Lecture 10: Liking and Loving Flashcards
How did Snyder, Tanke, and Berscheid (1977) demonstrate the effects of physical attractiveness on how people treat one another?
- In this experiment, male participants were shown a photo of a female and are told that they’re going to be talking to this woman on the phone.
- The independent variable is whether the female is rated as attractive or unattractive.
- The males then had a telephone conversation with a different woman, but they believed it was the woman in the photo.The phone conversations are recorded, and the woman doesn’t know who she’s talking to (i.e. whether the male thinks she’s attractive or unattractive). Other participants, who had not been shown the photo then, listened to the female half of the conversation.
- The dependent variables were (1) the male subjects’ pre-conversation expectations & post-conversation ratings and (2) other participants’ personality ratings of the female.
- Unsurprisingly, men shown the attractive photo expected the woman to be more engaging, poised, humorous; men shown the unattractive photos expected the woman to be more awkward, serious, unsociable.
- Importantly, these expectations were realized not only for the men, but for outside observers who listened to the female half of the conversation. The expectations of the men altered the behaviour of the women (i.e. self-fulfilling prophecy). Our interactions with attractive people bring out the best in them!
What are some qualities that make a person attractive?
- Facial Symmetry
- Familiarity
- “Averageness”
- Proximity (i.e. Mere Exposure)
- Similarity
- Reciprocity
What is the “Cheerleader Effect”?
“The Cheerleader Effect is when a group of women seem hot, but only as a group. Take each woman individually; sled dogs.”—Barney from How I Met Your Mother
- Is this “Cheerleader Effect” real? There is some scientific evidence for this.
- When we see a group of individuals, our visual system automatically take the average of the group, and since we perceive averageness as being more attractive, we do tend to find individual faces more attractive in this group.
- However, there’s limited research in this topic.
What is the relationship between altruism and attractiveness?
- In a study, heterosexual women examined 12 sets of photographs containing a man that was: (1) handsome or not handsome and (2) described as altruistic or not.
- The women were asked to rate how attractive they found each man (for a short-term vs. long-term relationship).
- Of course, it was found that the handsomeness of the man was more important for a short-term relationship, and altruism was more important for a long-term relationship (i.e. the handsome not-altruistic man was rated lower than the not-handsome altruistic man).
What turns acquaintances into friends or romantic partners?
- The exchange of rewards fulfills the need to master the social environment.
- The exchange self-disclosures fulfills the need for connectedness with others.
What is:
intimacy
A positive emotional bond that includes understanding and support; takes time to develop.
- It’s created through interactions involving self-disclosures and responsiveness.
- It allows you to feel understood, valued, and respected by your partner.
What is:
self-disclosure
Facts about one’s life and situation, as well as inner thoughts, feelings, and emotions.
- Both the depth (level of intimacy) and the breadth (range of topics) of self-disclosures increase as relationships develop.
- Disclosing information about yourself to someone else often has positive consequences, i.e. you feel closer to the person and they feel closer to you.
- But too much disclosure, or too much too soon can backfire—you may send the person running!
- Self-disclosure also signals trust, particularly if you’re sharing information with someone that you would not share with most people.
What are the positive impacts of social support?
- The positive impact of social support (coping resources provided by other people) stem largely from its emotional benefits (e.g. self-disclosure, companionship) rather than from its practical benefits (e.g. help with errands).
- The benefits of social support are better when they’re coming from close family or friends, as opposed to coming from strangers.
- There are sex differences that tend to pop up. The effects of social support are stronger for women.
- On average, men are more likely to respond to negative feelings in problem-solving ways.
- On average, women are more likely to respond to negative feelings with understanding and acceptance.
What is the:
love styles theory
- This theory classifies love into six distinct styles.
- We tend to prefer individuals who have the same love styles as us.
- Primary styles (most common):
- Eros (passionate love)
- Storge (friendship)
- Ludus (uncommitted love)
- Secondary styles:
- Mania (obsessive love)
- Pragma (practical love)
- Agape (selfless love)
- The most successful relationships contain high levels of eros and low levels of ludus.
What types of differences in love styles might you predict between individualistic and collectivistic cultures?
- Chinese and other Asian students reported more storge (Dion & Dion, 1993), more pragma, and less eros (Goodwin & Findlay, 1997) compared to Anglo-European or British students.
- The more individualistic the person, the more likely they were to fall under the ludus type of love (Canadian sample).
What are positive illusions and their impacts on relationships?
- positive illusions: People tend to view their romantic partners as well as their relationships in highly idealized ways.
- Such positive illusions are beneficial (make for happy relationships), at least early on (before marriage).
- Over time, the benefits fall away and it’s important to see your partner in a more realistic way.
- Why is it beneficial?
- Reduced conflict (e.g., Simpson et al., 1995).
- Other potential suitors will seem less attractive.
- However, for long-term partners, accuracy becomes more important. Why?
- We want our partners to accept us for who we are.
- It can be helpful for the relationship to recognize a partner’s weaknesses.
- We avoid personal disappointment.
What are the three main factors that influence commitment?
According to social exchange theory, our expectations play an important role. Comparison level, comparison level for alternatives, and investment all play a role in determining our commitment to a relationship.
- Other barriers to ending a relationship can include:
- Loss of shared possessions or mutual friends.
- Costs of leaving (e.g. emotional and financial costs).
Define:
comparison level
The extent to which one expects his or her relationship to be rewarding.
- Our comparison level is affected by previous relationships, and a variety of other things like Hollywood portrayals of romance.
Define:
comparison level for alternatives
Expected benefits and costs from relationships with alternative partners.
- Determines level of commitment: the combined forces that hold the partners together in an enduring relationship; reflects the intention and desire to maintain the relationship for the long term, as well as a strong emotional bond to the partner.
- i.e. If we determine that we can get better rewards in an alternative relationship, our level of commitment towards our partner will be lowered.
Define:
investment
The resources (monetary, emotional, etc.) devoted to a relationship that cannot be retrieved.
- Also influences commitment (i.e. you’re more willing to put up with costs if you’ve invested a lot into the relationship).
