filter theory

• INTRO

  PROPOSED BY KERCKHOFF AND DAVIS

  • claimed individuals start with a large field of available which are filtered down into a field of desirables. this is done through three filters - social demography, similarity in attitudes and complementarity
• SOCIAL DEMOGRAPHY

  -individual filters a person down based on several factors such as proximity, job, class and religion etc. being in close proximity is likely to make a relationship more likely to happen as they can have more regular access to each other and potentially share more similarities.

  sharing similar social demographic features means they are more likely to find eachother attractive
• SIMILARITY IN ATTITUDES

  • this is only important in finding a person attractive within the first 18 months of a relationship
  • sharing same beliefs on love, sex, religion etc
  • more similarities in beliefs means couple will be more compatible
  • if partners disagree and don't have similar attitudes relationship is likely to end as there is a lack of compatibility
• COMPLEMENTARITY

  • complementarity is key to a more long term relationship and may not be as important in a short term one - individual has filtered options down and assesses their field of desirables
  • it essentially makes a couple become a 'whole' rather than two separate individuals
  • each partner may bring something to the relationship that the other person can't such as being able to cook or garden and this essentially complements each other
• A03

  — Filter theory may lack temporal validity. e.g online dating has made our ‘field of desirables’ larger as we are not restricted by social demographics, such as proximity and social class, as we have the ability to communicate with potential partners before meeting them. This means that filter theory may lack temporal validity because it can only explain relationship formation before technological advancements . Nonetheless, it is not completely invalid as an explanation for relationship formation, yet may not be fully accurate in depicting relationship formation in current times
• A03

  + supportive evidence by winch proposes that filter theory is an important predictor of the progression and initial development of a relationship. He found that initial similarities in beliefs and attitudes were one of the main attractive features in the partners of respondents. this is in line with the predictions made by the matching hypothesis. This increases the validity of filter theory, supporting the narrowing down of fields of desirables thus showing that even in the modern age, filter theory and the matching hypothesis are still valid explanations of relationship formation.
• A03

  -theory suffers from cultural relativism - it suggests that individuals have an aspect of free will and choice when choosing a partner. however, while this is the case in individualistic cultures, it is not always the case in collectivist cultures. for example, people of certain religions may have an arranged marriage whereby family members choose a suitable partner for the individual. this therefore means that the filter theory doesn't account for deterministic aspects of relationship formation therefore lacking generalisability and consistency to all cultures