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Relationships

Explore the factors and theories that influence relationship formation, maintenance, and breakdown. Learn about proximity, similarity, social exchange theory, learning theory, cognitive influences, and more.

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Relationships

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  1. Relationships • Formation • Who do we get together with? • Maintenance • What keeps relationships going? • Breakdown • Why do relationships fail?

  2. Formation • Proximity • We are more likely to form a relationship with someone we live near, work with etc. • Familiarity • The more time we spend with someone, the more likely we will form a relationship • Similarity • We tend to form relationships with people like us psychlotron.org.uk

  3. Formation • Similarity important because • We like to share activities • Facilitates communication • Economic theories • We want the best/more intelligent/most attractive partner • We also know our own ‘market value’, so we pitch our efforts at the ‘best possible’, rather than the most desirable psychlotron.org.uk

  4. Maintenance • Social psychological theories dominated by economic view • Relationships seen as being based on exchange of ‘goods’ psychlotron.org.uk

  5. Maintenance • Social Exchange Theory (Thibaut & Kelly) • Relationship satisfaction = ‘profit’ i.e. getting more out than you put in • Sampling • Bargaining • Commitment • Institutionalisation • Equity Theory (Walster) • Relationship satisfaction = ‘equity’ i.e. fairness, balancing ‘income’ with ‘expenditure’ psychlotron.org.uk

  6. Other Approaches • Learning theory • Relationships based on reinforcement • Cognitive • Relationships based on understanding, predictability & avoiding dissonance • Evolutionary • Relationships based on need to pass on genes; balance between producing many offspring (male) and securing investment of resources (female) psychlotron.org.uk

  7. Breakdown • Economic view • Mismatch between investment and return • Better option appears elsewhere • Learning view • Lack of positive reinforcement • Negative stimuli (boredom, conflict etc.) psychlotron.org.uk

  8. Breakdown • Cognitive view • Imbalance due to inconsistent attitudes (e.g. why s/he still friendly with ex?) • Evolutionary • Lots of advantages for infidelity; relationships break down when you get caught psychlotron.org.uk

  9. Breakdown • Risk factors (Duck, 1992) • Young when got married • Lower SES & education • Different demographic backgrounds • Parental divorce • Dissatisfaction  confrontation  negotiation  ‘grave-dressing’ psychlotron.org.uk

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