Interdependence Flashcards
social exchange theory
The idea we view relationships in a economic way– a cost benefit analysis of rewards and cost
What is a reward? What types are there?
a reward is a gain, they are either tangible/material or intangible/social.
tangible: financial, food, gifts
social: psychological needs met, emotional support
What is a cost?
something you lose, can also be either material or social.
material: spending money on someone
social: jealousy, uncertainty, arguments
Formula for outcomes
rewards-costs
formula for satisfaction
outcomes -comparison level
What is a comparison level?
A standard you believe should be met when in a relationship
How does comparison level relate to satisfaction?
Our positive experiences have to exceed our comparison level in order to be satisfied
People make sacrifices for the good of a relationship which leads to more positive consequences
Explain the study about sacrifice?
In a daily diary study, research found that [erceiving a partner’s sacrifice leads to inc partner appreciation and relationship satisfaction BUT ONLY if the recipient’s expectations were low
What are the sources of comparison level?
-previous relationships
-observing other relationships
-personality dispositions
What is dependence?
our reliance on another person, how easy it would be to leave them
formula for dependence
outcome-CLalt
CLalt is what we realistically could expect from another relationship
What factors affect CLalt?
barriers (things preventing people from looking elsewhere)
- often social (don’t want to be judged for being divorced)
Investment( things keeping people in a relationship)
- a house, kids, family
How do barriers and investments relate to dependance?
barriers and investments determine the alternative comparison level, with more barriers and heavy investment, people will be more dependent.
Do costs carry more weight than rewards?
Visserman study: people tend to miss 50% of the sacrifices their partners make for them,
The diary study on sacrifice shows that sacrifices must be noticed to impact satisfaction. It may be easier to notice costs vs rewards.
What is the magic ratio?
5:1 positive to negative exchanges
approach motivation vs avoidance motivation
motivation to gain positive outcomes in a relationship VS motivation to avoid negative outcomes in a relationship.
Avoidance motivation biases attention toward ________ whereas approach motivation is the opposite.
negative stimuli, enhances memory for negative stimuli, inc neg construals of ambigious events.
Are approach motives or avoidance motives better?
Depends! Approach tends to make partner happy, grow intimacy, inc positive affect whereas avoidance tends to inc neg affect, less intimacy and relationship satisfaction
What is velocity in the context of social goals?
velocity refers to how quick we are approaching a goal, and it predicts affective experience. Relationship satisfaction is better predicted by recent improvments in relationship quality, not long standing ones
Why does relationship satisfaction decline?
- efforts reduce
- interdependency is a magnifying glass for conflict and friction
-high access to weaponry
-unwelcome surprises
What is construal level theory?
contends that the psychological distance we have from an event or object will affect how we think about that event.
We think about distant things more abstractly (higher construal) and close things more concretely (lower level construal)
ex) we think of marrying someone very abstractly but forget about the day to day stuff (they never wash their dishes)
What are destiny beliefs vs growth beliefs?
Destiny beliefs are that people are either meant to be or not
Growth beleifs are that people grow together and have to work to stay together
What are the impacts of having destiny vs growth beliefs?
Destiny: initially more happy but when conflict arises, satisfaction declines becaus ethey aren’t meant to be
Growth: more constructive, less likely to take signs from the “universe)
What is the hedonic treadmill?
The idea that we are constantly chasing the best thing, the most satisfying option, and we just keep going and going.
More nice things someone does for you, your expectations inc, CL inc, so satisfaction dec
How do we combat the hedonic treadmill?
Variety–> performing various kinds of acts is said to balance out the hedonism
Spice things up
What is the happiness intervention study?
We know doing nice things for others does boost happiness. So the researchers told students to repeat the same kind acts every week for 10 weeks and other students to do a variety of kind tasks over 10 weeks.
Result: in high variety condition, inc happiness following intervention. In low variety, dec in happiness.
What are the three components of commitment?
- affective commitment (emotional reliance)
- cognitive commitment (imaging future)
- conative commitment (peristence)
WHat is the relational turbulence model?
there are predicyable peroids of turmoil and dips and satisfaction as partners adjust to interdependence
What is the investment model of commitment?
satisfaction level and investment size are weighed against quality of alternatives
ie. if satisfaction dips, it may be compensated for by investment and vice versa
What are the consequences of commitment?
May have to give up individual motivations
thinking in terms of us vs me
What is accomodation?
willingness to respond to destructive acts with a constructive response
What is the devaluation of alternatives?
When people are in commited relationships, they devalue alternatives due to their commitment and satisfaction
STUDY: Ps had to look at hot people and then to a shape. When primed with sexual thoughts, more attentional adhesion to attractive face sin single but not commited Ps.
What is the COmmitment Calibration Hypothesis?
commitment maintenance (relationship protecting mechanism) response may emerge when level of threat is equal with level of commitment. so it will not emerge when level of threat is higher or lower than level of commitment
Exchange vs communal relationships
Exchange: governed by explicit norms of even exchange (tit-for-tat)
Communal: governed by genuine concern for the welfare of the other
What is progression bias?
dating preferences become less strict after live interaction with potential partner
- willing to look up to four “dealbreaker” qualities in order to move the relationship forward
relationship inertia?
partners stay together and “slide” into marriage due to the accumulation of investments, rather than making a concrete decision
- might help explain why divorce rate increases for those who cohabit before marriage
equity
fairness in a relationship
