Chapter 10: Relationships and Attraction Flashcards
define communal relationships
individuals feel a special responsibility for one another and give and receive according to need
define exchange relationships
individuals feel little responsibility toward one another; giving and receiving are governed by concerns about equity and reciprocity. Typically short-term
define social exchange theory
people seek out relationships that have more rewards than costs
define comparison level
people’s expectations about what they deserve/expect from a relationship
define comparison level for alternatives
people’s expectations about what they can get out of available other relationships
define equity theory
people are motivated to pursue fairness/equity in their relationships
define reward principle
we want rewards from our interactions
define attachment theory
our early attachments with parents and caregivers shape relationships for a person’s whole life
what is The Strange Situation Study (Ainsworth 1978)?
Infants left in room with toys with their caregiver
Stranger enters room and caregiver leaves
Caregiver return after three minutes
Secure infants - comfortable with caregiver
Anxious infants - uncomfortable with both
Caregivers of anxious infants - rejected infant, randomly interrupted them, did not comfort infant
define Anxiety dimension of attachment
amount of fear a person feels about rejection and abandonment
define avoidance dimension of attachment
amount of discomfort regarding intimacy and dependence
what are the attachment styles and their definitions?
Secure - comfortable with relationships (low on both)
Avoidant - difficulty trusting people in relationships
Anxious-ambivalent - worries about scaring people away
what is the Longitudinal attachment study (Klohnen and Bera 1998)?
Forty-year long study on attachment styles and home-caregiver attitudes and behavior
Attachment styles stayed relatively similar decades later
what is the Attachment styles and outcomes study?
Over a 4-year period, secure participants were less likely to experience breakup (25.6%) than avoidant (52.2%) or anxious (43.6%) participants
what is the Westgate West Study (Festinger et al., 1950)?
Researchers asked students who lived in student housing to list their closest friends
Only 5% of students lived in the same building
However, ⅔ of those listed as friends lived in the same building as the participants
define physical proximity
being closer (literally) to people leads to becoming closer (figuratively) with people
define functional distance
how the layout encourages or inhibits contact between people
define mere exposure effect
repeated exposure to a stimulus leads to a greater liking of a stimulus
what is the Turkish Word Experiment (Zajonc 1968) ?
Participants shown turkis words kadirga, afworbu, and lokanta 0, 1, 2, 5, 10, or 25 times
Participants then indicated whether they thought the word meant something good or a bad
Words they saw more often were rated as more positive
what is the albino rat study?
Rats exposed to either Mozart or Schoenberg
Rats placed in cage in which standing on one side turn on new Mozart music, standing on other side would turn on new Schoenberg
Rats who’d been raised Mozart, and the same was true for Schoenberg-raised rats
define complementarity
the idea that opposites attract
-only true if similarities exist
define status exchange hypothesis
romantic attraction increases when two individuals complement each other by offering both increased status in different domains
define halo effect
the belief that attractive people have other positive qualities
what is the telephone study?
Independent raters rated participants on attractiveness
Participants had 5 minute telephone conversations with other participants of opposite sex
More attractive participants rated as more likeable
what is the phone study with photo?
Male participants had phone conversations with woman who they believed was attractive or unattractive
Male participants were warmer with attractive woman
Independent raters who only heard the woman’s portion of the conversation rated attractive woman as warmer and more sociable
what was the shared self-concept study?
Married couple rated 90 trait adjectives on how accurately they described themselves and spouse
Then did a distracting track
Came back, rated on a computer how much they were “like me” or “not like me”
-romantic partners are faster to label traits like me when they are true of their parenter as well
define investment model of commitment
three determinants make romantic partners more committed - relationship satisfaction, alternative partners, and investments
what is the *Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse Study (Gottman & Levenson 1999) study?
Followed 79 married couples in longitudinal study
Identified four behaviors that predicted divorce:
what four behaviors did the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse Study reveal?
Criticism: continuously finding fault with the other
Defensiveness: refusing to consider they’re at fault
Contempt: putting the other down
Stonewalling: disengaging from the interaction
