Interpersonal Attraction Flashcards
First Impressions
Have an enormous impact
Primacy effect: strong schema and bias creation
Confirmation Bias: we pay attention to things consistent with our schema
Overconfidence: in our judgment of developing the schema and that that is who they are based on that little info
Interpersonal Attraction Orientations
Physiological approaches, learning theory, social exchange theory, trait approaches,evolutionary approach, social cognition approaches, attachment theory
Physiological Approaches
Pheromones: smells to make others attracted to you. (Think of the Try Guys & white shirts)
Arousal as Cue: rush of adrenaline, ANS activation
Misattribution of Arousal
- Bridge study: men on two bridges, one that sways and the other sturdy and not as high. Men found the park ranger confederate more attractive on the scarier bridge.
- “Secrets”: Couples privately told to touch feet under the table without the others knowing found the other more attractive
Learning Theory
Operant Conditioning: we like those who we get rewarded for interacting with less cost
Gain-loss hypothesis: we tend to be more attracted to someone who we win over vs someone’s esteem we lose
Reciprocity effects: hard for us to not like someone who likes us
Flattery effects: people who say nice things about us/compliment us, we are inclined to like
Social Exchange Theory
Outcome and probability, communal vs exchange
Outcome and probability
External cost of interaction and affects their behavior
Communal vs exchange
Communal has a level of intimacy and some level of knowing that you will have interactions with this person in the future.
Exchange is more business like, task oriented, and you’re not necessarily thinking that you’ll have more interactions in the future
Example of Social Exchange Theory
3 groups of women: women in relationship, women who are single and interested in dating, women who are single and not interested in dating. Randomly, women from each would drop something and stumble If she was in the group of women who are single and interested, men would help the most, then single and not looking, then least help if they were taken.
Contact Effects
Proximity: we are only attracted to those we have interactions with. We tend to be attracted to people the more often we have interactions with them
Familiarity: we are more likely to interact and be attracted to people who remind us of others from the past
Example of contact effects
MIT Study: Post WW2 and GI Bill where 18-20 year olds came back from war and overwhelmed housing, so they built some like a Motel 6. Researchers took measures of who they interacted and how you liked them/attracted to each other. It was found that they found those who lived in the same quad area/building than other areas and the ones who lived on the ends of the floors were most popular since you ran into them more often
Trait Approaches
Physical appearance (Halo effect), matching hypothesis, similarity, positivity effects, small imperfections
Physical Appearance
-Computer dance study: in a dance people are paired up and taken headshots of to send to other universities to rate attractiveness. Later on, they were forced to hang out for an hour and then people were given questionnaires about how much they like the dance, is your partner attractive, would you wanna spend more time together?
The only thing that predicted anything was how physically attractive they were.
First Impressions (hiring, jury’s teacher rating) , social interactions (diary record study), little kids
Matching hypothesis
Phenomenon that we tend to wind up with someone who is of equal attraction as us and feel more secure.
Most attractive people will pair up first, they tend to find each other
Similarity
Demographics and attitudes; not personality
Attitudes matter a lot, we tend to like people who like the same things we like and dislike the same things we dislike
- Ethniticites, socioeconomic status, age
Positivity Effects
People who are more positive, complain less, and smile more tend to have more people attracted to them. People who are high neuroticism are not deemed attractive
Small imperfections
We like imperfections that show someone is human, that they are relatable and get embarrassed.
Ex: guest lecturers spills a little bit of water in one class and not the other. The class he spilled in, rated him much higher
Evolutionary Approach
2 Main themes
-Survival and reproduction
-Differential parental investment: men and women play very different roles in reproduction and issue regarding reproduction.
- Mate preferences: gender differences
- men rate physical attractiveness high while women see resources
Attachment Theory
By John Bowlby: Harlowe’s monkey: comfort contact. Baby monkey taken away from real mom and presented two moms: one made of Terry crotch and was warm and had a heartbeat v the chicken wire mom with food. Monkey spent most of the day snuggled, but went to the chicken wire mom for food.
Types of Attachment Styles
Secure, Anxious/Ambivalent, and Avoidant
Social Cognition Approaches
Attachment theory, Louis on v accuracy, attribution effects
lllusion v Accuracy
Traits v attitudes
When our partners view our traits better than they actually are, it’s good for the relationship.
it, accuracy is needed of our partners’ attitude and makes the relationship fruitful.
Attribution Efects
People make attributes on their partner’s behavior
Well-functioning relationships: internal attributions are good, external for bad
Interdependence Approach
INteractions between partners represents the essence of a close relationship. INteraction partners have the ability to affect each other’s outcomes.
Across ultimate interactions, individuals experience rewards and costs of the relationship
Satisfaction and Dependence
Satisfaction: outcomes to comparison level (CL)
Cl>outcomes, satisfied
Depenence: outcomes to comparison level for alternatives (CLalt)
CLalt: schema on the outcomes you’d expect from your next best alternative
OUtcomes>CLalt: more dependent on relationship
The INvestment Model
Satisfaction (+)\
Alternatives (-) -» Commitment -> Breakup
Investments (+)/
Components of Commitment
CognitiveL psychological attachment
Motivational: one’s desire to continue to relationship
