interpersonal and romantic relationships Flashcards
Why are interpersonal relationships a fundamental need for human affilitation?
They are evolutionary - affiliation and group living enhanced our prehistoric ancestors’ chances of survival and reproduction, as well as the survival of their offspring - as a result, natural selection may have forged a strong motive for affiliation as part of human psyche
Why are interpersonal relationships important for social support and wellbeing?
There is a strong association between being in relationships and overall wellbeing through both instrumental support (practical assistance) and emotional support
What have mortality studies shown about social support and wellbeing in interpersonal relationships?
Patients who were married or had a confidant have 30% more chance of survival after 5 years compared to those who were unmarried/without a confidant
What did Schachter (1959) study in relation to affiliation in distressing situations?
Study 1 - female ppts given choice to wait alone or with others for a study in which they believed they would receive painful vs non-painful electric shocks - those who expected pain preferred to wait with others significantly more.
Study 2 - ppts given choices to wait alone vs with women who were waiting for same study vs women who were waiting for an academic tutorial
Why are interpersonal relationships important to obtaining information?
People affiliate to obtain information about other people’s attitudes and behaviours to:
- reduce uncertainty, ambiguity and confusion
- provide guidance on how we should respond to situations
How are interpersonal relationships important according to Festinger’s (1954) social comparison theory?
Comparing oneself with others is essential for evaluating and enhancing aspects of the self
What was William et al. (2002) research on effects of social exclusion/ostracism/rejection? What did ppts report and what did brain activity show?
Cyberball
A virtual ball-tossing game between ppt and 2 confederates (or computer-controlled)
ppts are eventually excluded from receiving the ball.
Ppts reported feeling bad, having less control, losing a sense of belonging.
Brain activity showed that being socially excluded corresponded to the same neurological activity as when feeling physical pain.
What have meta-analyses shown about the relationship between loneliness and health/mortality?
- A meta-analysis of studies from 1980-2014 showed that loneliness and living alone increased the likelihood of mortality by 26-32% (Holt-Lunstad et al., 2015)
- A meta-analysis study showed medium to large effects of loneliness on all health outcomes including mental and physical health and overall wellbeing (Park et al., 2020)
What is the physical attractiveness stereotype?
Increased liking based on attractiveness.
Physically attractive people are more likely to:
- be liked more on a first date
- raise higher sums of money for charity
- be successful in a job interview
- earn more money once they have a job
- be treated leniently in the legal system
- be perceived as trustworthy
What is the matching phenomenon?
People more likely to choose partners who are a similar match to themselves in terms of physical attractiveness (correlational studies, experimental studies, study of online dating advertisements)
What is asset matching in the matching hypothesis?
Seeking complimentary assets eg. wealth, intelligence - allows people to exchange what they want from relationships
How does proximity increase liking?
Being in close proximity to others can facilitate attraction - the propinquity effect
How did Back et al. (2008) research proximity and liking?
Randomly assigned students to sit next to someone or in the same row as that person for one whole term. They found the closer students sat to that person, the more they like them
What does spatial proximity also increase?
Attractiveness rating
How does familiarity increase liking?
Repeated exposure effect on liking
How did Moreland and Beach (1992) investigate familiarity and liking?
In a classroom setting, arranged 4 new female students taking part in class on 0,5,10,15 occasions and found that the new student was rated as more attractive the more often other students saw her.
What is the arousal attraction effect?
It is possible for people to make mistakes about what is causing their physical arousal - misattribution of psychological arousal for attraction
What did Dutton and Aron (1974) research on arousal attraction effect?
Male ppts either crossed risky Capilano bridge or a safer bridge. Researcher (male or female) at the end of the bridge asked them to fill out a questionnaire, and gave them a phone number to call if they had any questions
- higher percentage of ppts called the female experimenter after crossing the risky bridge
How does similarity affect attraction?
- Similarity of attitudes, interests, and values is one of the most important positive psychological determinants of attraction
- Law of attraction - attraction towards a person is linearly related to the proportion of attitudes shared with them
How does mutual liking affect attraction?
In general, we like people who like us and dislike people who dislike us (reciprocity principle)
Who proposed the reinforcement affect model?
Byrne and Clore (1970)
What is the reinforcement affect model? (Byrne & Clore, 1970)
People can be liked or disliked depending on their association with positive/negative feelings
- liking by association: people associate others with features of the environment
What did Griffitt and Veitch (1971) research into reinforcement in relationships?
Heat, population density, and attitude similarity as independent variables - people associated others with features of the environment
What does social exchange theory posit?
Relationships work like economic exchanges
eg. love, status, information, money, goods, and services
According so social exchange theory, what 3 things do people’s evaluation of their relationship depend on?
- Rewards gained from relationship
- Cost incurred from relationship
- Comparison levels (what they expect from the relationship) and comparison levels for alternatives (the likelihood they could have a better relationship with another person)
What is equity theory?
- People are happiest in equitable relationships in which the cost-reward payoff is approx the same for both parties.
- Over-benefitting may lead to guilt
- Under-benefitting may lead to resentment
What are 3 criticisms of social exchange and equity theory?
- Rule-based system does not account for individual differences eg. how people perceive reward and cost/differences in comparison levels across time and contexts
- Does not always work as explanatory model for relationships - eg. parent and child relationships do not follow this
- In communal relationships, members are motivated to provide benefits without the expectation of receiving benefits in return
What is correlational evidence by Schafer & Keith (1980) for equity theory?
