Interpersonal Relationships Flashcards
Why do we tend to like people who rate us positively?
Universal need is to be liked
We want to associate with people who like us for who we are
Needs to be genuine, as perceived manipulation decreases liking
Why do people like you more if you ask them to complete a favour for them?
Links back to the theory of cognitive dissonance
Conflict between disliking but having done something for someone
Bejamin Franklin, when he had a political rival, he asked to borrow a book from them
What did Jenker and Landy’s (1969) study reveal about attitude change when participants were asked to return money?
Study Setup: Participants completed a challenging cognitive task and won money (rigged so all participants won).
Conditions:
Researcher Asked for Money Back: Participants returned the money to the researcher.
Security Asked for Money Back: Participants returned the money to departmental security.
No Request: Participants kept the money.
Key Finding:
Participants liked the researcher more when he asked for the money back.
Contradicts expectations (they’d like him less).
Explanation: Cognitive dissonance—participants justified their action (returning money) by aligning their feelings toward the researcher, thinking, “He must be a good person if I gave the money back.”
Conclusion: People tend to change their attitudes to align with their actions, reducing dissonance.
Why do we like people more when they are competent?
All other things being equal, the more competent an individual is the more we will like them
Increases the likelihood of us being accurate
Liking actually increases if an incredibly competent person shows some signs of fallibility
Why do we like people more similar to us?
Two reasons
We assume they share all our positive attributes
They provide us with social validation for our beliefs
These provide us with a reward
how do we know that attrcativeness preferences emerge at a younger age?
2-3 month old infants look longer at faces taht adults have rated as attractive
12 month olds prefer to play with attractive (vs unattractive) dolls
Preferences are not a learned product but biological
What are the three factors we use to judge facial attractiveness?
Symmetry
Avergeness
Sexual dimorphism
Why does symmetry matter in face?
The extent to which the two halves of the face are equal
The more symmetrical a face is, the more attractive it is appeared to be
why does averageness matter in a face?
Average face reflects the mean value for each facial trait in a population
A prototype for how a face should appear
The more face that are added to a composite blend, the more attractive the blend is rated
Why does sexual dimorphism matter in a face?
Preference for femininity in female faces
Fuller lips, high cheekbones
Prefer for masculinity in male faces
However, this interacts with hormone levels
Women prefer masculine looking men when ovulating
Women prefer feminine looking men men in luteal stage of menstrual cycle
What is the halo effect?
a bias in which our impression of a persons colours our judgements of that persons character
What is the reward cost theory of liking?
You should like a person most when they say exclusively positive things about you
You should like a person least when they say negative things about you
What is the gain loss theory of liking?
Wether we are seeing changes in peoples attitudes towards you
Increases in positive, rewarding behaviour from another person have more impact than constantly rewarding behaviour
You won them over
Decrease in positive, rewarding behaviour have more impact than constant negative behaviour
What are prosocial behaviours?
helping, sharing, and cooperating for the benefit of others
What are egotistic concerns?
Motivations to receive rewards
Motivation to avoid punishment
Motivation to reduce aversive arousal
what are altruistic concerns?
We help other people because we feel empathy for them
Same region of the brain is activated in response to our own and others pain
What personality traits are most likely to give help?
A high sense of responsibiluty, empathy, belief in a just world
Agreeableness
Prosocial personality
How do men and women differ in prosocial behaviour?
In lab experiments: men more likely to provide help
In longitudinal studies: women show higher levels of prosocial behaviour
May be due to differences in biological systems
Flight or fight vs tend and befriend
Who are most likely to receive help?
Female, attractive individuals, members of ones in group, time pressure
What are the two key factors that influence who we fall in love with?
Proximity and similarity
What is passionate love?
Love characterized by strong emotions, sexual desire, and intense preoccupation with the other
Occurs most often at beginning of relationship and cools over time
what is companionate love?
Love that is milder, more stable, and marked by feelings of trust, dependability, and warmth
Deeper form of love that lasts longer
What is James and Langes theory of emotion and arousal?
External stimulus leads to a physiological response, then we become aware of this reaction and label it
What is Connon and Bards theory of emotion and arousal?
external stimulus activates thalamus, whcih send out two messages.Hypothalamus and autonomic nervous system (general arousal)
Cerebral cortex (cognitive label)
What is Schater and Singers theory of emotion and arousal?
External stimulus produces both a cognitive label and physiological arousal
what is misattirbution of emotion?
We tend to ,misinterpret the arousal and mislabel the emotion
