Chapter 13: Interpersonal Attraction and Close Relationships

Question 1

Attachment styles

Answer 1

the expectations that a person has about a relationship partner, based largely on the person’s early experiences with his or her caregivers

Question 2

Companionate love

Answer 2

a stable, calm, and dependable kind of love that may include quiet intimacy, stability, shared attitudes/values/life experiences, and high levels of self-disclosure

Question 3

Comparison level

Answer 3

the expected outcome of a relationship – the extent to which the person expects his or her relationship to be rewarding

Question 4

Comparison level for alternatives (CLalt)

Answer 4

a calculation regarding the expected benefits and costs that a person could receive from having a relationship with various other partners

Question 5

Demand/withdraw interaction pattern

Answer 5

a relatively common situation in which one partner is nagging, critical, and insistent about discussing the relationship problems, while the other partner is being withdrawn, silent, and defensive

Question 6

Equity theory

Answer 6

the theory that relationship satisfaction depends on the ratio of costs and benefits for each partner in a relationship

Question 7

Excitation transfer

Answer 7

when the arousal caused by one stimulus is added to the arousal from a second stimulus and the combined arousal is erroneously attributed to the second stimulus

Question 8

Investment

Answer 8

the resources devoted to a relationship that cannot be retrieved

Question 9

Matching hypothesis

Answer 9

people’s tendency to seek and find partners who are roughly at their own level of physical attractiveness

Question 10

Negative attributional traps

Answer 10

explaining a partner’s behaviour in negative ways

Question 11

Passionate love

Answer 11

an intense, exciting, and all-consuming type of love, which includes constant thoughts about the person, powerful physical attraction, and intense communication

Question 12

Positive illusions

Answer 12

the notion that people tend to see their romantic partners as well as their relationships in highly idealized ways

Question 13

Reciprocity

Answer 13

in-kind response to the behaviour of others

Question 14

Social exchange theory

Answer 14

the theory that people’s satisfaction in a relationship is determined by the costs and rewards of the relationship