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Bowlby's Theory Of Attitudes In Relationships

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Attitude can be defined as positive or negative evaluations of people, objects, ideas or events. They are important because they determine what we do. Attitudes are made up of 3 components, the ABC model in which it consists of affect, the emotional response; behaviour, is the intention to act in a particular way and cognitive, which is our thought processes and beliefs. However what a person thinks may not be consistent with their behaviour. For example, many people think one night stands are dangerous or should not take place yet they themselves may have a one night stand. Men and women’s attitudes differ in terms of romantic relationships, as they expect different outcomes or benefits from their relationship. Cardwell (2012) found that …show more content…
The attachment figure acts as a secure base for the infant, this relationship leads to an internal working model which provides a base for all future relationships. For example, individuals who had a secure attachment during development would be more likely to have secure relationships in their adult life, feeling confident that their partner is there for them and to be open with one another. On the other hand, perhaps an individual may be anxious-avoidant attachment and may be worried about their partner loving them causing them to feel frustrated and angry (Frale, 2010). Thus this could be an important determinant in defining attitudes when individuals are older and enter romantic relationships. Anxious avoidant individuals typically hold the view that sex without love is pleasurable, attachment styles can influence the way someone behaves in a …show more content…
Women are more likely than men to express their emotions and how they feel in romantic relationships whereas men don’t use words, rather they express through actions hoping that it will be enough to show it. On the other hand, Lewandowski (2013) carried out a study in which 180 male and female college students were asked to do an Implicit Association Test which measures implicit or unconscious attitudes when making a snap judgement about a stimuli. They showed participants romantic or sexual pictures in which they had to categorise them into pleasant or unpleasant. They found that men and women both made quick associations with romantic pictures and pleasant than sexual pictures and pleasant. Thus showing that neither gender differ in terms of their attitudes towards love and sex in a romantic relationship, the differences tend to be exaggerated. However in marriage it’s found that marriage provides greater health benefits for men than women as they have better mental and physical health and experience less distress than single, divorced or widowed individuals according to Letitia (1985). There are few sex differences in marriage, partners tend to rate similar goals as both rate companionship and affection as important values in a

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