A03

• X ignores individual differences?

  • as its a stage theory it suggests all rs will go through these phases when they break up
  • but some people may not go through phases in exact same order/each other
  • eg very introvered private person may no go through social phase as dont want to share personal life with everyone
  • extroverted may be incredibly open & wish to share every detail on social media
  • its too simplistic to say all rs go through same stages in exact same way so you cannot generalise to all break ups
• X retrospective?

  • it involves looking back at old rs in order to create stages
  • when doing this people may have forgotten exactly how it happened & over exaggerate when describing elements that led to breakdown of rs especially if they believe they were to blame for breakdown
  • may be inaccurate & could be based on bias as grave dressing phase may cause individual to give false info so cant be sure that stages actually occur in this way
• X socially sensitive?

  • by asking people to look back on their rs it may bring back personal,painful memories which could cause people to become upset & relive traumatic memories
  • people may not give accurate info as they dont want to give all info
  • ? credible
  • due to sensitive nature of research studies into these stages may be subject to ethical implications if its distressing for individual to talk about
• X descriptive not explanatory?

  • as model only describes stages we go through in breakup it doesnt epxlain why we go through these stages
  • or why we dont break up instantly when something goes wrong
  • doesnt explain why stages occur/present any logical reasoning for their seqeunce
  • lack of explanation means we cannot fully understand process of breakdown of romantic rs suggesting its too simplistic as a theory & may be better explanations