People who perceived their relationships to be unfair felt more unhappy and distressed
What is correlational evidence by Stafford and Canary (2006) for equity theory?
Partners who perceived their relationships as fair experienced the most satisfaction, followed by those who over-benefitted, while under-benefitted partners showed the least satisfaction
What does an experimental study by Sprecher (2016) manipulate to suggest a causal link between equity and relationship satisfaction?
Manipulation of equity - ppts asked to write about a past situation in their relationship when they either overbenefited, underbenefited or when there was equity
What is the evolutionary approach to relationships concerned with?
How various behaviours promote survivals of genes into subsequent generations eg. mating preferences and strategies - individuals select partners who enhance their chances of reproductive success?
What are some criticisms of the evolutionary approaches to relationships?
Mainly on heterosexual relationships, reinforces gender stereotypes, reductionist, does not consider personal experience
What do cognitive behavioural approaches to relationships suggest?
Perception of relationship events affects subjective experience
What does Heider’s balance theory (1958) suggest about relationships (cognitive-behavioural theory)?
People sharing similar attitudes are likely to reach balance - a positive emotional state
How can cognitive behavioural therapy help with relationships?
Help more people evaluate their maladaptive thinking and attribution as well as correct their communication and behaviour
What do attachment theories suggest about relationships? What studies support this?
The need for affiliation is fundamental and powerful.
Bowlby (1969) argued that infants’ attachment behaviours such as seeking to be reunited with mother are indicators of the affiliative drive.
Attachment behaviour is not limited to the infant-caregiver experience but can be observed throughout the lifecycle.
Who conducted the strange situation study into attachment styles?
Ainsworth et al. (1978)
What are the 3 attachment styles defined by Hazan and Shaver (1987)?
Secure: Trust and a secure feeling of being worthy and liked.
Avoidant: Low trust and avoidance of relationships
Anxious: Concerned that feelings are not reciprocated
What are 2 types of love?
Passionate love: intense and occasionally confused emotions
Companionate love: calmer, friendly affection and attachment
What 3 components are measured by the passionate love scale (hatfield and Sprecher, 1986)?
Cognitive components (eg. intrusive thinking)
Emotional components (eg. attraction to partner)
Behavioural components (eg. actions to determine other’s feelings
Who identified six basic love styles? (colours of love)
Lee (1973/1976)
What are the 6 basic love styles identified by Lee (1973/1976)?
- Eros - passionate love
- Storge - friendship/companionate love
- Ludus - game playing love
- Mania - possessive and dependent love
- Pragma - logical/practical/realistic love
- Agape - selfless/transcendent love
Who proposed the triangular theory of love?
Sternberg (1988)
According to the triangular theory of love (Sternberg, 1988), what are the three key factors of love?
intimacy
passion
commitment
combination of each result in different kinds of love
According to Sternberg’s triangular theory of love, what is ideal love?
Intimacy, passion and commitment
According to Sternberg’s triangular theory of love, what is Romeo and Juliet love?
Romantic love - intimacy and passion
According to Sternberg’s triangular theory of love, what is Love at first sight?
Infatuation - passion alone
According to Sternberg’s triangular theory of love, what is whirlwind marriage?
Fatuous love - passion and commitment
According to Sternberg’s triangular theory of love, what is arranged marriage love?
Empty love
Commitment alone
According to Sternberg’s triangular theory of love, what is old couples love?
Companionate love
intimacy and commitment
What is the social-constructionist view of love?
Love is a social construction
Societies/cultures in different time periods differ in their understandings of love
- Love became a foundation for marriage - new development
- Monogamy and polygamy across cultures
What are methods for studying relationships?
Self-report methods
observation
Experiments
Interaction-based methods
Physiological methods
What are self-report methods for studying relationships?
Questionnaires (eg. love attitudes scale)
Diaries and interaction record studies
Most common method
Correlational
What are advantages of self-report methods for studying relationships?
Tap people’s subjective experiences, access private emotions
What are disadvantages of self-report methods for studying relationships?
- Can’t establish causal relationships
- Reporting issues, demand characteristics, social desirability
- Responding to decontextualised hypothetical situations
What are advantages of observational methods for studying relationships?
Objective methods, reliable data
What are disadvantages of observational methods for studying relationships?
Time consuming, effect of recording
What are advantages of experimental methods for studying relationships?
Hypothesis testing, establish causal relationships
What are disadvantages of experimental methods for studying relationships?
Artificial
What are advantages of interaction-based methods for studying relationships?
captures describable relationship practices
What are disadvantages of interaction-based methods for studying relationships?
does not tap any traditional experimental criteria
What is an example of physiological methods for studying relationships?
Empathy within couples: “The female volunteers activated the affective component of their own pain experience when they observed their loved one receiving painful stimulation to his right hand” (Singer, 2006)
What are advantages of physiological methods for studying relationships?
Objective methods
What are disadvantages of physiological methods for studying relationships?
Technical, costly, invasive
What are 4 critical issues in studying relationships?
- decontextualised
- disembodied relationship antecedents - film still vs complete film (partial, narrow, incomplete accounts of relationships)
- Sampling issues (heteronormative, ethnocentric)
- Focus on problems
