Outline two theories of formation of romantic relationships (10 marks)

One theory of the formation of romantic relationships is the sociobiological theory. According to this theory, men and women seek different things in potential romantic partners, with an evolutionary basis. Men supposedly seek indicators of fertility and strong/desireable genetics in women, such as beauty (symmetry is an indicator of good genes, a 1:0.7 hip:waist ratio is a fertility indicator), and youth (older women are less fertile). Women on the other hand seek resources such as wealth or status, as an indicator that the man can care for her during pregnancy and potential offspring, as well as personality traits like kindness - indicating that he will be willing to share and help her. When these traits are present, men and women are more likely to form relationships, since the traits they are seeking are present. The more of these desirable traits are present, the more likely the pair will form a relationship. A second theory of the formation of romantic relationships is the rewards theory. According to this theory, people become associated with positive experiences, thus leading to us feeling positive things when around them, and wanting to maximise our time with them (classical conditioning). The second aspect of this is operant conditioning - there is a reward for spending time with the person; these positive experiences. This leads to wanting to spend more time with them; the reward for the behaviour causes the behaviour to be repeated, in order to gain a similar reward. This leads to forming a relationship with someone, since they cause positive experiences through association and these reward us for spending time with the person in question.