DEFINITIONS 7 Interpersonal Attraction, Close Relationships, and Love Flashcards
need for affiliation
The basic motive to seek and maintain interpersonal relationships.
proximity
In attraction research, the physical closeness between two individuals with respect to where they live, where they sit in a classroom, where they work, and so on. The smaller the physical distance, the greater the probability that the two people will come into repeated contact experiencing repeated exposure to one another, positive affect, and the development of mutual attraction.
physical attractiveness
The combination of characteristics that are evaluated as beautiful or handsome at the positive extreme and as unattractive at the negative extreme.
repeated exposure effect
Zajonc’s finding that frequent contact with any mildly negative, neutral,
or positive stimulus results in an increasingly positive evaluation of that stimulus.
similarity–dissimilarity effect
The consistent finding that people respond positively to indications that another person is similar to themselves and negatively to indications that another person is dissimilar from themselves.
attitude similarity
The extent to which two individuals share the same attitudes.
proportion of similarity
The number of specific indicators that two people are similar divided by the number of specific indicators that two people are similar plus the number of specific indicators that they are dissimilar.
repulsion hypothesis
Rosenbaum’s provocative proposal that attraction is not increased
by similar attitudes but is simply decreased by dissimilar attitudes. This hypothesis is incorrect as stated, but it is true that dissimilar attitudes tend to have negative effects that are stronger than the positive effects of similar attitudes.
matching hypothesis
The idea that although we would prefer to obtain extremely attractive romantic partners, we generally focus on obtaining ones whose physical beauty is about the same as our own.
balance theory
The formulations of Heider
and of Newcomb that specify
the relationships among (1) an individual’s liking for another person, (2) his or her attitude about a given topic, and (3) the other person’s attitude about the same topic. Balance (liking plus agreement) results in a positive emotional state. Imbalance (liking plus disagreement) results in a negative state and a desire to restore balance. Nonbalance (disliking plus either agreement or disagreement) leads to indifference.
social comparison theory
Festinger (1954) suggested that people compare themselves to others because, for many domains and attributes, there is no objective yardstick with which to evaluate the self, so we compare ourselves to others to gain this information.
attachment style
The degree of security experienced in interpersonal relationships. Differential styles initially develop in the interactions between infant and caregiver when the infant acquires basic attitudes about self-worth and interpersonal trust.
interpersonal trust
An attitudinal dimension underlying attachment styles that involves the belief that other people are generally trustworthy, dependable, and reliable as opposed to the belief that others are generally untrustworthy, undependable, and unreliable. This is the most successful and most desirable attachment style.
secure attachment style
A style characterized by high self- esteem and high interpersonal trust. This is the most successful and most desirable attachment style.
fearful-avoidant attachment style
A style characterized by low self- esteem and low interpersonal trust. This is the most insecure and least adaptive attachment style.
