interpersonal attraction and relationships

Question 1

what is interpersonal attraction

Answer 1

Baron and Byrne 2000

-evaluation one person makes of another along a dimension that ranges from strong liking to strong dislike
-does not have to be romantic

Question 2

what are relationships

Answer 2

Argyle and Henderson 1985

-regular social encounters over periods of time

Question 3

what are the types of relationships

Answer 3

sexual, platonic, parental, long, short etc

Question 4

what is the name for a relationship between two people

Answer 4

dyad

Question 5

what are the factors influencing interpersonal attraction

Answer 5

physical appearance
-faces, bodies

evolutionary theory

mental factors
-proximity, familiarity, similarity

Question 6

how do faces influence interpersonal attraction

Answer 6

-people tend to find symmetrical faces more attractive
-symmetry not as important as you think (Rhodes)
-averageness of face links to its attractiveness, closer to average = more attractive (Rhodes 1999)
-importance of masculinity/femininity (Perrett 1999) and links to hormones, e.g idea that testosterone makes faces more masculine

Question 7

what did Langlois find in their meta analysis 2000

Answer 7

agreement in attractiveness for healthier, more liked, sexually experienced, higher self esteem, higher intelligence individuals

Question 8

evolutionary theory for interpersonal attraction

Answer 8

attraction preferences shaped by evolution as reproduction with attractive individuals improves our reproductive fitness

Question 9

how do bodies influence physical appearance in interpersonal attraction

Answer 9

-waist hip ratio of 0.7 associated with attractiveness in females
- Singh 1993 found this ratio related to health, fertility and greater chance of conception

-shoulder hip ratio of 0.6 in men associated with attractiveness
- Dijkstra and Buunk 2001, broad shoulders and narrow waist linked to attractiveness

Question 10

how does proximity influence interpersonal attraction

Answer 10

-we form relationships with those we are close to (Festinger 1950)
-proximity leads to familiarity

Question 11

how does familiarity influence interpersonal attraction

Answer 11

-we like what we are often exposed to: exposure effect by Zajone 1968
-Moreland and Beach 1992, 4 women attend classes either 0, 1, 5 or 15 times. rated at end of semester by peers on familiarity and attractiveness. both are higher when attendance was high

Question 12

which theory opposes the role of familiarity in interpersonal attraction

Answer 12

-Norton’s 2007 less is more, more we know, more chance there is to dislike
-similarity seems to be most important factor

Question 13

what is the role of similarity in interpersonal attraction

Answer 13

-similarity increases attraction
-Byrne and Clore ‘law of attraction’, positive correlation between proportion of attitudes associated with a person and attraction towards that person
-Clore argues this is reinforcement as the more you agree the more you like etc
-Jones 2004, pp like people more when told by confederate they have the same birthday

Question 14

what study supports similarity in interpersonal attraction

Answer 14

-Newcomb 1961
-measured attitudes of students before coming to uni
-assigned most similar and most dissimilar students to live together
-all were friendly at the start but eventually, those in similar group became friends while the dissimilar group began to dislike each other

Question 15

what are the psychological theories of how relationships form

Answer 15

-reinforcement model
-relationships as social exchange
-evolutionary
-developmental

Question 16

reinforcement theory of how relationships form

Answer 16

-Byrne and Clore: we tend to like others more under less stressful circumstances
-Griffitt and Veitch 1971 had pp rate attractiveness under various conditions: similarity/dissimilarity, crowded/quiet, hot/normal. pp gave lower ratings under uncomfortable conditions

Question 17

relationships as social exchange theory of how relationships form

Answer 17

-based on economic theory (Homans 1961): relationships governed by cost reward ratio
-pursue of minimax strategy: min costs, max rewards e.g sex, money, support, comfort etc (Foa and Foa 1975)
-people happiest in relationships that are equal (Adams 1965)

Question 18

evolutionary approach to explain how relationships form

Answer 18

-sexual strategies theory by Buss and Schmitt 1992
-men and women look for different traits in long/short term relationships to increase reproductive fitness
-Buss found most desired trait in long term relationships is love and commitment for men and women

Question 19

developmental approach to explain formation of relationships

Answer 19

-attachment theory, bonding between caregiver and infant impacts adult relationships (Bowlby internal WM)
-Love quiz by Hazan and Shaver
-attachment type can change if current partner is securely attached

Question 20

what are the typical relationship styles for each attachment type

Answer 20

secure: easy to form relationships that last, pair with similarly attached people
avoidant: not comfortable being close, easily jealous, likely to cheat/fight
resistant: fall in love easily, emotional highs and lows, often unhappy

Question 21

what is love

Answer 21

combination of powerful emotions, thoughts and actions associated with intimate relationships

Question 22

what are the two types of love

Answer 22

Fehr 1994
-passionate and companionate

Question 23

who came up with the triangle of love model

Answer 23

sternberg 1988

Question 24

love and evolution study

Answer 24

Penton Voak et al 2007
-pp are couples in love
-presented with picture of their partner amongst others making them more or less attractive (according to the average face)
-the more we love our partner the more physically attractive they seem to us so pp may choose an image making their partner seem more attractive as that is how they see them
-an evolved mechanism to maintain pair bonding and offspring longevity