To What Extent Does Filter Theory Offer a Complete Explanation of Romantic Relationships? A2 Psychology Evaluation B Grade

There is quite a good deal of empiricical evidence that supports the filter theory. An example of this would be Kerchkoff and Davies' (1962) who did a longitudinal study to test the model; at which they found that the need for compatibility is important when forming relationships. Therefore we can clearly see that this is supporting the filter model because it shows that people filter out what they're looking for in a relationship in different stages (e.g. physical appearance comes first and complementary ideals come last). However, we need to treat this data with some caution due to the data being collected and based around questionnaires, which of course suffer the issues of demand characteristics, most people are likely to lie on questionnaires to seem more conformed to what they think will be the conventional way of thinking. This empirical evidence is however supported by the research of Spreecher (1998) and Gruber-Baldini, Schaie and Willis (1995) who all found that there was a link between people who were similar based on intelligence and social background that formed relationships; supporting the filter model's theory that there is some compatibility between people before they fully form a long lasting relationship; but yet again both of these were longitudinal studies that were based around questionnaires and are susceptible to the same weaknesses as the original study. We also need to take into account that the original results have never been replicated and merely show results that are contradictory (e.g. Levinger) which could allow us to assume that the results before hand were weak and contradictory; plus there is no guarantee that our needs are made polar opposite based on gender (e.g. Providers for females and fertility for males) and there is no absolute proof of this (as shown by O'Leary and Smith).

If we looked at the date of Kerchkoff and Davies research, we would notice that it is almost 50 years old. We could quite easily expect the formation of relationships in the early 60's in comparison to the 21^st century to be at least slightly different from the former. The role of genders within society has changed dramatically over time and it is highly likely that the filter model may lost validity because of this change in independence and roles that the male and female (female in particular) have.

There are also a few theoretical concerns that are raised by this model. A lot of the traits of the original model would lead people to consider that it was reductionist. It ignores both emotional and physical attractions and purely focuses on the whole thought process of relationship formation. But can we really state that all relationships are formed without acknowledgement of emotional or physical parameters? This seems highly unlikely as biologically it is proven that there is some evolutionary attraction to certain appearances that make you seem more fertile. Reductionist however isn't necessarily entirely negative; we can very clearly follow the filter model theory due to its very simple and linear manner, what's more it lead to Murstein's model which is a far more elaborate explanation of the formation of relationships and involves the physical and emotional aspects of selecting a partner for a relationship; which of course the original filter model should be credited for.

Overall the filter model does show some link to how people narrow down there relationships via compatibility and complementary ideas; but is has rather weak and contradicting evidence and is rather simplistic and reductionist. However, the model lead to a more detailed and in depth explanation as explained by Murstein's model. So although the filter model only explains romantic relationship's formations to a small extent, it lead to the expansion of Murstein's model which explains romantic relationship's formations in much more detail.