Argue that although there is a wide "field of availabilities", we use the "field of desirabilities" to become attracted
Stages of Filter Theory:
Social Demography - who we come into contact with, sharing similar characteristics e.g. class, education
Similarity in Attitudes - core values, more attractive, encourage self disclosure
Complementarity - provide for emotional needs, fit eachothers strengths/weaknesses
(+) A03: Kirchoff + Davies (1962)
Longitudinal study of student couples
Found similarity of attitudes was the most important factor for short term relationships
Found complementarity was most important for long term relationships
(-) A03: Alternative Explanation
Attraction could be that people initially pick incompatible partners with different attitudes, and the long term values converge over time as partners communicate, finding roles in the relationship
(-) A03: Temporal Validity
Lacks temporal validity due to societies views changing due to attitudes, gloablisation and migration, alongside the introduction of dating apps which eliminate social demography
