Discuss research (theories and/orstudies) relating to the formation of relationships.

The second most important factor in the formation of relationships is proximity.

Strong evidence for this was found by Festinger et al (1950). The proximity may be physical or psychological. Increased contact has been shown to increase the likelihood of friendships and romantic relationships.

Another important factor is attitude similarity. Byrne (1968) found that attitude similarity had much more of an effect on interpersonal relationships when the attitudes were of importance to the individual. Evidence suggests that thaose who are similar in demographic variables such as sex, class, age etc are more likely to become friends. Therefore this implies that people with similar values, beliefs and lifestyles have a higher likelihood of becoming involved with each other. However much research into attitude similarity is artificial and largely correlational and ignores individual differences.

There are also sociobiological. The sociobiological theories suggest that behaviours that promote reproduction are naturally selected. This is supported by Buss (1989) who found that men may prefer women who are younger than them because younger women are more likely to be fertile. On the other hand, the economic theories imply that relationships are based on some form of trade. In other words, people try to maximise the rewards and minimise the costs of interpersonal relationships, this was proposed by Thibault & Kelley (1959). According to the reinforcement and need satisfaction theory, we are attracted to people who provide us with reward or reinforcement. This is similar to the equity theory which states that we expect there to be an association between equity and future quality of a relationship, this takes into account the other person’s rewards and costs.

Finally, the filter theory proposed by Kerckhoff & Davis (1962) suggests that different factors progressively filter out individuals as prospective partners or friends. The final filter which is emotional needs is the deciding factor. The filter theory emphasises that factors which are considered important in the early part of a relationship differ from those that are consider important later in the relationship. The main limitation of this theory is that it may only apply to romantic relationships.