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AQA A LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY – RELATIONSHIPS EXAM REVIEW Q&A
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AQA A LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY – RELATIONSHIPS EXAM REVIEW Q&A
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AQA A LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY –RELATIONSHIPS EXAM REVIEW Q&A
Anisogamy - answer-refers to the differences between male and female sex cells
- sperm = small, mobile, continuously produced
- ova = large, static, produced at intervals for a limited amount of years
What is the consequence of anisogamy? - answer-there are plenty of fertile males but
fewer females, which gives rise to different mating strategies (inter + intra-sexual
selection)
Inter-sexual selection - answer-- selection of mates between sexes
- this is the female strategy because of greater investment of time + resources before,
during + after birth
Intra-sexual selection - answer-- competing within the sex for mates
- this is the male strategy so that they have a greater chance of reproducing and
passing down their genes
- intra-sexual selection leads to male aggression + male preference for youthful and
fertile women
Strengths of sexual selection theories - answer-- buss surveyed 10,000 adults in 33
countries and found that females valued resource-related characteristics (good
finances) whilst males valued reproductive capacity (youth), supporting sex differences
in partner preferences derived from sexual selection theory
- 'i've seen you around campus and find you very attractive. Would you come with me to
bed tonight?' - no female students agreed whilst 75% of males agreed, supporting the
suggestion of female choosiness
- singh measured waist-hip ratio preferences of males and found any ratio of 0.7 was
attractive (fertile but not pregnant) showing that evolutionary factors are reflected in
partner preferences
- a study of lonely hearts advertisements found that men tended to offer resources and
sought youth + physical attractiveness whilst women offered looks and sought
resources
Weaknesses of sexual selection theories - answer-- chang et al. Found that over 25
years in china, some preferences changed whilst others didn't, suggesting that both
evolutionary + cultural differences must be taken into account when explaining human
reproductive behaviour
What factors affect attraction - answer-- self-disclosure
- physical attractiveness
- filter theory
, Self-disclosure - answer-refers to revealing intimate information to another person
- important early in a relationships
Social penetration theory (altman + taylor 1973) - answer-- self-disclosure is limited but
gradually increases as trust increases
- partner has to reciprocate self-disclosure
- emotional penetration means partners gain a greater understanding of each other
- at the start of the relationship, breadth is narrow but self-disclosure causes breadth +
depth to increase
Reciprocity of self-disclosure - answer-- successful relationships involve self-disclosure
which is sensitively received which encourages the other partner to also self-disclose
Strengths of self-disclosure as a factor affecting attraction - answer-- a strong
correlation was found between satisfaction + self-disclosure in heterosexual couples
- 57% of gay people reported that open + honest self-disclosure was a maintenance
strategy, suggesting the theory can be used to support people having relationship
problems
Weaknesses of self-disclosure as a factor affecting attraction - answer-- tang et al.
Found that people in the us (individualist culture) self-disclose more sexual thoughts
than people in china (collectivist culture), showing there is variation in patterns of self-
disclosure which suggests that social penetration theory is not necessarily generalisable
to other cultures
- duck's phase model of relationship breakdown recognises that highlevels of self-
disclosure doesn't prevent relationships breakdowns, suggesting self-disclosure is not
always positive
- most research is correlational but correlation ≠ causation
What factors contribute to physical attractiveness? - answer-- symmetry - thought to be
a sign of genetic fitness that can't be faked
- neotenous (baby) features - thought to trigger protective + caring instincts
Halo effect - answer-we assume that attractive people's other attributes are also
overwhelmingly positive
- dion et al. Found that physically attractive people are consistently rated as kind, strong
+ successful compared to unattractive people
Matching hypothesis - walster et al. - answer-- we choose partners that are of a similar
level of attractiveness to us
- choosing a partner is a compromise because we want the most attractive mates but
also don't want to be rejected
Strengths of physical attractiveness as a factor affecting attraction - answer-- palmer +
peterson found that physically attractive people were rated more politically
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