relationships aqa a2 psychology

RELATIONSHIPS

Formation

Maintenance                    Breakdown  Reward / Need satisfaction theory – Byrne and clone Attraction through reward and punishment = operant conditioning

·         Behaviourist theory of relationship formation motivated to seek rewarding stimuli. What we find rewarding reflects our unmet needs

·         Rewarding stimuli produces positive feelings. Operant conditioning = repeat behaviours for outcome

·         More likely to meet people of you’re in a good mood. Neutral stimulus can become positively valued due to association

Positive reinforcement = fun company, family, reflects unmet needs

Negative reinforcement = removal of stress if you are upset and the stress is removed through support

Similarity – Byrne clore and Smeaton

Berscheild and reis = more likely to be attracted to people who have similar personality traits

Capsi and herbener = married couples with similar personalities tend to be happier

Attitude alignment occurs when partners disagree they modify their attitudes to become similar

A02 – Rosenbaum suggests dissimilarity is more important than similarity in relationship formation.

Social exchange theory – Tribaut and Kelly

All social behaviour is a series of exchanges that individuals use to maximise rewards and minimise costs. People exchange resources with expectation that they will earn profit.

Profit and loss = rewards could be being cared for, companionship or sex. Costs are effort, financial investment and time wasted.

Comparison level = Tibaut and Kelly proposed that we develop a comparison level this is a result of our previous experiences

If the potential profit in a new relationship exceeds our comparison level it will be judged as worthwhile. Comparison level of alternatives = person weighs up potential increase in rewards from a different partner minus costs.

A02

Profit and loss = Rusbult and Martz = when investments are high and alternatives are low, this could still be considered a profit situation and a woman might choose to remain in such an abusive relationship

Comparison level = Support can be found in looking at how people in a relationship deal with potential alternatives – can deal with them by reducing potential threats

Simpson et al = rated alternatives and people in a relationship gave lower ratings

Social exchange theory has been criticised for focusing too much on individuals perspective and ignoring social aspects of relationships eg communication. The theory has a selfish nature and it generalises individualist cultures.

Maintenance of romantic relationships

Equity theory – Walser et al

Inequality and distress = in social exchange theory all behaviour is a series of exchanges that minimise attempting to maximise rewards and risk.

Equity theory is an extension of the underlying belief assuming people strive to achieve fairness in a relationship. People will feel distressed if they feel the relationship is unfair.

In equity theory any kind of inequality has the potential to cause distress. The same is true for those who receive a great deal and give little in return. Inequitable relationship leads to dissatisfaction, the greater the perceived inequality the greater the dissatisfaction.

Ratio of inputs and outputs = equity does not necessarily mean equality. What is considered fair in terms of input and output is a subjective opinion. This is explained in terms of a person’s perceived ratio of inputs and a subjective assessment of relative outputs.

Equitable relationship = partners benefits minus costs = their partners benefits less their costs

A02

 Exchange and communal relationships

Clarke and Mills disagreed with the claim that all relationships are based on economics. They distinguished between exchange relationships and communal relationships. Exchange involves keeping track of costs and rewards but communal are governed by desire to respond to needs.

This disagrees with social exchange / equity theory and argues things will balance out in long run

BREAKDOWN OF RELATIONSHIPS

Duck:

·         Lack of skills – lack interpersonal skills, lack of social skills, others perceive them as not interesting

·         Lack of stimulation – in social exchange theory people look for rewards lack of stimulation could be boredom

·         Maintenance difficulties – can have a strain if don’t see each other e.g. long distance relationship

A01 Sexual selection – evolutionary

To enhance sexually reproducing species males are more brightly coloured to attract females this can be seen in the design of a peacock.

Intra sexual selection = mate competition. Members of one sex usually male compete with each other to access members of the other sex. The winner (victor) is able to mate and so sex contents passed onto next generation.

Intersexual selection = mate choice form of selection involves preferences of one sex. Men seek sex earlier in relationship

Short term mating preferences = men lower standards

Long term mate preferences = invest heavily poor mate choice would result in loss of valuable resources. Females attracted to physical protection. Females can only have one child a year.

Parental investment in relationships

Males can opt out of parental investment in a way that females can’t. Parental investment theory = sex that males larger investment will be more sexually discriminating. The sex that makes a smaller investment is competing for access to higher investing sex

Females invest more in offspring = more discriminating in choice of partner and males compete with other males for access to higher investing females

Parental investment = anything that parents put into children such as money, time, resources, these increase chances of survival at the expense that parents can’t invest in any other offspring. Parental investment may also be time spent protecting young and risks taken to protect them.

Male attitudes to parenting might be shaped using evolutionary explanations of parental investment. Cuckoldry = investing resources in a child which is not your own. Infidelity = cheating on your partner.

A01

Influence of childhood on adult relationships

Attachment

What we experience as romantic love in adulthood is a mixture of 3 behavioural systems acquired in infancy = attachment, care giving and sexuality systems. Attachment is related to an internal working model by bowlby, the model can lead to attachment disorders.

Child abuse

Physical abuse in childhood can lead to depression and anxiety. Sexual abuse has been associated with psychological impairment in adulthood. It could also affect trust and isolation from others.

Interaction with peers

Childhood friendships

Children learn from experiences with other children. The way a child thinks about themselves is determined by specific experiences which are internalised. Friendships are training grounds for adult relationships.

Adolescent relationships

Attachment shifts from parents to peers. Romantic relationships redirect intense interpersonal energy towards a romantic partner. Relationships allow emotional and physical intimacy. Dating in adolescent is advantageous can also become maladaptive.

A02

Support parental relationships

Frayley meta analysis = there is a relationship between attachment style and later adult relationships. They found correlations from 10 to 50, one reason for low correlation is because insecure anxious attachment is more unstable.

Childhood abuse

Berenson and Anderson support the claim abused children have a difficult time developing adult relationships. Women who had been abused in childhood displayed negative reactions towards another person but only with people who reminded them of their abusive parents. = Process could lead to individuals using inappropriately learned behaviours.