Relationships

Relationships

1. Sexual Selection

   • AO1
     • It is the selection for characteristics for reproductive success
       • The force of sexual selection complements the force of natural selection (peacocks tail)
         • Darwin
     • 2 types of selection..
       • Intra sexual selection..
         • Males compete with each other for females, victors pass on genes
       • Inter sexual selection...
         • Females usually choose who they want to mate with due to desirable traits
     • The origins of mate choice is a production of mate preferences formed in the environment of evolutionary adaptiveness (EEA). Eg...
       • Selection for indicators; can include any body behaviour that may give away information on age, health, strength etc.
       • Selection for provisioning; females look for males that can provide, and have resources which eases the burden of producing eggs
       • Facial preference; what they look like e.g. men prefer women with baby faces
   • AO2: Buss
     • AO3
       • Large sample size
       • Not culture bias
       • Slightly outdate though
     • Carried out a survey to find out whether there were universals of mate preferences.
       • 37 cultures in 6 continents, involving 10,000 participants.
         • Findings...
           • Women more than men desired mates who were 'good financial prospects'-men with resources
           • Men placed more importance on physical attractiveness
           • Men prefer younger women
           • Both sexes wanted someone intelligent
           • The findings support the evolutionary explanations between sexual selection and reproductive behaviour as they show clear mate preferences in line with the EEA.
   • IDA
     • Nature v Nurture
       • Nature as it is evolutionary
       • Excludes nature or environmental factors
     • Sub-culture bias
       • Doesn't take into account individual differences
         • Eg homosexual relationships

2. Sex Differences

   • AO1
     • Female Investment
       • Tends to be far greater because gametes (eggs) are less numerous than male gametes (sperm), hence women can only have a limited number of children.
       • Comes in many forms..
         • Their largest investment is carrying embryo for 9 months, and then afterbirth of providing them with milk.
           • Greater maternal investment may be explained as they are certain the baby is theirs
             • Worried about emotional infidelity in case their partner withdraws resources
         • Majority of post natal care carried out by the women as they have the resources and therefore are obliged to care for the offsping.
     • Male Investment
       • Male investment is less because they can opt out of parental investment. By expending a large part of their reproductive effort on courtship, most males can afford to devote comparatively little time to parental cre.
       • Males don't have the same degree as certainty so don't carry out post natal care
       • Males are worried about sexual infidelity from their partner incase they will be cuckolded
     • Triviers defined parental investment as ...
       • "Any investment by the parent in an individual offspring that increases the offspring's chance of surviving (and hence reproductive success) at the cost of the parents ability to invest in other offspring"
   • AO2: Geher et al
     • AO3
       • Questionnaires=social desirability
       • Limited to a certain age
       • 91=small sample size
     • Investigated whether differences in parental investment are as a result of evolutionary/cultural forces
       • The study was in 2 parts:
         • Perceived readiness
           • Asked 91 undergraduates to complete a parental investment perception scale, which measured how prepared for parenting they were
           • There was no real difference found between male and female answers
         • Actual readiness
           • Male and female participants were then exposed to a series of statements that illustrated typical scenarios where parenting may be seen as costly in terms of time/effort
           • As participants were exposed, their ANS arousal was measured.
             • Males showed a higher ANS arousal compared to females
     • The study suggests that males are less prepared to confront issues surrounding parenting than females-there is sex differences
   • IDA
     • Nature v Nurture
       • Only takes into account nature as biological
     • Sub-culture bias
       • Ignores differences within other relationships e.g. homosexual relationships
     • Reductionist
       • Doesn't take into account modern day society

3. Influence of Culture

   • AO1/AO2
     • IDA
       • Culture Bias
         • This is often as a result of methods adopted to collect the results and the apparatus used to measure behaviour
           • If any of the methodology is interpreted differently in different countries this causes biases that can invalidate results.
             • EG the measure of love was developed in a western individualistic culture so how do we know if it is applicable to collectivist cultures?
       • Sub-culture Bias
         • Homosexual relationships aren't considered in cross-cultural relationships
     • Culture is the learned, shared, behaviour of members of a particular society. It includes shared beliefs, attitudes or behaviours.
     • Individualist cultures place the emphasis on the individual and personal responsibility
       • Aspects include individualistic, temporary and voluntary
       • However, there are issues talking about voluntary relationships. Duck says that the choice to marry is voluntary however once the couple have been married for years it isn't as voluntary as it once due to social and legal implications if you were to leave the relationship
         • When we talk about voluntary relationships we need to understand that 'free choice' is often tempered by the social realities and constraints around us
     • Collectivist cultures place emphasis on the group, with group effort and responsibility
       • Aspects include collectivist, involuntary and permanent
         • The arranged marriage is one of the most common forms of marriage in a collectivist culture. The arranged marriage is a collectivist arrangement reflecting the culture it takes place in, as it is seen as an alliance between two families rather than the free choice of two individuals
         • However, there are variations within collectivist cultures which reflect the social and cultural changes taking place in different countries.
           • The influence of such cultural differences can be seen in the following contradictory findings...
             • In India it was found that in love marriages both liking and love was high but decreased during the relationship. Whereas in arranged marriages it increased.
             • In China however women in love marriages were happier than those in arranged.
     • The dowry is a sum of money/gifts given by the bride's family to the groom before the wedding.
       • This is still common in many collectivist cultures which reflects the cultural values of collectivist independence
         • Research found that the practice of a dowry was becoming more widespread, the size of the dowry was increasing, and 2/3 of 4603 women disapproved it

4. Childhood on Adulthood

   • IDA
     • Culture Bias
       • Western individualistic cultures
     • Determinism
       • If the child is insecurely attached they are doomed to experience bad adult relationships
   • AO1
     • Parent- child
       • Bowlby proposes the idea that individuals develop an internal working model of themselves in a relationship with a primary attachment figure based on early experiences with the mother mainly
       • These internal working models are thought to contain information about how available/reliable the other person is likely to be and how emotional discomfort will be handled
       • Explain attachment types
       • Thus, the internal working model influences the child's expectations on the future
     • Peer-child
       • Research has found that children learn about themselves as a direct result of their relationships with other peers.
       • These experiences are internalised in the form of expectations about future relationships
   • AO2:Hazan and Shaver
     • AO3
       • Questionnaire
       • Culture bias
       • Volunteer sample-some level of bias
       • Demand characteristics
     • Love quiz
       • American newspaper collecting information about early relationships in childhood
         • Found people securely attached experience happier more enduring relationships than those insecurely attached who find relationships more difficult
           • Supports the idea that childhood effects adulthood as shows a correlation