This document is detailed revision notes with all you could ever need to know on the whole AQA A-level Psychology Relationships topic, including AO1 and AO3 content. The notes are subdivided into the subtopics used by the textbook. They include the content from the textbook, which has been combined...
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Relationships
Evolutionary explanations for partner
preferences
Sexual selection
Darwin: SS is the selection of characteristics that aid successful reproduction (not
survival) e.g. male’s peacock tail – sign of genetic fitness.
Females who select males w good characteristics are more likely to produce robust
offspring so preference for the tail is perpetuated in future generations.
Other characteristics e.g. aggression are adaptive – advantage for male in
competition for reproductive rights.
- Allowed the animal to reproduce so passed on to offspring if they are genetically
determined and the genes that gave rise to the characteristics remain in the
population
Anisogamy
- Basis of human reproductive behaviour
= differences between male and female sex cells (gametes)
Male gametes (sperm) – small highly mobile, created continuously in vast numbers
from puberty to old age, don’t need much energy to be produced
Female gametes (eggs/ova) – relatively large, static, produced at intervals, limited
number of fertile years, require investment of energy
So no shortage of fertile males but fertile females are rarer ‘resources’.
Gives rise to 2 types of SS
Inter-sexual selection
Between the sexes, used by females – quality over quantity (ova rarer than sperm).
Trivers: females make greater investment of time, effort and other resources before
during and after birth of offspring.
Both sexes stand to lose resources invested if they chose a substandard partner but
consequences are more serious for females, so are more choosy.
Optimum strategy: pick a genetically fit partner with resources.
Females preference = what features are passed on to offspring, characteristics
become exaggerated (a runaway process).
Protect, provide, control food and resources for survival = Muscular strength in
evolutionary past, now occupation, social class, wealth.
Fisher: sexy sons hypothesis – genes we see today are those that enhanced
reproductive success.
, - Preference for the ‘sexy’ trait is perpetuated
Intra-sexual selection
Within each sex, used by males, quantity over quality (plentiful supply of sperm).
Competition between males to be selected to mate with a female (passive)
Present selves as most attractive e.g. encouraging muscle growth
Winner reproduces so his characteristics that contributed to his success are passed
on, ‘loser’ characteristics aren’t.
Dimorphism: males and females look different due to this selection process e.g. males
get bigger, females get more youthful looking
- Has behavioural consequences
Characteristics favoured and passed on are those that allow a male to outcompete his
rivals inc. deceitfulness, intelligence + aggression.
Evaluation
Research support
o …for female choosiness in heterosexual partner preference
o Clark and Hatfield: sent male and female psychology students across a university
campus
o Approach other students individually with question: ‘I have been noticing you
around campus. I find you to be very attractive. Would you go to bed with me
tonight?’
o No female students agreed but 75% of males did immediately
o Females choosier, males have different strategy
COUNTERPOINT
o Argument that different strategies are adaptive for males and females is
simplistic – appears that strategies differ according to the length of the
relationship
o Sexual strategies theory (Buss and Schmitt): males and females have similar
mating strategies in seeking long-term relationships
o Both relationships very choosy, look for partners who are loving, loyal and kind
etc.
o More complex and nuanced – takes into account context of reproductive
behaviour
Research support for intra-sexual selection
o Buss: survey of over 10,000 adults in 33 countries
o Asked questions on a variety of attributes that evolutionary theory predicts are
important in partner preference
o Females: greater value on resource-related characteristics than males e.g. good
financial prospects
o Males: physical attractiveness and youth (good reproductive capacity) more than
females
Research support
o Singh – WHR is a reliable indicator of reproductive age, sex hormone profile and
fecundity
o Miss America winners’ WHRs studied for a decade
, o Any sizes attractive as long as it’s 0.7 aka larger hips, slim waist
Social and cultural influences underestimated
o Partner preferences have bene influenced by changing social norms of behaviour
– develop faster than evolutionary timescales imply, due to cultural factors e.g.
availability of contraception
o Women’s greater role in workplace – no longer dependent on men to provide for
them (despite ongoing inequality in earning power)
o Bereckzei et al. – social change has consequences for women’s mate preferences
– no longer resource-oriented
o Cultural and evolutionary – limited
Sexual selection and homosexuality
o Cannot explain preferences of gay men and lesbian women
o Do not have reproduction as primary aim
o Lawson et al.: looked at ‘personal ads’ placed by hetero and homo men and
women – preferences of homo men and women differ just as much as in hetero
men and women (men emphasised physical attractiveness, women emphasised
resources)
Factors affecting attraction: Self-disclosure
Self-disclosure
Sharing hopes and fears, interests and attitudes, likes and dislikes --> intimacy.
Vital role beyond initial attraction
Most people are careful about what they disclose esp. to begin with.
Used wisely and effectively it is a good thing.
Too much sharing = scare
Not enough sharing = intriguing and frustrating
Social penetration theory
Altman and Taylor: gradual process of revealing your inner self to someone else, of giving
away your deepest thoughts and feelings.
In romantic relationships: reciprocal exchange of information between intimate partners.
Revealing personal information is a signal of trust, to go farther the other partner must also
reveal sensitive information.
As they disclose more and more, romantic partners ‘penetrate’ more deeply into each other’s
lives + gain a greater understanding of each other.
- Basic feature of romantic relationships
Can’t do with a stranger – revelations signal having reached a certain stage where such self-
disclosure will be welcomed and hopefully reciprocated.
Too soon – run the risk of incompatibilities being found before suitable level of investment in
the relationship
Breadth and depth of self-disclosure
A&T: two elements to S-D – breadth and depth.
Commitment increases as these two elements increase.
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