Duck's phase model of relationship breakdown: intra-psychic, dyadic, social and grave dressing phases
Duck's phase model describes four stages a person moves through when a relationship breaks down. Each stage involves different thoughts, conversations, and social actions.
Real World
When a celebrity couple like Johnny Depp and Amber Heard separated, the breakdown followed Duck's phases publicly — private dissatisfaction leaked into court testimony (intra-psychic), escalated into direct confrontation (dyadic), played out across social media as friends took sides (social), and both constructed public narratives to protect their reputations (grave dressing).
Exam Focus
Name and briefly describe all four phases in order — examiners award marks for correct sequencing, not just listing.
Evaluation Scaffold
A four-step framework for high-quality evaluation. Use this for 'assess', 'evaluate', and 'to what extent' questions.
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