CH 12 Attraction, Love & communication. Flashcards
What is attraction?
Immediate and positive emotional and/or behavioural response to someone.
- Emotional measured by how you feel about someone.
- Behavioural measure by how much you want to meet the person etc.
What are the main components of physical attractiveness?
- Symmetry
- Body size/Proportions
- Facial attractiveness
* Note: the hotter the better, more important to heterosexual men*
What is the cause for some characteristics to e considered attractive?
- Biology
2. Culture
What is the parental investment theory?
-Women have greater minimal obligatory investment when having children. (We commit to a lot more than men have to)
What is the sexual strategies theory?
-Men and women face different adaptive problems in reproduction and have evolved differently to overcome these problems.
Historically, what was considered physically attractive?
- Female voluptuousness was associated with femininity and fertility.
- Male muscularity was associated however with lower class labourers and farmers.
What is considered attractive in current culture?
Femininity - sexuality without ties of motherhood, career - thinner, sexiness for just the sake of sexiness.
Masculinity and affluence associated with strength and muscularity.
What do women report being attracted to in men?
- Tall
- Confident
- physically strong
- Powerful bearing
- Note short men are considered unattractive for both casual and long term relationships
what of women views of men change during their fertile period of their menstrual cycle?
Women prefer masculine men during the fertile period and less masculine men in other parts of their cycle.
what of women views of men change during their fertile period of their menstrual cycle?
Women prefer masculine men during the fertile period and less masculine men in other parts of their cycle.
What are men attracted to in women?
- Younger women
- Youthful appearance, full lips, clear smooth skin, clear eyes, lustrous hair, and good muscle tone.
- Larger breasts (b/c signal reproductive maturity and fertility)
What do women overestimate of their physical attractiveness for men?
- Men’s preferences for thinner in a mate.
2. Men’s preferences for large breasts.
what is waist to hip ratio?
Ratio of the circumference of the waist to circumference of the hips.
On average, female waist to hip ratio of 0.7 is rated most attractive by heterosexual men and lesbians.
What is the optimal waist to hip ratio for general health and fertility?
women 0.7
men 0.9
China: 0.6
South America and Africa : 0.8-0.9 from front and 0.6 from side.
How do you calculate the WSR (Waist to shoulder ratio)?
WSR= Circumference of waist DIVIDED by the circumference of shoulders. .75 or lower is ideal.
What are the two theories as to why we care about facial symmetry?
- indicator of genetic fitness
- Perceptual bias
What is the theory of Facial Sexual Dimorphism? and how does it differ between men and women?
Theory: preference for traits that best exhibit sexual maturation and reproductive fitness.
Women- Big eyes, small nose, small chin, full lips, and prominent cheekbones, narrow cheeks, broad smile.
Men- Strong jaws, Broad foreheads, slightly more feminized and baby faced men are more attractive too.
What is the dark side of thinness being idealized?
- People associate being overweight with laziness, softness and weakness.
- Socially accepted prejudice.
- In Canada more men are overweight than women but more women diet than men.
- Eating disorders
- Mixed messages.
What factors can influence peoples physical attractiveness?
Misattribution of arousal, Positive or negative personality, Environmental factors (influence of friends or peers also media influence).
What are the key predictors of partner choice?
- Proximity
- Mere exposure (Greater attraction the more exposure we have to them unless you have a bad first impression)
- Homophily
- Similarity
- Matching phenomenon
- Reciprocal liking
What is Assortative mating?
The tendency to choose a partner who is similar to oneself on one or more characteristics.
What is Homophily?
The tendency to have contact with people equal in social status.
What is Homophily?
The tendency to have contact with people equal in social status.
What is Ethnicities Role in partner choosing?
The most consistent similarity for people in relationships is ethnicity bc 34% of people want someone of their same ethnicity.
