Duck's relationship breakdown

Question 1

what is Duck’s phase model

Answer 1

• explanation of the process people go through when their relationship isnt working
• once a partner becomes dissatisfied, 4 phases occur
• each is marked by one or both partners reaching a threshold (point at which their perception of the relationship changes)

Question 2

order of phases

Answer 2

• intra-psychic phase
• dyadic phase
• break up happens
• social phase
• grave-dressing phase

Question 3

intra-psychic phase

Answer 3

• focuses on cognitive processes
• focus on reasons for dissatisfaction and the partner’s shortcomings as well as weighing up pros and cons of the relationship, including against alternatives
• one person is privately dissatisfied
• consider expressing dissatisfaction to their partner
• may confide in trusted friend
• plans to save relationship are considered
• couple arent talking to each other

Question 4

threshold at the end of intra-psychic phase

Answer 4

• they cant stand it anymore indicating something has to change
• leads them to confront their partner

Question 5

dyadic phase

Answer 5

• focus on interpersonal processes
• there are confrontations involving discussing reasons for the dissatisfaction and the relationship
• these are considered by anxiety, hostility, likely complaints about inequity, resentment over unbalanced roles etc.
• each partner evaluates costs of withdrawing
• there are 2 possible outcomes- either breaking up (as per the threshold coming up) or a renewed desire to repair the relationship

Question 6

threshold at the end of dyadic phase

Answer 6

• they come to the conclusion that they’d be justified to leave the relationship
• leads them to break up (between phases 2 and 3) and then announce it (phase 3)

Question 7

social phase

Answer 7

• break-up occurs between stages 2 and 3
• In stage 3, the break up becomes public (it’s announced)
• Social networks are told.
• person seeks support from their social networks.
• Social networks react differently – some are reassuring (e.g. Suggesting you were always too good for them), some judge (e.g. You don’t seem to have tried very hard to stay together)
• some blame one person, some try to push the relationship towards the bitter end (e.g. They may tell you things they hadn’t before like how they saw your partner with someone else) or repair it (e.g. Acting as a go between)
• Negotiations about practicalities are made e.g. division of assets, childcare responsibilities
• Partners engage in activities aimed at getting over the relationship breakdown

Question 8

threshold at the end of social phase

Answer 8

• they conclude that they definitely mean the break up and have no intention of getting back together
• this leads them to focus on the aftermatch (phase 4)

Question 9

grave-dressing phase

Answer 9

• focuses on the aftermath
• The relationship is buried.
• Breakdown is ‘spun’ into a favourable story for public consumption
• allows partners to save face and maintain a positive reputation, usually at the expense of the other partner
• It’s crucial we retain some social credit, and so we blame our circumstances, partner or other people - anything other than ourselves.
• The person creates a personal story of the breakdown
• may be different to the public story
• more to do with tidying up the memories of your relationship, with some rewriting of history
• e.g. the traits you once found endearing about your partner (e.g. They’re unpredictable and love adventure) are now seen in a negative light (e.g. They’re irresponsible and incapable of settling down)
• partners may question their decision

Question 10

threshold in grave-dressing phase

Answer 10

they conclude that the breakdown of the relationship was inevitable and its time to get a new life

Question 11

evaluation points for Duck’s relationship breakdown

Answer 11

• real world application
• weakness from not explaining why they breakdown
• weakness from oversimplified
• weakness of supporting evidence from

Question 12

real world application of Duck’s relationship breakdown

Answer 12

• useful in suggesting ways to reverse a relationship breakdown
• recognises that different repair strategies are more effective at particular points in the breakdown than others
• e.g. intra-psychic phase would suggest focusing on brooding on positive aspects of your partner, whilst the dyadic phase would suggest improving wider social skills to improve communication
• Such insights could be used in relationship counselling
• supports external validity of theory

Question 13

weakness of Duck’s relationship breakdown from not explaining why they breakdown

Answer 13

• not very successful at explaining why relationships breakdown
• focuses on what happens rather than looking at the factors that caused the breakdown
• An alternative theory called ‘fatal attraction hypothesis’ argues that the cause of relationship breakdown are found in the attractive qualities that brought a couple together i.e. the relationship is threatened by getting too much of what you’re looking for
• e.g. great sense of humour could turn into frustration that a partner can’t take anything seriously
• suggests Duck’s model may be a valid description of how a relationship breaks down but may not be a valid explanation of it, suggesting the theory is limited

Question 14

weakness of Duck’s relationship breakdown from being oversimplified

Answer 14

• model has been criticised for being oversimplified
• 5th stage was later added by Duck and Rollie– the resurrection phase
• where attention is turned to future relationships using experiences gained from the recently-ended one
• also been made clear by the researchers that progression from one phase to the next is not inevitable
• possible to return to an earlier point in the process in any phase
• also argue that the processes that occur in the relationship breakdown (e.g. Gossip in the social phase) are more important than the linear movement from one phase to the next
• suggests original model is a limited explanation as it does not account for the dynamic nature of relationship breakdowns with all of their uncertainty and complexity

Question 15

weakness of supporting evidence for Duck’s relationship breakdown

Answer 15

• Most research on Duck’s model involves participants giving their experiences of the breakdown process some time after the relationship has ended (i.e. it is retrospective)
• means that recall may not be accurate or reliable; the very early stages of the breakdown may be distorted or ignored altogether, especially as they can be intra-psychic phase for a long time
• However very difficult to study as researchers’ involvement could make the situation worse or hasten the end of the relationship that might otherwise have been rescued
• means part of the model is based on research that ignores the early part of the breakdown process and so it is an incomplete description of how relationships end
• Therefore difficult to establish validity of the early phases of the model as an explanation of relationship breakdown