider hips + narrow waist = attractive -> 'honest' signal for fertile woman
  • supports the evolutionary theory that men are seeking to reproduce with fertile females and continue their genes
• evaluation of evolutionary explanations

  -- evidence suggests that it's incorrect to assume that current reproductive patterns still have a strong evolutionary basis, but rather an interactionist approach would be more accurate

  • chang et al: influences of culture & evolution
  • bereczkei et al: changing social & cultural norms means that women no longer place a large emphasis on resources-availability when looking for a new partner
  • suggests that some evolutionary pressures for intersexual selection no longer apply in the modern culture
• evaluation of evolutionary explanations

  + waynfoth & dunbar

  • studied lonely hearts ads, where men & women describe qualities they desired in a potential partner & cataloguing their own qualities
  • found that women offered physical attractiveness & indicators of youth
  • found that men offered resources & sought relative youth and physical attractiveness
  • support intersexual selection that men & women seek different qualities; supports intrasexual selection as the sharing of their own qualities to be selected to mate and reproduce
• factors affecting attraction

  • self-disclosure
  • physical attraction
  • filter theory
• self-disclosure: revealing personal information about yourself in a romantic relationship

  aim:

  • increase intimacy
  • increase understanding
  • increase empathy

  all under the condition that self-disclosure is reciprocal

  • romantic partners reveal more about their true selves as the relationship develops and can strengthen a romantic bond when used appropriately
• self-disclosure

  social penetration theory: the gradual process of revealing your inner self to someone else, involving the reciprocal exchange of information:

  • one person reveals personal info as they display trust
  • trust develops when the other partner reveals sensitive information
  • romantic partners penetrate more deeply into each other's lives
• • self disclosure consists of breadth & depth
  • as both increases, partners become more committed to each other
  • able to unveil deeper and more meaningful insight of who their partner is
• self-disclosure breadth & depth:

  • low-risk information is revealed at first - narrow breadth as many topics are off limits in the early stages as it could threaten the relationship development
  • eventually, we are prepared to reveal intimate, high-risk information
• breadth & depth: reis & shaver

  • for a relationship to develop and in increase in depth & breadth, there needs to be a reciprocal element to disclosure
  • once you've disclosed something, you hope your partner will respond in a way that is rewarding, with understanding and their own intimate thoughts -> there should be a balance of self-disclosure between partners
• evaluation of self-disclosure

  + sprecher et al: supporting research

  • interested in whether reciprocal self-disclosure was more influential than extended reciprocity (one-sided)
  • 156 undergrad pairs; Condition 1: reciprocal; Condition 2: non-reciprocal
  • found that individuals in the reciprocal condition reported more liking, closeness, similarities and enjoyment in the interactions, than the non-reciprocal condition
  • suggests that taking turns in self-disclosure reciprocity is more likely to lead to positive interpersonal outcomes
• evaluation of self-disclosure

  + hass & stafford: real-life application - high ecological validity

  • can be applied to real-life relationships for people who want to improve communication, increases intimacy and strengthen a bond
  • 57% of gay men & women said that open & honest self-disclosure was the main way they maintained and deepened their committed relationships
• evaluation of self-disclosure

  -- tang et al: limited explanation & lacks population validity/culture bias

  • the prediction that increasing depth & breadth of self-disclosure will lead to more satisfying relationships is not true for all cultures
  • it depends on the type of self-disclosure
  • conducted meta-analysis and found that men & women in the US (individualistic) self-discloses more sexual thoughts and feelings than men & women in China (collectivist)
  • limited explanation in romantic relationships as it's based on findings from western, individualistic culture -> ungeneralisable
• evaluation of self-disclosure

  -- sprecher & hendrick: methodological issues in correlational studies

  • causal conclusions can't be made - just because there's a correlation between satisfaction & self-disclosure, it doesn't mean that the former causes the latter
  • cause & effect cannot be established, and there may be a 3rd, unstudied variable that can affect the outcome e.g. the age difference between each couple
  • correlational studies can't be relied upon
• evaluation of self-disclosure

  -- self-disclosure is correlational

  • although it is usually assumed that greater self-disclosure created more satisfaction, a correlation doesn't tell us if this is a valid conclusion to draw
• evaluation of self-disclosure

