Zusammenfassung der Ressource
Relationships:
Formation, Maintenance,
Breakdown and Culture
- Formation and Maintenance
- Reward/need for satisfaction
theory: We form relationships to
receive rewards from others.
- Relationships are positively
reinforced because it is
rewarding.
- Rewards: Sex, status, approval,
love, money, respect. They
Satisfy our social needs
(self-esteem, dependency).
- Byrne Et al (1970) Suggested that
both operant and classical
conditioning play a part in
relationships. We learn to
associate people with positive
situations.
- Equity Theory: People
expect relationships to be
fair and equal
- People want to receive rewards from
relationships that are in balance with
the ones they give back. If a
relationship is un equal it produces
distress in both partners (including
the one giving less). The
disadvantaged party may then try to
make things fairer.
- Hatfield Et al (1979): asked newly
weds to assess their contribution
to the relationship and their
contentment with their marriage.
Found that the least satisfied were
those Under benefited second least
satisfied were people over
benefited. This shows equal
relationships were the most
satisfactory
- Breakdown
- Duck (1988): Four stage model of the ending of a relationship
- Intra-psychic phase:
One partner becomes
dissatisfied with the
relationship
- Dyadic phase: The
other partner is
told about the
dissatisfaction
- Social phase: The break
up is made public to
friends and family
(relationship can still be
saved here, with
interventions or martial
support
- Grave dressing phase: finishing
the relationship completely. Ex
partners organize their lives
post-relationship. They tell
their own version of the
break-up and of their current
relationship with their ex.
- Theory doesn't take into
account individual differences
and research suggests these
models don't show how
complex relationship
breakdown can be
- Theories don't consider cultural differences in relationships
- Rusbult Et al (1983) Argued some people in
relationships actively lead the process (to
resolve the problems or speed up the
ending) others are passive (believing things
will resolve themselves)
- Culture
- I-individualistic
T-temporary V- Volunteer
C-collectivist
O-obligatory-P-permanent
- Duration
- Relationships are more likely to
be permanent in non
Western-cultures. In Western
societies, we are more likely to
split up and have new
relationships
- Marriage
- Arranged marriages are associated with
collectivist cultures and involve whole families.
(seem to be more stable than ones based on
love)
- Levine Et al (1995) found a higher percentage of people
from collectivist societies would marry a person with
the right qualities whom they didn't love, compared to
individualistic societies.
- Divorce
- Goodwin (1999) calculated US divorce rate to be 40-50%
- However Chinese regard divorce as
shameful to the families involved
and the effected couple- fewer
marriages end in divorce. Beginning
to change due to westernisation