filter theory

Question 1

who proposed the filter theory of attraction

Answer 1

Kerckhoff and Davis

Question 2

what is filter theory

Answer 2

an explanation of relationship formation/attraction which suggests that we tend to be attracted to people who pass through a series of filters (factors) which allows us to arrow down our field of availables to a field of desirables

Question 3

order of filter theory

Answer 3

• field of availables
• field of desirables
• social demography
• similarities in attitudes
• complementarity

Question 4

field of availables

Answer 4

our entire set of potential romantic partners i.e. all the people we could realistically form a relationship with

Question 5

field of desirables

Answer 5

the main factors act as filters that help us to narrow down our field of availables to those who we would want to date

Question 6

social demography

Answer 6

• refers to a wide range of factors such as geographical location, social class, level of education, ethnic group, religion etc. which influence the likelihood that we’ll meet someone
• we tend to be more attracted to those who we come into contact with (accessibility) and those who are socially and culturally similar to us (homogamy)
• others who are too ‘different’ are discounted as potential partners
• important in the first 18 months

Question 7

similarities in attitudes

Answer 7

• people sharing basic values (things that really matter to them) such as views on marriage, raising children etc.
• encourages greater and deeper communication which promotes self-disclosure, making us more attracted to such people
• important in the first 18 months

Question 8

complementarity

Answer 8

• similarity becomes less important as a relationship develops and is replaced with need for partner to balance your traits with opposite ones of their own
• ability of partners to meet each other’s emotional needs e.g. one likes to make other laugh and other likes to be made to laugh
• this is attractive because it gives romantic partners the feeling that together they form a whole, which adds depth to a relationship, making it more likely to flourish
• important after 18 months

Question 9

evaluation points

Answer 9

• supporting evidence from Winch
• weakness from rise of online dating
• undermining evidence from direction of causality
• undermining evidence from similarity becoming more important

Question 10

supporting evidence for filter theory from Winch

Answer 10

• Filter theory assumes that key factors in a relationship change over time
• Winch found that similarities of personality, interests and attitudes between partners are typical of the earliest stages of a relationship
• Between partners married for several years, complementarity of needs is more important than similarity
• suggests the theory has face validity as an explanation of attraction as it makes sense and agrees with most people’s experience of romantic relationships - attitude similarity is initially important but complementarity becomes important in attraction later on [you would need to explain why here]

Question 11

weakness of filter theory from rise of online dating

Answer 11

• rise of online dating in recent years changed process of beginning a romantic relationship
• reduced the importance of some social demographic variables
• The internet and apps like Tinder have made meeting potential partners easier, to the extent that we might pursue a date with someone outside the usual demographic limits (e.g. from a different culture or social class) than would have applied 30 years ago
• suggests the theory may lack temporal validity as it can’t explain the formation of all relationships over time
• may be a valid explanation of the formation of offline romantic relationships, but may not generalise to relationships that begin online

Question 12

undermining evidence for filter theory from direction of causality

Answer 12

• Filter theory suggests that people are initially attracted to each other because they are similar (demographically and in attitudes and in other ways)
• But there is evidence which suggests that this direction of causality is wron
• Longitudinal research found that cohabiting partners become more similar in their emotional responses over time
• Other research found that romantic partners over time bring their attitudes into line with each other’s, again suggesting that similarity is an effect of initial attraction rather than the cause
• suggests theory may not be internally valid as the findings of the research are not predicted by filter theory
• appears that cause and effect may be the opposite way round with similarity an effect of initial attraction rather than the cause

Question 13

undermining evidence for filter theory from similarity becoming more important

Answer 13

• some research has challenged that complementarity becomes more important than similarity later in a relationship.
• Longitudinal research found that similarity in terms of intellectual abilities and attitudinal flexibility increases over a 14 year period in married couples
• suggests that complementarity is not necessarily a common feature in longer-term relationships
• Markey and Markey found that lesbian couples (average length of relationship was more than 4 1/2 years) of equal dominance were the most satisfied (rather than one being dominant and the other submissive)
• therefore, this component of the theory not entirely valid as theory would predict that complementarity becomes more important as the relationship continues, calling into question the validity of the theory as an explanation of attraction