DESCRIBE AND EVALUATE ONE OR MORE THEORIES OF ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS
There are many theories of romantic relationships such as Duck’s phase model and
Rusbuldt’s investment model. Rusbuldt model of commitment in a romantic relationship
proposes that three factors contribute to the level of commitment in a relationship:
Satisfaction level, investment size and commitment level. Satisfaction level refers to how
much each partner fulfils the other’s needs. Investment size refers to the quantity of
investments made in the relationship. Commitment level refers to the likelihood the
relationship will continue. In new romantic relationships partners tend to have high levels of
commitment but, as the relationship continues the factors may change resulting in lower
levels of commitment. Ducks phase model describes breaks up as a 4-step process: Intra-
psychic, dyadic, social and grave dressing. The Intra-psychic phase is where one partner has
doubts about the relationship. The Dyadic phase is where both partners are now aware of
the doubts and decide whether it makes or breaks the relationship. The social phase is
where the breakup is now public knowledge, gossip is exchanged, and friends chose sides.
The grave dressing phase is where each partner tells their side of the story which shows
them in a good light and maintains face.
One piece of evidence to support Rusbuldt investment model comes from Agnew’s who did
a meta-analysis of studies relating to similar investment models and found that satisfaction,
comparison with alternatives and investment were all strong indicators of commitment to a
relationship. The importance of these factors was the same across cultures, genders, and
applied to homosexual relationships suggesting that the level of commitment depends on
Rusbuldt’s three factors no matter the type of relationship is under question. However,
many of the studies relating to investment in relationship rely on self-report technique
which is often a less reliable and overly subjective method.
One piece of evidence to support Ducks phase model is that it has intuitive appeal as it’s the
widely accepted order of events after one partner starts to have doubts in western society.
However, the research is culturally biased as often in other cultures, the two partners have
little to no say in the formation of relationships let alone if there was to be a break down.
Arranged marriages make Duck’s phase model lack validity and reliability because if it was
carried out in another culture the findings would enormously differ and it would be difficult
to collect evidence as break ups are scarce.
A final piece of evidence to support Duck’s phase model is that in a following study Duck
found the original models’ steps were in fact the sequential steps of a breakup giving the
model validity and reliability as the same results were obtained when tested again in a
different way. However, a criticism of the original model is that, in another study,
psychologists found that there was a fifth step in the breakup process which they named the
resurrection phase. This phase happened when Ex partners may get back together after a
breakup suggesting the model isn’t a complete description of the ending of a relationship.
There are many theories of romantic relationships such as Duck’s phase model and
Rusbuldt’s investment model. Rusbuldt model of commitment in a romantic relationship
proposes that three factors contribute to the level of commitment in a relationship:
Satisfaction level, investment size and commitment level. Satisfaction level refers to how
much each partner fulfils the other’s needs. Investment size refers to the quantity of
investments made in the relationship. Commitment level refers to the likelihood the
relationship will continue. In new romantic relationships partners tend to have high levels of
commitment but, as the relationship continues the factors may change resulting in lower
levels of commitment. Ducks phase model describes breaks up as a 4-step process: Intra-
psychic, dyadic, social and grave dressing. The Intra-psychic phase is where one partner has
doubts about the relationship. The Dyadic phase is where both partners are now aware of
the doubts and decide whether it makes or breaks the relationship. The social phase is
where the breakup is now public knowledge, gossip is exchanged, and friends chose sides.
The grave dressing phase is where each partner tells their side of the story which shows
them in a good light and maintains face.
One piece of evidence to support Rusbuldt investment model comes from Agnew’s who did
a meta-analysis of studies relating to similar investment models and found that satisfaction,
comparison with alternatives and investment were all strong indicators of commitment to a
relationship. The importance of these factors was the same across cultures, genders, and
applied to homosexual relationships suggesting that the level of commitment depends on
Rusbuldt’s three factors no matter the type of relationship is under question. However,
many of the studies relating to investment in relationship rely on self-report technique
which is often a less reliable and overly subjective method.
One piece of evidence to support Ducks phase model is that it has intuitive appeal as it’s the
widely accepted order of events after one partner starts to have doubts in western society.
However, the research is culturally biased as often in other cultures, the two partners have
little to no say in the formation of relationships let alone if there was to be a break down.
Arranged marriages make Duck’s phase model lack validity and reliability because if it was
carried out in another culture the findings would enormously differ and it would be difficult
to collect evidence as break ups are scarce.
A final piece of evidence to support Duck’s phase model is that in a following study Duck
found the original models’ steps were in fact the sequential steps of a breakup giving the
model validity and reliability as the same results were obtained when tested again in a
different way. However, a criticism of the original model is that, in another study,
psychologists found that there was a fifth step in the breakup process which they named the
resurrection phase. This phase happened when Ex partners may get back together after a
breakup suggesting the model isn’t a complete description of the ending of a relationship.
