PSYC 359 1st Edition Lecture 25Outline of Last Lecture I. Power and Interdependency TheoryII. ViolenceIII. AbuseOutline of Current Lecture I. Finish chapter 12 Power and ViolenceII. Begin Chapter 13 on dissolution and the loss of relationshipIII. DivorceCurrent LectureGender Differences - There has been research but it’s hard to profile people because there are so many individual differences- Many men who abuse women were abused in their childhood…70% of meno They project blame onto the victim and rationalize ito They express more hard emotions and are more extreme in their emotionso Many men who abuse their victim are extremely dependent on themo They say that they restrained themselves and did less abuse than they could have- While men may cause more injury, women are more likely to use physical abuse- Women do kill their husbandso Battered woman syndrome or defense?o Not a real legal defenseo Self defense is a more legal defenseo Is an approach to explaining battered women’s experiences- Why do women stay when they’re being battered?o Few that don’t leave make the headlines…most do leaveo 1/3 stayo they believe that despite the abuse they won’t be better off if they leave the relationshipo economic reasons, lack of power, not alternativeso Violence and abuse is a cycle Tension builds, abuse bakes place, there are apologies, excuses, amends, and then the cycle beings again  During the remorse stage it is the honeymoon period- Current Opiniono There is no single profile of a battered womano The term battered woman syndrome is vague  And makes the woman sound weako The term mattered woman syndrome creates an image of pathologyo The relevant information relied upon for expert testimony in legal cases, advocacy, and clinical interventions involving bettered victims extends beyond the psychological effects of battering- Intimate violence is associated with:o Cohabitation instead of marriageo Life stresso Low socioeconomic statuso Family background, including growing up in a violent homeChapter 13: Dissolution - Sometimes relationships can’t stay together and must be ended- Study shows that college students have certain standards for their relationships and when these aren’t met they leave their relationship The Changing Rate of Divorce- The current rate of divorce in the US is a bit lower than it was at its peak back in 1980- The chance that a marriage will end in separation or divorce is still close to 50%- Crude divorce rate is # of divorces per 1000 in a population….including kids etc. - About 1 out of every 9 adult women in the us is presently divorced- Divorces are much more common in the US than in most other countries - Most people who divorce do eventually remarry - Why do we have such a high divorce rate?o Maybe by our laws No fault divorce Short after this was introduced, the divorce rate doubled  When its easier to get divorced, people get divorced - Several influences may underlie the big increase in American divorce:o Demanding expectations Romance has only entered picture in last 150 years ago Then marriage was supposed to be passionate not placid  The reality is its more work nowadayso Women work outside the home Women have more access to other partners Independence hypothesis: suggests that economic freedom to divorce generally makes divorce more likely- Negative correlation between how much money a woman makes and likelihood of divorceo Gender roles are changing Women are becoming more assertive and self reliant  More culturally acceptable for men to be more involved in houseworko Western culture is more individualistic We rely more on our spouses and less on community Puts strain on relationship  Need to rely on each other far too mucho Sex ratios are lower Surplus of women, which encourages men to be less committed  When sex ratio is low, we see more permissiveness sexually, which is related to higher teen pregnancy rates, which means that people are getting married who shouldn’t be getting married, and then maybe those people get divorce o Divorce is less shameful and easier to obtain A no fault divorce is more reasonable than our grandparents dido Cohabitation is more prevalent Casual cohabitation leads to decreased respect for marriageo There are more children of divorce  Children who experience divorce are more likely to divorce when they become adults…statistically o All of these influences are merely correlated with the prevalence of divorceo We are just starting to understand the reasonsPredictors of Divorce- Levinger’s Barrier Modelo Attraction—the desire to remain in a partnership is enhanced by its rewards but diminished by its costs Some attraction issues change, people change, they become less similaro Alternatives—tempting alternatives increase the appeal of leaving one’s current partner So do increasing irritationso Barriers—various social pressures, religious constraints, and financial costs may make it hard to leave Unhappy partners who would like to break up stay together - Karney and Bradbury’s Vulnerability-Stress-Adaption modelo Suggested another 3 factors contribute to divorce Enduring vulnerabilities—personal liabilities or weaknesses with which people begin their marriages Adaptive processes—the techniques with which partners try to cope with stress Stressful events—the difficulties people encounter - Results from the PAIR projecto For decades, researchers have been tracking 168 couples who married in 1981. Fewer than half are still happily marriedo Three possibilities have been investigated Enduring dynamics- You can't change a person- Best predictor of how happy a marriage will be Emergent distress- When they begin, there aren’t any obvious problems but these develop later such as stress, illness, etc. Disillusionment - We have unrealistically positive expectations and then romance fades and disappointment gradually sets in when people are unrealistic - Biggest predictor was disillusionment model- Results from EYM project (early years of marriage project)o The EYM project has been following 174 white couples and `99 black couples since they married in 1986o Most of the black couples (55%) divorced, compared to about a third (36%) of the white couples o More about the culture than the race that led to divorce - People’s perceptions of the cause of