Psychology 320: Gender Psychology Lecture 38

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Psychology 320 Gender PsychologyLecture 38
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Romantic Relationships
1. What factors determine relationship
satisfaction for females and males? (continued)
2. How do females and males manage conflict in
romantic relationships?
3. Do gay and lesbian romantic relationships
differ from heterosexual romantic relationships?
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Schedule of Course TopicsJanuary 22 February 12
January 22 Romantic Relationships Chapter
9 January 25 29 Sexuality Chapter
10 February 1 3 Education Chapter 11 (p.
299-316, 322-324) February 5 8 Careers and
the Workplace Chapter 12 February 10 12
Midterm
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What factors determine relationship satisfaction
for females and males? (continued)
5. Relationship conflict Research indicates
that conflict influences relationship
satisfaction among males and females

• For males and females, the number of conflicts
  experienced and the success with which conflicts
  are resolved influences relationship
  satisfaction. The magnitude of conflicts (i.e.,
  minor vs. major) is unrelated to relationship
  satisfaction (Cramer, 2002).

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How do females and males manage conflict in
romantic relationships?

• Males and females identify similar sources of
  conflict in their romantic relationships
  Disapproval of their partners behaviour, lack
  of communication, physical separation, and
  deception (Helgeson, 1987).

• Females are more likely than males to identify
  lack of independence as an additional source of
  conflict (Helgeson, 2009).

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• When relationship conflict occurs, females and
  males report similar levels of compromise and
  subordination (Neff Harter, 2002).
  Nevertheless, some sex differences have been
  found

Women are more likely than men to bring up
conflict. Men are more likely than women to use
coercive or aggressive tactics, to use
distraction, to attempt to deescalate the
conflict, and to withdraw from the conflict
(Cahn, 1992 Carstensen et al., 2004 Feldman
Gowen, 1998).
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• Attempts to deescalate conflict (i.e.,
  deescalation responses) often lead to greater
  negative affect

Person A Lets talk about why you dont help out
more with the children (confrontation of conflict
with negative affect)? Person B You do such a
good job with the children that it doesnt seem
like this is really an issue of conflict (attempt
to deescalate conflict with positive
statement). Person A You just dont get it, do
you? If you spent more time with the children,
you could do a good job too (more negative
affect).
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• Attempts to withdraw from conflict often lead
  to greater demand (i.e., the demand/withdrawal
  pattern)

Person A Why dont you spend a little more time
working inside the house? Person B What? What do
you mean? Person A You are never at home and
when you are at home, you spend all of your time
reading. I have to clean up everything. Silence P
erson A You could at least read Janie a bedtime
story. Still no response. The sound of a
newspaper opening is heard.
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• With respect to the demand/withdrawal pattern
  (Christensen Heavey, 1990, 1993)

• 60 of married couples are characterized by a
  wife demand/husband withdraw pattern.

• 30 of married couples are characterized by a
  husband demand/wife withdraw pattern.

• 10 of married couples are characterized by an
  equal proportion of demand and withdraw by wife
  and husband.

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• The relatively high frequency of the wife
  demand/ husband withdraw pattern has been
  replicated across cultures (i.e., Brazil, Italy,
  Taiwan Christensen, 2006).

• Several explanations have been proposed for the
  relatively high frequency of the wife demand/
  husband withdraw pattern

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1. Females prefer closeness, males prefer
indepen- dence.
Consistent with this explanation, research
indicates that couples that have greater
closeness/ independence conflict are more likely
to exhibit the demand/withdraw pattern
(Christensen Heavy, 1993).
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2. Females are more likely than males to desire
change in the relationship.
Consistent with this explanation, research
indicates that the husband demand/wife withdraw
pattern is more likely to occur in relationships
in which the husband desires change rather than
the wife (Christensen Heavey, 1993).
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3. Females have greater physiological
tolerance for conflict than males.
Consistent with this explanation, research has
shown a stronger correlation between the negative
affect produced by conflict and physiological
arousal among males than females (Levenson et
al., 1994).
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Do gay and lesbian romantic relationships differ
from heterosexual romantic relationships?

• There has been relatively little research on
  same-sex romantic relationships.

• Reasons for the lack of research on same-sex
  relationships include

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1. The erroneous belief that same-sex
relationships are transient
Eldridge Gilbert (1990) Found an average
relationship length of 5.4 years among lesbian
couples.
Peplau et al. (1997) Found an average
relationship length of 2 years among gay and
lesbian couples.
Kurdek (1998) Found that, over a 5-year
longitudinal study, 86 of gay male couples and
84 of lesbian couples remained together.
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2. Reluctance by members of lesbian and
gay communities to participate in psychological
research due to potential stigmatization
Until 1973, The American Psychological
Association classified homosexuality as a mental
disorder.
3. Difficulty obtaining representative samples
Many individuals with a same-sex preference are
not open about their sexual orientation. As a
result, representative samples are difficult to
obtain for studies of same-sex romantic
relationships.
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• Nevertheless, in recent years, there has been
  increased interest in research on same-sex
  relationships. This interest has been fueled by
  discussion and debate over same-sex marriage.

• With respect to the topics that we have
  considered, this research has shown the
  following

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1. Characteristics desired in a mate

• As is the case for heterosexuals, lesbians and
  gay men value internal attributes (e.g., kind)
  more than external attributes (e.g.,
  physically attractive Peplau et al., 1997).

• With respect to external attributes, gay men
  and heterosexual men are more likely than
  lesbians and heterosexuals women to emphasize
  physical appearance. Lesbians are less likely
  than heterosexual women to emphasize resource
  potential (Gonzales Meyers, 1993 Bailey et
  al., 1994).

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• As is the case for heterosexuals, lesbians and
  gay men are attracted to individuals who possess
  attributes similar to their own.
• However, because individuals with same-sex
  preferences have a smaller pool of potential
  mates, finding a mate with similar attributes
  presents a greater challenge (Helgeson, 2009).
• Lesbian partners are more likely than gay male
  partners to share similar attributes (Kurdek,
  2003).

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(b) Intimacy

• Lesbian couples report higher levels of
  intimacy than gay male couples and heterosexual
  couples. Gay and lesbian couples reported
  higher levels of autonomy than heterosexual
  couples (Kurdek, 1998).

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(c) Relationship maintenance strategies

• Same-sex couples receive less familial support
  with respect to their romantic relationships
  and, thus, are less likely than heterosexual
  couples to utilize such networks to maintain
  relationships (Kurdek, 1998).

• Same-sex couples engage in more equitable
  division of tasks than heterosexual couples.
  This is particularly true of lesbian couples
  (Hereck, 2006 Kurdek, 2003).

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Romantic Relationships
1. What factors determine relationship
satisfaction for females and males? (continued)
2. How do females and males manage conflict in
romantic relationships?
3. Do gay and lesbian romantic relationships
differ from heterosexual romantic relationships?