To what extent does the sociocultural approach contribute to the understanding of personal relationships?

Refer to the paper 2 assessment criteria when awarding marks. These can be found under the “Your tests” tab > supplemental materials.

The command term “to what extent” requires candidates to consider the contribution of sociocultural factors to the understanding of personal relationships.

Relevant factors which may be addressed include, but are not limited to:

• gender and cultural norms (for example, the role that culture plays in the formation and maintenance of relationships, violence, or perception of attractiveness)
• proximity
• similarity
• reciprocity
• modelling
• social identity.

Relevant studies may include, but are not limited to:

• Buss et al.’s (1990) study of cultural factors in attraction
• Newcomb’s (1961) field study of attitudes, similarity and liking
• Markey and Markey’s (2007) study on romantic ideals, romantic obtainment and relationship experience.

It is appropriate and useful for candidates to address biological and/or cognitive factors in order to address the command term “to what extent”.

Candidates may consider a small number of sociocultural factors in order to demonstrate depth of knowledge, or may consider a larger number of sociocultural factors in order to demonstrate breadth of knowledge. Both approaches are equally acceptable.

Most candidates addressing this question provided good general knowledge and chose appropriate empirical evidence to support their knowledge. Candidates usually chose to write about familiarity, proximity, social and cultural norms, socioeconomic status, and/or communication.

Some candidates provided additional information on biological and cognitive factors affecting personal relationships in order to address the “to what extent” command term. At times, this was done very effectively as their responses reflected awareness that one approach to studying human behaviour is usually insufficient. Overall, this question attracted a range of different responses that unfortunately lacked in terms of critical thinking.