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factors affecting attraction in romantic relationships - Coggle Diagram
factors affecting attraction in romantic relationships
self disclosure
social penetration theory
states that as relationships develop, communication moves from relatively shallow, non-intimate levels to deeper, more personal ones
suggests that we reveal information in layers starting with biographical information then preferences in clothes and music through to revealing our deeply held fears and self-conept.
voluntary sharing of private aspects of the self with another person
important process in development of romantic relationships
greater disclosure leading to greater feelings of intimacy
People tend to prefer those who disclose intimate details to those who disclose themselves to a lesser extent
, people reveal more intimate information to those they like and also tend to like those they have revealed information
reciprocity
Once a person has disclosed something about themselves to their partner, this increases trust and imtimacy and often their partner will also self-disclose some personal information
evaluation
strength- meta analysis supports the central role that self-disclosure plays in the development and maintenance of romantic relationships. They found that people who engage in intimate disclosures tend to be liked more than people who disclose at lower levels, and people like others as a result of having disclosed to them.
limitations- not only factor affecting attraction. filter theory
physical attractiveness/ matching hypothesis
physical attractiveness
how appealing we find a persons face
general agreement within and across cultures about what is considered physically attractive
research found people with symmetrical faces are rated as more attractive. honest sign as genetic fitness as difficult to fake facial symmetry
matching hypothesis
claims people look for partner who has same level of attractiveness as themselves.
due to fear of rejection people have realistic choices influenced by what they want and probability of other person saying yes
makes 2 predictions
the more attractive an individual is, the more attractive they would expect their partner to be
couples who are matched in attractiveness will be happier and more likely to stay together than those who are mismatched
evaluation
research support- asked 99 real couples and 98 fake couples to rate themselves on attractiveness. independent judge also asked to rate couples. for those in real relationship there was a strong positive correlation between the attractiveness of 2 partners.
limitation- doesn't appear to be reliable in predicting relationship formation as many ppl compensate for attractiveness with other qualities such as intellect or sociability- known as complex matching.
filter theory
similarity in attitudes
people tend to view others as more attractive if they share the same core beliefs and values.
similarity of attitudes is especially important in earlier stages of relationships, for couples who have been together fewer than 18 months
presence of similarities is discovered through self disclosure, which leads to greater feelings of intimacy
complementarity
refers to each of the partners having some traits that the other partner lacks and helping each other ro fulfil their needs
is an appealing notion for partners as it appears that the coming together of two halves created a whole in the union of their relationship
similarity of interests, attitudes and personality traits were very important for couples at the beginning of relationships, and complementarity of needs had more impact on long-term relationships
social demographic
physical proximity, level of education, social class and religion
important bc ppl more likely to build relationships with ppl who are geographically close and gives them greater chance to find out more about each other given greater accessibility
find similarity in social demography attractive as gives assurance relationship more likely to move forward
theory proposed that there are a series of 'filters' that operate at different stages of forming a relationship
evaluation
research support- partners considering marriage were asked about personalities and attitudes. follow up survey 7 months later found couples who had been together for less than 18 months were more likely to have progressed towards permanent partnership if they had similar values. among couples together for more than 18 months it was couples who had complementary needs who were more likely to have progressed towards a permanent partnership. demonstrates importance of similarity as an initial factor affecting attraction
limitation- later research failed to replicate original findings. another researcher replicated study across other universities but their results didn't support the theory. found no significant difference over time in correlation between relationship progress and either sharing values or having complementary needs. criticises filter theory