Lecture 10 - Relationships

Question 1

What are the three motivational principles in Social Psychology?

Answer 1

1. Striving for Mastery.
2. Seeking connectedness (need to belong).
3. Valuing me and mine.

Question 2

What are two fundamental axioms of Social Psychology?

Answer 2

1. People construct their own reality.
2. Social influence is pervasive and powerful.

Question 3

Random question for this lecture, but, what is the difference between CONSTRUCT VALIDITY and INTERNAL VALIDITY?

Answer 3

Construct validity refers to the idea that the measures being used are actually measured the construct.
Internal Validity refers to the idea that relationship between the variables is in fact a reasonable relationship to explore the concept of interest.

Question 4

What are some of the reasons social psychologists believe we have a fundamental need for relationships?

Answer 4

1. As soon as we are born we work on forming bonds with people.
2. Under many different situations (most situations) we try and form relationships and we resist the dissolution of relationships.

Question 5

What is one of the ways which social psychologists classify types of relationships?

Answer 5

Relationships can be classified on the basis of the patterns of exchange of rewards and punishments, i.e. the way we give gifts, how we communicate, how we care for the other person in the relationship can characterise the relationship.

Question 6

What is Alan Fiske’s 1992 Relational Models Theory?
And what are the four models he suggests?

Answer 6

This theory states that relationships are based on patterns of exchange.
He suggests that there are four levels or expectations of exchange that characterise relationships.
1. Communal Sharing
2. Authority Ranking
3. Equality Matching
4. Market Pricing.

Question 7

According to Fiske (!992) can relationships involve multiple types of exchange?

Answer 7

Yes. e.g. romantic relationships can be characterised by Communal Sharing and Equality Matching.

Question 8

According to Fiske (1992), what is the Communal Sharing Model of relationships?

Answer 8

The Communal Model is characterised by the dominant exchange rule of “each according to need”.
The related concept is CARE and an example of this model of relationships is family.

Question 9

According to Fiske (1992) what is the Authority Ranking Model of relationships?

Answer 9

Authority Ranking Model of relationships is characterised by the dominant exchange rule of “superiors decide for subordinates”.
The related concept to this type of relationship is RESPECT and an example of this is the MILITARY.

Question 10

According to Fiske (1992), what is the Equality Matching model of relationships?

Answer 10

The Equality Matching model of relationships is characterised by the dominant exchange rule of “equal proportions/direct reciprocity”.
The related concept to this type of exchange is EQUALITY and an example of this type of relationship is PEER GROUPS.

Question 11

According to Fiske (!992) what is the Market Pricing Model of relationships?

Answer 11

Market Pricing Model of relationships is characterised by the dominant exhange rule of “benefits proportional to effort/desert”.
The concept that underpins this type of exchange is EQUITY and an example of this type of relationship would be BUSINESSES.

Question 12

There have been studies that show that social support has more of a protective effect on mortality than other more commonly known healthy behaviour, such as not smoking or heavily drinking.
True or False?

Answer 12

True.

Question 13

What defines loneliness?

Answer 13

Negative feelings that arise from unmet needs for affection and self-validation and connection.
It is not about being alone, but feeling a sense of isolation.

Question 14

What are the underlying forces that drive us to forming a relationship?

Answer 14

1. Attractiveness (desire for a voluntary relationship).
2. Liking (positive evaluation of a person/s).

Question 15

What are some of the key factors that influence liking and attraction?

Answer 15

1. Physical attractiveness
2. Similarity
3. Positive Interactions

Question 16

In a study done by Synder, Tanker, and Berscheid (1977), they found compelling evidence for how the stereotype of “beautiful is good” is a self-fulfilling prophecy.
What was the study and what were the key findings?

Answer 16

The study looked at a conversation between a man and a woman. They were simply instructed to get to know each other.
The man was told that the woman was either attractive or not attractive.
Men who believed they were talking to an “attractive” woman were more “Sociable, sexually warm, interesting, humours and bold” compared to when they thought they were speaking to an “unattractive” woman. In response the women who were being spoken to kinder men were in turn kinder and reciprocating.
The authors suggested that this is example of how we think beautiful is good, but perhaps beautiful is good because we are good to the beautiful.

Question 17

The old adage that “opposites attract” is not reflected in the data.
In a study done by Condon and Cranon in 1998 they found that the more similar people are the more they report liking the other and the more they report thinking that the other will like them.
What are some of the reasons we like those who are similar to us?

Answer 17

1. Similarity encourages positive interactions over common interests.
2. Similar others validate our beliefs and attitudes (positive reinforcement - we desire to feel that we are good and make good choices and therefore when we get positive validation then we feel better about ourselves).
3. We assume that similar others will like us because we like similar others.

Question 18

What are the three driving forces of positive interaction we discussed in the lecture?

Answer 18

1. Proximity
2. Familiarity
3. Mimicry

Question 19

Why does PROXIMITY increase positive interaction?

Answer 19

When we are in close proximity to others then we have more interactions with others and therefore more positive interactions, especially if they are there when we are going about our daily lives.

Question 20

In a study by Festinger, Schacter and Back (1950), what percentage of friends of university students lived within two apartments and what did they suggest this shows?

Answer 20

63%.
They suggested this showed that proximity plays a key role in forming friendships.

Question 21

Why does FAMILIARITY lead to liking?

