Chapter 10: Relationships and Attraction

Question 1

What is a communal relationship?

Answer 1

A relationship in which the individuals feel a special responsibility for one another and give and recieve according to the principle of need. Such relationships are often long term.

• shared identity
• family and friends

Question 2

What is an exchange relationship?

Answer 2

A relationship in which individuals feel little responsibility toward one another, giving and receiving are governed by concerns about equity and reciprocity. Such relationships are usually short term
- work relationship, salesmen, etc.

Question 3

What is social exchange theory?

Answer 3

A theory based on the idea that how people feel about a relationship depends on their assessment of its costs and rewards.

Question 4

What is comparison level?

Answer 4

Expectations people have about what they think they deserve or expect to get out of a relationship.

Question 5

What is comparison level for alternatives?

Answer 5

Expecations people have about what they can get out of available, alternative relationships

Question 6

What is equity theory?

Answer 6

The idea that people are moticated to pursue fairness, or equity, in their relationships. A relationship is considered equitable when the benefits are proportionate to the effort both people put into it.

Question 7

What is attachment theory?

Answer 7

The idea that early attachment with aprents and other caregivers can shape relationships for a person’s whole life

Question 8

What is anxiety dimension of attachment?

Answer 8

A facet of attachment that captures the degree to which a person is worried about rejection and abandonment by relationship partners

Question 9

What is avoidance dimension of attachment?

Answer 9

A facet of attachment that captures the degree to which a person is comfortable with initmacy and dependence on relationship partners.

Question 10

What is functional distance?

Answer 10

The influence of an architectual laout to encourage or inhibit certain activities, cinlduing contact between people.

Question 11

What is mere exposure effect?

Answer 11

The idea that repeated exposure to stimulus, such as an object or a person, leads to greater liking of the stimulus

Question 12

What is complementarity?

Answer 12

The tendency for people to seek out tohers with characteristics that are different from, and complement their own

Question 13

What is the halo effect?

Answer 13

The common belief (accurate or not) that attractice individuals possess a host of positive quatlities beyonf their physical appearance

Question 14

What is reproductive fitness?

Answer 14

the capacity to pass one’s genes on to subsequent generations

Question 15

What is investment model of commitment?

Answer 15

a model of interpersonal relationships maintianing that three determinants make partners more committed to each other: relationship satisfaction, few alternative partners, and investments in the relationship

Question 16

Why is it difficult to study relationships and attraction in social psychology?

Answer 16

• cannot ensure controlled lab conditions

- people self select they relationships they participate in

Question 17

How does the need to belong impact the formation of social relationships?

Answer 17

• social relationships satisfy our need to belong
• social relationships help us produce offspring (long term romantic)
• social relationships help us survive (family and friendship) (share resources)
• actually able to satisfy need (not looking for infinite friendships)

Question 18

What is the evidence for our need to belong leading to social relationships?

Answer 18

• monkeys were raised with surrogate mothers (fake)
• one gave food, one provided comfort
• preferred one who gave comfort
• mortality rates are higher for divorced, unmarried, or widowed individuals
• relationships physically make us healthier

Question 19

Do all cultures prefer the same approaches to relationships?

Answer 19

NO

- east asian and latin american cultures take a communal approach to business and work

Question 20

What do social psychologists believe most relationships are based on?

Answer 20

REWARD

Question 21

Where is equity thoery more applicable?

Answer 21

• independent cultures, independence is more valued

- hierarchical unfairness is more accepted or even desired in interdependent culture relationships

Question 22

How are babies important in explaining attachment thoery?

Answer 22

• babies need to develop a strong attachment to someone in order to survive as well as to develop
• security comes from parents’ responsiveness
• impacts how child views their lovability and competence

Question 23

Infant Attachment Experiment

Answer 23

• infants and caregiver placed in strange room with interesting toys
• secure infants were comfortable moving away and exploring
• anxious infants were not comfortable exploring much
• stranger replaces caregiver in room
• secure infants had caregiver who easily soothed them
• anxious infancts were not easy comforted
• avoidant infants did not seek comfort or even rejected it

Question 24

What is the difference between attachment styles and attachment dimensions?

Answer 24

• expanded to say dimensions because it shows that each person can have components of each dimension or vary from relationship to relationship
• not fixed, more flexible

Question 25

What does attachment theory neglect to explain/

Answer 25

really only accurately describes patterns displayed in western culture

Question 26

What are components that determine attraction?

Answer 26

• proximity
• similarity
• physical attractiveness

Question 27

Proximity has the largest effect on….

Answer 27

people of different races, ages, or social classes (heterogenous friendships)

Question 28

mere exposure effect ex.

Answer 28

• participants shown turkish words

- words they had been shown more frequently they assumed had more positive meanings even tho they didn’t know

Question 29

Mere Exposure Effect Explanation

Answer 29

• increased exposure means you are more comfortable

- neutral becomes positive simply because it lacks negative

Question 30

What are limitations to the Mere Exposure Effect?

Answer 30

• does not work with stimuli you initially dislike

- does not apply to auditory stimuli

Question 31

How does social psychology explain ‘opposites attract’?

Answer 31

• not actually opposite, looking for something complementary
• people can address each others needs in a complementary way
• similarity is the rule, complementarity is the exception

Question 32

Intro Note to Physical Attrativeness

Answer 32

• desirable features vary across cultures and overtime

- extreme variety in what people find attrative

Question 33

What do people find attractive?

Answer 33

• features that signify reproductive fitness
• more average or compositve faces
• symmetry (shows resist disease)

Question 34

Why are women more picky about choosing mates?

Answer 34

• more invested in offspring

Question 35

What are men attracted to?

Answer 35

• fertility -> youth

Question 36

What are women attracted to?

Answer 36

• someone to provide while they provide for the child
• ovulation increases a women’s ability to find a strong/masculine man
• division of labor created cultural reasons to find a successful male mate

Question 37

What other theory influenced the investment model of commitment?

Answer 37

Social exchange theory

Question 38

Four Most Harmful Behaviors in a Reltionship

Answer 38

• criticism
• contempt
• stonewalling
• defensiveness

Question 39

How do attributions impact relationships?

Answer 39

• unstable couple associate bad event to person and good event to situation
• stable couples associate bad event to situation and good event to person

Question 40

How to creat stronger romantic bonds

Answer 40

• postive conversation, share enthusiasm
• silliness and playfulness creates more positive associations with someone
• idealize partner, all faults come with silver lining