Relationships
sychologist names =Red
P
Statistics =Purple
Examples =Green
Important terminology/ information =Orange
,Relationships
Describe and evaluate the evolutionary explanation for partner preferences (16)
Describe and evaluate physical attraction being a factor of attraction (16)
Describe and evaluate self-disclosure being a factor of attraction (16)
Describe and evaluate filter theory as a factor of attraction (16)
Describe and evaluate the social exchange theory (16)
Describe and evaluate the equity theory (16)
Describe and evaluate the Rusbult’s Investment Model (16)
Describe and evaluate Duck’s Phase Model (16)
Discuss what psychological research has told us about virtual relationships in social media (16)
Discuss what gating in virtual relationships in social media (8)
Discuss what psychological research has told us about parasocial relationships (16)
,Describe and evaluate the evolutionary explanation for partner preferences (16)
A01 - arwinstates that people desire a partner that hascharacteristics that aid successful reproduction.
D
- e.g. males who behave aggressively (and who have greater chances of protecting their female) will be
advantageous for sexual selection.
- Anisogamy- the differences between male and femalesex cells (gametes). Male gametes are created in
vast numbers and do not need much energy to be produced. Conversely, female gametes are produced at
intervals for a limited number of fertile years and require a significant investment of energy. Therefore,
women are more picky than men because they have to utilise their eggs wisely.
- Thus explaining why men also have a greater preference for casual sex
- Men should seek young, fertile women who are able to bear their children
- Conversely, women should seek a good provider for her and her children (to maximise chances of survival)
- Fisherproposes the'sexy sons hypothesis', whichstates that women will choose mates with certain
desirable traits because those traits will increase the likelihood that their male offspring will inherit these
qualities and, in turn, attract mates themselves.
- Inter-sexual selection- Between sexes, when one sexselects mates based on certain desirable traits in the
opposite sex
- Intra-sexual selection- within each sex, strategiesthe same sex uses to compete with each other for access
to mates
A03 S upporting research - ussexplored what males and females look for in amarriage partner for 10,000+
B
for evolutionary theory people from 37 cultures.
-Buss/ Clarke and - The results supported the evolutionary explanations as women wanted good
Hatfield
financial prospects whilst men desired physically attractive women.
- This idea was supported byClarke and Hatfieldfoundthat75% of males were
willing to have sex with an attractive stranger, but no females were
- Men also wanted younger women, an indication of fertility.
- These results were apparent in all cultures, hence suggesting it is innate.
Issues withBuss’ - owever,Bussstudied information about expressedmate choices, this may be
H
methodology different to actual mate choice, thus suggesting a validity problem.
- Real-life mate choice can be influenced by factors like availability, personal
circumstances, or societal constraints, which are not fully captured in
self-reported data.
T he evolutionary - It simplifies complex human behaviours and relationships to basic biological and
theory is reductionist - reproductive drives, often ignoring the influence of psychological, emotional, and
it overlooks the role of social factors.
cultural and economic
- For example, in cultures with greater gender equality, women may place less
factors in shaping mate
preferences. - emphasis on financial resources as they have access to wealth.
- This social change has consequences for women’s partner preferences, which
may no longer be resource-oriented.
- Changing societal norms, such as increasing acceptance of same-sex relationships
or the role of contraception, also challenge the universality of evolutionary
preferences.
, Describe and evaluate physical attraction being a factor of attraction (16)
A01 - altserproposed the matching hypothesis and believedthat people choose romantic partners
W
who have roughly similar physical attractiveness.
- If we partner with someone of similar physical attractiveness, the chances of having our
affections reciprocated are higher.
- Waltseradvertised adance for new students at a university,177 males and 170 females.
- They were secretly judged by accomplices and rated for physical attractiveness.
- They then completed a questionnaire assessing other traits,e.g. intelligence.
- They were told this information would allocate their ideal partner, but they were random. They
then completed a second questionnaire about their dates. The findings did not support the MH.
- People responded more favourably to physically attractive dates, regardless of their own physical
attractiveness and were more likely to arrange subsequent dates.
A03 esearch support of
R - S tudies on real dating couples support the matching hypothesis.
the matching - Mursteincollected photos of99 dating couples andcompared them
hypothesis - with randomly paired males and females.
Murstein
- The real couples were consistently rated as more alike in levels of
attractiveness than those who had been randomly paired.
esearch contention
R - T aylor et al.studied the activity logs of populardating sites.
for the matching - This was a real-life test of the MH as it measured actual date choices, not
hypothesis -Taylor merely preferences.
et al.
- Online daters sought meetings with potential partners who were more
attractive than them.
- However, individuals who specifically targeted similarly attractive
individuals were more likely to receive responses to their messages.
- However, does online dating truly represent real life, people tend not to
go for people 'out of their league' due to fear of rejection in real life
Individual - T here is evidence that some people just do not seem to attach much
differences about importance to physical attractiveness.
the importance of - E.g,Touheyasked male and female participants torate how much they
physical attraction -
would like a target individual based on their photograph and some
Touhey
biographical information.
- The participants also completed a questionnaire –the MACHO scale–
designed to measure sexist attitudes and behaviours.
- Touheyfound that the participants who scored lowon the MACHO scale
were relatively uninfluenced by the physical attractiveness of the target
when making their judgement of likeability.
- High scorers were much more sensitive to this influence.
