Factors affecting attraction: filter theory

• filter theory

  • Kirchoff and Davies (1962) suggested that there are certain limiting factors that affect the choice of partners. We only become attracted to those who pass through a series of filters
• Field of avaialbles 


  all the people who are available to us to start a relationship with
• field of desirables

  • the subset of people within the field of availables that we’d actually like to start a relationship with.
• social demography 


  Social variables such as age, social background, ethnicity, religion, etc. determine the likelihood of individuals meeting and socialising which will in turn influence the likelihood of a relationships being formed.

  We are also more likely to prefer potential partners we share a social demography with as they are more similar to us and we share more in common with them in terms of norms, attitudes and experiences.
• similarity in attitudes


  Psychological variables to do with shared beliefs and attitudes are the best predictor of a relationship becoming stable and these people are seen as more attractive to us. Self Disclosure is essential at this stage to ensure partners really do share genuine similarity
• complementarity


  Rather than having the same traits and attitudes, people are attracted to those that possess traits which the other lacks, thus supporting their emotional needs.

  Both partners being the same may lead to conflict, therefore this is important for the success of long term relationships
• Kirchoff and Davies (1962)

  • studied couples who had been together for more/less than 18 months. Over seven months, couples completed questionnaires based on their views and attitudes which were then compared for similarities.
  • found that similarity of attitudes was the most important factor in the group who had been together for less than 18 months (short-term relationships)
  • found that complementarity was the most important factor in long term relationships . This supports the filter theory suggestion of the importance of attitudes and complementary attraction for romantic partners.
• limitation of Kirchoff + Davies study

  
  

  the study may not be generalisable to populations outside young, American students (culture bias)
• lacks temporal validity


  Some stages of this model may now be seen as less relevant, for example as modern society is much more multicultural and interconnected (by things such as the internet) than in the 1960s, we may now see social demography as less of a barrier to a relationship. This may lead to the criticism that the theory lacks temporal validity
• Davis and Rusbult (2001) and Anderson et al. (2003)


  investigating the second and third levels of the filter theory look at correlation which cannot easily explain causality

  both found that people become more similar in different ways the more time that they spend in a relationship together. So it may be that the relationship leads to an alignment of attitudes, and also a greater complementarity as couples assign each other roles
• (strength) linked explanation


  By including benefits of the partner in providing for emotional needs and complementing potential failings, this links to social exchange theories of relationships more than just a basic physical explanation of attraction