Week 6 Discussion Forum
Finding a partner is one of the most important things an individual focuses on during early adulthood. How do you think today’s lack of social contact is affecting this aspect of life? Explain social exchange theory of mate selection in your own words and include information about Bowlby’s attachment theory.
Here is the first response I need to respond to:
From Carly: I agree that finding a partner is a main focus in early adulthood. Today, we lack social contact with others. Especially with the pandemic, people do not go out as much. I also feel that human interactions used to happen in person but with our world becoming modernized with technology, people mainly interact through media. This affects the dating aspect because people do not feel the need or want to go out. People are meeting others off of social platforms which is not reality. This affects the dating aspect because I do not feel that the connections are as genuine. It makes people feel the need to not interact with people in person because in their mind they can just do it online. The social exchange theory of mate selection is when two people exchange things and tasks to strengthen the relationship. It deals with commuting to each other, communication, dates, and valuables. Bowlby’s attachment theory deals with an attachment to another person. Human attachment starts from children at a very young age and can affect a person for the rest of their life. “Attachment theory describes how our early relationships with a primary caregiver, most commonly a parent, creates our expectation for how love should be. Our view of ourself and others is molded by how well these caregivers were available and responsive to meet our physical and emotional needs.”.
Feuerman, M. (2021, February 4). Your attachment style influences the success of your relationship. The Gottman Institute.
https://www.gottman.com/blog/attachment-style-infl…
Here is the 2nd response I need to respond to:
From Jonel: I believe that the lack of social contact is affecting individual’s ability to make meaningful connections. The rise in popularity of social media sites and dating apps have increased the number of connections a person can make which raises their chances of making a meaningful connection but it itself does not increase the meaningfulness of those connections (Jarai, 2022). When an individual puts themselves out there to make these connections they feed into the social exchange theory of mate selection. This is the give and take portion of a relationship where individuals decide if a relationship is worth pursuing. They consider all the things their partner would potentially bring to the table and check it against what they are willing to sacrifice for the relationship. If one is giving significantly more than they will receive chances are the relationship will not get very far. What a person deems valuable in a relationship stems from the relationships they were able to make as children. According to the article (McLeod, 2023) Bowlby believes that if a child is not able to make a maternal bond the child might suffer from long-term emotional and social problems. In his research Bowlby (1949) found that after long term separation from caregivers some individuals developed Affectionless Psychopathy, they were unable to make emotional connections. One of the important factors for some people of giving and taking in a relationship is the emotional connection and support that comes with having a partner. If an individual is not capable of making these connections then according to the social exchange theory, their chances of making a match with someone who values this trait is unlikely.
References
Bowlby, J. (1949). Forty-Four Juvenile Thieves: Their Characters and Home-Life. American Journal of Psychiatry, 105(11), 879–879.
https://doi.org/10.1176/ajp.105.11.879
Jarai, M. (2022, April 28). How does social media affect relationships? Www.medicalnewstoday.com.
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/social-m…
McLeod, S. (2023, March 8). Bowlby’s Attachment Theory. Simplypsychology.org; Simply Psychology.
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