factors affecting attraction in romantic relationships Flashcards
what is self-disclosure?
the extent to which a person reveals intimate personal information about themselves to another person
why is self-disclosure important in relationships?
as greater disclosure leads to greater feelings of intimacy and attraction
what is social penetration theory (Altman & Taylor 1973)?
the gradual process of revealing your innermost core self to someone else by gradually ‘penetrating’ into each others’ lives. doing this shows trust and a better understanding of each other
what is breadth?
it’s narrow as lots of topics are ‘off limits’ and too much self disclosure too early can threaten a relationship as it may appear inappropriate. this element is superficial
what is depth?
it’s limited as initially only ‘low risk’ information will be shared. as the relationship develops more intimate details will be disclosed. this element is superficial
what is reciprocity (reis and shaver 1988)?
- argue that self disclosure must be a two way process if the relationship is to develop.
- when someone discloses highly personal info, it is hoped that the response is understanding and their partners own personal thoughts and feelings
- this balance increases their intimacy and deepens the relationship
what is supporting evidence for self disclosure by laurenceau (2005)?
- asked pets to keep daily diary entries reporting on self disclosures. partner disclosures and the degree of intimacy they felt
- found self disclosure was linked to higher levels of intimacy in long-term married couples
- reverse is also true - less intimate couples self disclosed less often
- suggests that the theory of self disclosure as a factor affecting attraction is valid
what are the real life applications for self disclosure?
- can be used deliberately in marriage counselling, or to help improve social skills
- can have a positive impact in real life in a number of areas strengthening romantic and platonic relationships
what is a limitation of self disclosure theory?
- its a ethnocentric theory based western cultural values that doesn’t generalise well to other cultures, for example:
- Americans self disclosure more than Chinese or Japanese (Chen, 1995)
- Japanese women prefer a lower of level os personal disclosure than japans men (Nakanishi 1986) which contrasts western patterns of women preferring to self disclose more than men
what is physically attractiveness?
buss (1989) argued that men in particular place great importance on physical attractiveness when choosing a mate because it’s an important cue to woman’s health and fertility
what features are males more attracted to?
females with neotenous (baby face) features (large eyes, small nose and a delicate chin).
how could attraction to these features be explained?
could be explained by evolution, males are attracted to characteristics that suggest youthfulness in females as it means reproductive success is more likely
why is face symmetry important to both sexes?
it means greater attractiveness. it may be an honest signal of genetic fitness. anything less than perfect symmetry indicates some kind of dysfunction, however small.
what is the matching hypothesis?
people tend to look for partners who are roughly of similar physical attractiveness to themselves, a match.
how does the matching hypothesis work?
- individuals must first assess their own attractiveness and make a realistic judgement about their own value to a potential partner
- select best candidates who would be most likely to be attracted to them and reciprocate their affection
- the best candidate may not be the most attractive option, but a compromise to ensure a successful outcome
what is the research into physical attractiveness by walster (1966)?
- advertised a ‘computer dance’ for US students
- when they came to collect their tickets 4 student accomplices covertly rated each one for physical attractiveness
- the ppts were asked to complete a questionnaire and told the data would be used to allocate their ideal partner for the dance, pairing was actually random
- they completed a questionnaire about their date
what were the findings of walster’s research?
regardless of their own physical attractiveness they responded more positively to physically attractive dates and were more likely to try to arrange dates with them. personality and intelligence didn’t affect liking the dates. the study supports physical attractiveness affecting attraction
what is a negative of walster’s study?
it doesn’t support the matching hypothesis as their own physical attractiveness didn’t affect the findings
what was walster and walster’s follow up study (1969)?
- ppts met before the computer dance and given a choice of who would be their partner
- made circumstances more similar to life where people have more control over who is their partner
- the findings did support matching hypothesis, as ppts did prefer someone who matched their own perceived physical attractiveness
how is the theory of physical attractiveness reductionist?
- explains behaviour on a genetic level (how genes are programmed to respond to other’s genes) and therefore biologically reductionist
- ignores other factors like behaviours resulting from social interaction
what would be a less reductionist theory?
- complex matching: people come to a relationship offering many desirable qualities, physical attractiveness is only one
- compensate lack of physical attractiveness with other desirable qualities like kindness, humour, money etc.
- this is more holistic as it takes more different levels of behaviour into account
what did kerckhoff and davis (1962) study and discover?
- student couples in short term relationships of fewer than 18 months
- several important criteria people use to choose a partner. call these ‘filters’ as they help people sift through all potential partners to find the right one
what is filter theory?
suggest people develop relationships by applying a series of filters, such as similarity of social demographic factors and attitudes and complimentary of needs
what are sociodemographic characteristics?
physical proximity, level of education, social class, religion, and other important factors people are likely to pay attention to when we are meeting a person for the first time
