chapter 9: attraction and relationships Flashcards
what are the 4 rules of attraction?
- proximity and familiarity
- similarity
- reciprocity
- physical attractiveness
what happened in the MIT westgate study?
- students assigned to rooms and few knew each other beforehand
- asked ps to name ppl who they socialize often with
- 2/3 ppl listed as friends lived in same building
- 41% listed adjacent rooms as friends as opposed to across the hall
what is functional distance and how does that related to the study?
influence of the layout of a physical space that encourages or discourages contact between people (how easy or hard to come into contact)
- stairs positioned in way that certain rooms would encounter certain rooms more ofter than others
- rooms 1 and 6 (above each other) are closer from functional perspective
what is propinquity?
state of being close to someone or something in terms of physical proximity or closeness (actual physical distance)
- doesnt always lead to liking
what is the mere exposure effect in terms of proximity?
more you are exposed to something, the more you tend to like it
- strong correlation between how frequently ppl are exposed to items and how much they like it
what happened in the Cross et al. study on albino rats?
one group - environment where music played for 12 hours a day
second group - exposed to same schedule of diff music
- placed on a cage ind where one side triggered one music and the other side triggered the other
- choose which one the preferred
- found that whatever music they heard -perviously they chose that side
what are 2 explanations for exposure leads to liking?
- ppl find it easier to process familiar stim becoming more fluent and pleasurable leading to positive feelings and appeal
- learn to asscoiate stim with nothing negative and form comfortable and pleasant attachment
what are the 4 main types of attraction of similarity?
- people who are similar in terms of social class, educational level and religious background
- people who are throw tg for an extended period of time
- attraction similarity hypothesis - liking ppl with similar values and attitudes
- matching hypothesis - people of approximately equal levels of physical attractiveness (and values) tend to seek each other as mates
what happened in burgess and wallin?
- 1000 couples rated themselves on 88 charcteristics
- compared ratings with random couples
- avg similarity of engaged couples was greater on 66 char.
- similarity of engaged couples strongest on things such as social class and physcial characteristics
what happened in bryne et al?
- Created pair of similar couples and pair of dissimilar couples
- Gave them 30 mins to have a “coke date”
- They rated each other’s attraction, if they wanted to see them again, and memory of their name
- Similarity related to attraction; also, memory of partner’s name; and desire for more dates
what happened in zajonc et al?
- Couples who were married 25+ years brought in current photos and photos from their 1st year of marriage
- Cropped the photos; asked unbiased people to rate how similar they looked at Time 1 and Time 2
- After 25 years of marriage, couples looked more alike than they did as newlyweds
what were the reason in zajonc et al?
initial physical similarities, shared diet, shared living conditions, shared emotional experiences
what are two ways that highlight similarity for predictor of attraction?
- when we see someone as being similar to us we assume they have positive qualities enhancing attraction
- more certain about being like by ppl who are similar to us
what does the complementary hypothesis entail?
tendency for people to seek out others with characteristics that are different from, and that complement, their own
only for those traits for which one person’s needs can be met by the other person’s difference (someone who is dependent attracted to someone who is nurturing)
what is the status exchange hypothesis?
attracted to individuals who enjoy elevated status in a domain where we ourselves are lacking (family or wealth), but who themselves are lacking in domains where we excel, such as, say, level of education
- romantic attraction increases
what are some benefits of being physically attractive?
- more popular as friends
- better liked as romantic partners
- happier and less stressed
- more satisfied with lives
- more likely to be helped by a male
- confidence trun to good social skils
- better success and higher salary
- lighter sentences (crime)
what is the halo effect?
common belief that attractive individuals possess a host of positive qualities beyond their physical appearance
“What is Beautiful is Good”
how are attractive ppl seen in diff cultures?
indep = assumed to be dominant and assertive
interdep = assume to be more generous, sensitive and empathetic
what is halo effect perpetuated by?
the self fulfilling prophecy
if we assume they have these good traits, we might act more positively towards them in which they respond positively back to us
what happened in walster et al.?
- Matched 1st year students with blind date at O week dance at complete random
- After dance, Ps evaluated partners on several dimensions (interdependence, sincerity, physical attractiveness etc.)
- Trait most strongly associated with liking: physical attractiveness
Biggest predictor if they liked them and wanted to ask on another date
what does it mean when someone says ““What is Good is Beautiful”?
- idea that positive character traits enhance physical attractiveness (humour, talent, intelligence, confidence)
“Je ne sais quoi” → idk what it is about them that makes them attractive
true or false: Attractiveness is more important in determining men’s life outcomes than women’s life?
false
what did Fredrickson and Roberts argue in terms of beauty is power for women?
external rewards for beauty encourage women’s preoccupation with their own attractiveness
- end up adopting a kind of outsider’s perspective on their physical selves