- This shows that the effects of physical attractiveness can be moderated
by other factors, so challenges the notion that it is a significant
consideration in relationship formation for all potential partners.
sychologist names =Red
P
Statistics =Purple
Examples =Green
Important terminology/ information =Orange
,Relationships
Describe and evaluate the evolutionary explanation for partner preferences (16)
Describe and evaluate physical attraction being a factor of attraction (16)
Describe and evaluate self-disclosure being a factor of attraction (16)
Describe and evaluate filter theory as a factor of attraction (16)
Describe and evaluate the social exchange theory (16)
Describe and evaluate the equity theory (16)
Describe and evaluate the Rusbult’s Investment Model (16)
Describe and evaluate Duck’s Phase Model (16)
Discuss what psychological research has told us about virtual relationships in social media (16)
Discuss what gating in virtual relationships in social media (8)
Discuss what psychological research has told us about parasocial relationships (16)
,Describe and evaluate the evolutionary explanation for partner preferences (16)
A01 - arwinstates that people desire a partner that hascharacteristics that aid successful reproduction.
D
- e.g. males who behave aggressively (and who have greater chances of protecting their female) will be
advantageous for sexual selection.
- Anisogamy- the differences between male and femalesex cells (gametes). Male gametes are created in
vast numbers and do not need much energy to be produced. Conversely, female gametes are produced at
intervals for a limited number of fertile years and require a significant investment of energy. Therefore,
women are more picky than men because they have to utilise their eggs wisely.
- Thus explaining why men also have a greater preference for casual sex
- Men should seek young, fertile women who are able to bear their children
- Conversely, women should seek a good provider for her and her children (to maximise chances of survival)
- Fisherproposes the'sexy sons hypothesis', whichstates that women will choose mates with certain
desirable traits because those traits will increase the likelihood that their male offspring will inherit these
qualities and, in turn, attract mates themselves.
- Inter-sexual selection- Between sexes, when one sexselects mates based on certain desirable traits in the
opposite sex
- Intra-sexual selection- within each sex, strategiesthe same sex uses to compete with each other for access
to mates
A03 S upporting research - ussexplored what males and females look for in amarriage partner for 10,000+
B
for evolutionary theory people from 37 cultures.
-Buss/ Clarke and - The results supported the evolutionary explanations as women wanted good
Hatfield
financial prospects whilst men desired physically attractive women.
- This idea was supported byClarke and Hatfieldfoundthat75% of males were
willing to have sex with an attractive stranger, but no females were
- Men also wanted younger women, an indication of fertility.
- These results were apparent in all cultures, hence suggesting it is innate.
Issues withBuss’ - owever,Bussstudied information about expressedmate choices, this may be
H
methodology different to actual mate choice, thus suggesting a validity problem.
- Real-life mate choice can be influenced by factors like availability, personal
circumstances, or societal constraints, which are not fully captured in
self-reported data.
T he evolutionary - It simplifies complex human behaviours and relationships to basic biological and
theory is reductionist - reproductive drives, often ignoring the influence of psychological, emotional, and
it overlooks the role of social factors.
cultural and economic
- For example, in cultures with greater gender equality, women may place less
factors in shaping mate
preferences. - emphasis on financial resources as they have access to wealth.
- This social change has consequences for women’s partner preferences, which
may no longer be resource-oriented.
- Changing societal norms, such as increasing acceptance of same-sex relationships
or the role of contraception, also challenge the universality of evolutionary
preferences.
, Describe and evaluate physical attraction being a factor of attraction (16)
A01 - altserproposed the matching hypothesis and believedthat people choose romantic partners
W
who have roughly similar physical attractiveness.
- If we partner with someone of similar physical attractiveness, the chances of having our
affections reciprocated are higher.
- Waltseradvertised adance for new students at a university,177 males and 170 females.
- They were secretly judged by accomplices and rated for physical attractiveness.
- They then completed a questionnaire assessing other traits,e.g. intelligence.
- They were told this information would allocate their ideal partner, but they were random. They
then completed a second questionnaire about their dates. The findings did not support the MH.
- People responded more favourably to physically attractive dates, regardless of their own physical
attractiveness and were more likely to arrange subsequent dates.
A03 esearch support of
R - S tudies on real dating couples support the matching hypothesis.
the matching - Mursteincollected photos of99 dating couples andcompared them
hypothesis - with randomly paired males and females.
Murstein
- The real couples were consistently rated as more alike in levels of
attractiveness than those who had been randomly paired.
esearch contention
R - T aylor et al.studied the activity logs of populardating sites.
for the matching - This was a real-life test of the MH as it measured actual date choices, not
hypothesis -Taylor merely preferences.
et al.
- Online daters sought meetings with potential partners who were more
attractive than them.
- However, individuals who specifically targeted similarly attractive
individuals were more likely to receive responses to their messages.
- However, does online dating truly represent real life, people tend not to
go for people 'out of their league' due to fear of rejection in real life
Individual - T here is evidence that some people just do not seem to attach much
differences about importance to physical attractiveness.
the importance of - E.g,Touheyasked male and female participants torate how much they
physical attraction -
would like a target individual based on their photograph and some
Touhey
biographical information.
- The participants also completed a questionnaire –the MACHO scale–
designed to measure sexist attitudes and behaviours.
- Touheyfound that the participants who scored lowon the MACHO scale
were relatively uninfluenced by the physical attractiveness of the target
when making their judgement of likeability.
- High scorers were much more sensitive to this influence.
- This shows that the effects of physical attractiveness can be moderated
by other factors, so challenges the notion that it is a significant
consideration in relationship formation for all potential partners.
