Attraction Flashcards
What did Cunningham et al., (1995) discover about attraction across cultures?
= Slim body build were considered beautiful in 5 cultures; medium in 5 cultures; plump in 18 cultures.
How has attractiveness been seen across time?
= A large body type used to be a sign of good health, wealth, and status.
= What we find attractive is ever-changing
‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder’
(Practical application)
What was found in the article ‘Physical Disability Affects Women’s but not Men’s Perception of Opposite-Sex Attractiveness’ according to (Kingstone et al., 2021)?
= Results indicate women rate men with physical disabilities as higher in attractiveness than non-disabled men.
= Attractiveness ratings of individuals with physical disabilities are positively associated with extroversion and empathy in both men and women.
(Physical attraction)
What is the Evolutionary Perspective, according to Buss (1999)?
= Attraction seen as ‘mate selection strategy’
Beauty = health, youth, fertility
= Men attracted to young, attractive females maximises reproductive success.
= Women attracted to older, established men maximises reproduction success.
How does Cunningham (1999) criticise the evolutionary theory?
:( Overemphasises reproductive motives, ignoring other motives e.g., kindness, humour.
(Physical attraction - social perspective)
What did Lemer & Lemer (1977) state?
= Parents were more interested in child’s education if the child was attractive.
(Physical attraction - social perspective)
What did Dion (1977) state?
= Children chose to look at attractive people’s pictures more - which may have been due to reward properties and powerful findings.
= Children rated attractive kids as more likely to be their friends.
(Physical attraction - social perspective)
What 2 possibilities of the Origins of Attractiveness stereotype worth considering?
Lerner., (1970)
- Bias towards attractive people is due to complimentary bias towards ‘winners’ - because they are attractive, they ‘must’ have better dispositions and deserve better fate.
- Attractive people are better people.
(Physical attraction - social perspective)
‘People get what they deserve’ (Lerner., 1970)
= Beliefs in the ‘just world’ enables us to view our environment as safe and predictable.
= Help get desired outcomes and avoid undesired outcomes.
= Being confronted with someone else’s misfortune reminds us that it could happen to anyone.
= Therefore, to deal with this threat we conclude that the victim deserved what they got.
(Physical attraction - social perspective)
What did meta-analysis’ of attractiveness stereotypes show?
Hebl et al., (2003)
= Judgements on intelligence and adjustments not affected.
= Honesty and concern are not affected.
= Attractive people are seen as more vein and not concerned about others.
Physical attraction - social perspective)
What did Dermel & Thiel (1975) study?
= Showed ppts pictures of people with various levels of attractiveness, asking them to judge how vein, committed, and sympathetic to others misfortunes.
= results showed attractive people received unfavourable judgements on all dimensions.
Psychological attraction
How does classical and operant conditioning of liking link to attraction?
> > > liking those whom with good things are associated»_space;> obtain a reward by interaction.
Psychological attraction
What did Dutton and Aron., (1974) study?
= Shaky vs sturdy bridge experiment.
= Males on shaky/rising condition rated a female as more attractive.
= Therefore, physical arousal cues may be subtle (sunny or rainy day), but can have an effect on arousal and consequently feelings of attraction.
What is meant by the concept ‘Praise’?
= We like those who like us/praise us.
= Complicated concept as people need both positive/negative feedback.
= Those with positive self-concepts prefer positive feedback.
= Those with negative self-concepts prefer negative feedback.
What is the Personal Equity Theory (Seta, & Seta., 1982).
= Proposes that individuals strive for fairness and equity in social relationships.
= Individuals evaluate their inputs (such as time, effort, and resources) and outcomes (such as rewards, benefits, and costs) in relation to those of others, and seek to maintain a balance or equity between the two.
What is the Cognitive Dissonance Theory (Festinger., 1956)?
= Suggests individuals experience psychological discomfort or dissonance when they hold conflicting beliefs or engage in behaviours that are inconsistent with attitudes or values.
= Discomfort motivates individuals to reduce the dissonance by changing their beliefs or behaviours in some way.
According to Aronson and Mills., (1959), what do the Cognitive Dissonance theory, and the Personal Equity Theory, have in common?
= When one is to expand on a great deal of effort toward achieving a goal, the goal increases in value, perhaps in part to justify the effort.
What did Kleinke et al., (1986) investigate?
= Chat up lines.
= Investigated what people say when trying to meet somebody they don’t know.
What is the need to affiliate?
= life is solitude - would be impossible to bear because of our innate need to compare ourselves with others.
What is the need for intimacy, according to McAdams., (1988)
= Important for our well-being.
What is the need to belong?
= A powerful, fundamental, and extremely pervasive motivation.
What did Twenge et al., (2003) state about the importance of relating to others?
= Imprisoned, exiled people are more at risk for depression, longing to be with their families.
= Reports that time goes by more slowly and that life is meaningless.
What is Ostracism?
= Being ignored, excluded, and made to feel like an outcast.
= Leaves people feeling deflated, stressed, frustrated, and depressed.
What did Hildyard & Wolfe., (2002) state about the importance of relating to others?
= Children who grow up with neglect or institutions are more likely to face depression, anxiety, and aggression problems.
= Belonginess appears to have multiple and strong effects on emotional patterns and on cognitive processes.
What did Leary et al., (2002) state?
= Lack of attachments is linked to a variety of ill effects on health, adjustment, and well-being.
What did Willams et al., (2000) study on cyber-ostracism involve?
= 1400 ppts in 62 countries.
= Playing online game of throwing a disk to 2 computer-generated players.
= Ostracised ppts experienced unhappy moods, with brain activity being similar to physical pain.
What did Leary et al., (2003) find?
= Columbine massacre and other 14 school shootings in America.
= All but 2 perpetrators were ostracised, bullied, excluded, and rejected.