  + Laureceau et al

  • found that on the daily basis of diary entries, high levels of intimacy and trust were strongly associated or correlated with high levels of self-disclosure in married couples
  • this suggests that depth & breadth of self-disclosure is strongly predicative of the intimacy and quality of romantic relationships, which supports the validity of the social penetration theory as an indicator of relationship quality
• physical attractiveness is an important factor in forming romantic relationships, referring to how appealing we find someone’s face. we seek to form relationships with the most attractive person available. Shackleford & Larsen: people with symmetrical faces are rated as more attractive, as it gives an honest signal of genetic fitness. People are attracted to neotenous features – ‘baby face’ - as it triggers an aggressive & protective trait in men, which gives the female an evolutionary advantage of increasing her risk of survival and reproduction
• Walster: matching hypothesis

  states that we resort to common-sense which tell us we can't all form relationships with the most physically attractive, as there isn't enough of them & to avoid rejection. as a realistic alternative, we choose a romantic partner that's similar in attractiveness to ourselves. this relies on accurate assessment of one's own attractiveness and value, so that we have a mate that is of similar attractiveness to us, reducing the likelihood of rejection from a seemingly unattainable individual
• +- Walster: matching hypothesis (method)

  • A computer dance for students was advertised by researchers
  • 177 M & 170 F - randomly selected
  • When collecting tickets, 4 student judges rated their physical attractiveness
  • ppts done a questionnaire on personality, intelligence etc and then done another one about their dates with follow up questionnaires 6 months later
• +- Walster: matching hypothesis findings

  • found that once the participants had met their dates, regardless of their own physical attractiveness, they responded more positively to physically attractive dates + were more likely to arrange future dates
  • The findings didn’t support the matching hypothesis, but did support physical attractiveness and the halo effect 
• + Murstein: matching hypothesis

  • 197 university couples who were together or engaged
  • Physical attractiveness was measured by self-perception, perception of the partner & appearance judged from photos
  • Found that actual couples were significantly less discrepant on self-perception and physical attractiveness compared to a control group of scores from randomly matched males and females
  • This supports that people tend to choose martial partners of comparable physical attractiveness to themselves
• halo effect

  The halo effect: we have a tendency to associate highly attractive people with preconceived disproportionately positive characteristics, including personality and wealth, even though these factors may not be linked

  • physical attractiveness plays a part in our preconceived ideas about personality traits -> perceive attractive people to have good traits
  • more likely to view attractive people as trustworthy, kind, and successful

  this is a self-fulfilling prophecy as these characteristics makes us more attracted to them and behaved more positively towards them
• + palmer & peterson

  • physically attractive people were rated as more politically knowledgeable and competent
  • implications for the political process and dangers for democracy if politicians are judged on physical attractiveness
• + cummingham: what is considered physically attractive is consistent across cultures

  • highly attractive female features: large eyes, prominent cheekbones, small nose, high eyebrows

  + wheeler & kim: korean & US students judged attractive people as more trustworthy, concerned for others, mature and friendly

  --> supports nature-nurture as attraction is as a result of biology: universal findings suggest that using attractiveness as a decisive factor for partner is a genetically reproduced mechanism
• -- beta bias: physical attractiveness

  • meltzer found that men rate their long-term relationships more satisfying if their partner is physically attractive, whereas for women, attractiveness didn't have a significant impact on relationship satisfaction
  • beta biased as it assumes that men & women are similar in their view of the importance of physical attractiveness
  • there's significant gender differences in how important appearance is for attraction
• -+ nomothetic approach: physical attractiveness

  • tries to generate universal behavioural laws applicable to all people
  • there are significant individual differences in the importance of physical attractiveness to one's choice of partner
  • explanations based on the idiographic approach may be more appropriate for studying romantic relationships
• -- research against physical attractiveness: taylor

  • found that online daters sought meeting potential partners that were more physically attractive than them and they didn't consider their own attractiveness level in making decisions on who to date
  • limited real life applicability of the matching hypothesis
• -- research to support individual differences in physical attractiveness: towhey

  • found that participants who scored highly on a questionnaire about sexist attitudes and behaviours were more influenced by physical attractiveness and those who scored lower were less sensitive to this influence
  • suggests that the effect of physical attractiveness are moderated by other factors, such as sexism, challenging the notion that it's only physical attractiveness that is consideration in romantic relationships