Answer 21

Mere exposure increases liking.

Question 22

In a seminal work by Moreland and Beach (!992) they looked at how familiarity influences liking.
What was the study and what were the main findings?

Answer 22

The study involved having four women of similar “attractiveness” attend a lecture at a uni either 0, 5, 10, or 15 times. The other students were then asked to rate these women on attractiveness and similarity.
What they found was that the more a woman attended the lectures the higher she was rated in attractiveness and similarity.
The authors used this as evidence for the mere exposure effect that drives liking (to some degree).

Question 23

Mimicry is thought to increase liking.
What was the study done by Chartrand and Bargh (1999) that looked at this effect and what were their main findings?

Answer 23

There were two parts to the study.
They had participants talk face to face with a confederate. The confederate rubbed their face or shook their foot (naturally) throughout the conversation. The researchers then measured whether the participant also engaged in that behaviour.
What they found was that participants engaged significantly more in the behaviour when the confederate was also engaging in that behaviour.
They then did another experiment where the condeferate was to mimic the participants non-verbal behaviour, such as touching their face or moving their hair. They then asked participants how much they liked the confederate. They reported liking the confederate significantly more when the they were mimicing their behaviour.
Importantly when asked about the non-verbal behaviour in both experiments, participants were unaware of it.
This is evidence for the idea that mimicry increases liking.

Question 24

What are the three factors that influence liking?

Answer 24

1. Attractiveness
2. Positive interaction
   -proximity
   -familiarity
   -mimicry
3. Similarity

Question 25

What is one of the main ways that relationships become closer?

Answer 25

Through self-disclosure.

Question 26

What are some the effects of self-disclosure that increase liking?

Answer 26

Self-disclosure (in a time-appropriate manner) increases liking by:
1. Increasing perceived similarity.
2. Trust
3. Better enables behavioural coordination - i.e. it is easier to work toward common goals.

Question 27

Whilst self-disclosure is an important part of deepening a relationship, the timing of the disclosure influences its positive impact on the relationship.
A study by Wortmann et al. (1976) looked at this phenomenon.
What was the study and what did they find?

Answer 27

The study involved an interaction between a participant and a confederate.
The confederate was to disclose some personal information (in this experient it was that his partner had just found out she was pregnant).
The confederate either shared this information very early in the interation (which was about 20 minutes) or about half way through the conversaton.
The participants were then asked to rate how much they liked the confederate. Participants reported liking the confederate more when they disclosed the information later in the conversation compared to when they disclosed it earlier.

Question 28

Out of women and men, who tends to disclose more?

Answer 28

Women tend to self-disclose more than men both when they are interacting with other women or men.

Question 29

Out of individualistic and collectivist cultures, who tend to self-disclose more and why might this be the case?

Answer 29

Individualistic cultures tend to self-disclose more than collectivist cultures and the reason behind this is likely that individualistic cultures care more about being “unique”. Self-disclosure can be an expression of uniqueness. Therefore, this may explain why we see more self-disclosure in individualistic cultures.

Question 30

What is interdependence and how interdependence influence the closeness of a relationship?

Answer 30

Interdependence is when each partner/person’s feelings, thoughts and emotions influence the others’. There is cognitive, behavioural, and affective interdependence.
Close relationships tend to be characterised by strong and frequent interdependence.

Question 31

What is IOS (Inclusion of Other in Self)?

Answer 31

IOS is an example of Cognitive Interdependence and occurs when we see those close to us as extensions of ourselves, or ourselves and extensions of them, such as what happens with close romantic relationships or relationships between parents and their children.

Question 32

What is Behavioural Interdependence?

Answer 32

Behavioural Interdependece occurs when what we do, our plans, our actions, our goals are dependent on that someone else.
As our relationships become closer we become more behaviourally interdependent.

Question 33

Looking at the expectation of reciprocity, Aron et al (1991) did a study where subjects allocated a certain amount of money to themselves and either their partner or friend.
What was this study and how did the findings give us an insight into how behavioural interdependence increases as relationships become closer?

Answer 33

The study involved giving the participants a certain amount of money and being told that they can give some or all of it to their best friend/partner or a stranger. In one scenario they said their friend/partner and stranger would know who they were and that they gave them the money and in one scenario they would not.
They found two key findings.
1) Participants allocated more funds to themselves when the other person was a stranger, and allocated about the same amount to themselves as tehy did to their friend/partner.
2) When participants were known to be giving the funds to their partner/friend the participants allocated the same amount as when their friend/partner did not know it was them allocating the funds.
Participants allocated significantly more to the stranger when the stranger knew it was them allocating the funds, compared to when they do not.
What these findings suggested was that with close relationships there is more of this Communal Sharing nature to the relationship and the need or expectation for reciprocity is not really there.
However, with strangers the type of relationship model at play is one of Equality Matching and therefore the participants are more likely to allocate more funds to the stranger if the stranger knows who they are because this allows for the possibility of reciprocity.
There is this idea that relationships, as they deepen, move from Equality Matching models to more Communal Sharing models and the rules of exchange change.

Question 34

What is one characteristics of intimate social relationships that make these relationships important for social support and key to mental wellbeing?

Answer 34

Affective interdependence.
Affective interdependence can be seen as intimacy - which is a positive emotional bond that includes understanding and support. Feeling understood in our emotions is key to feeling connected and seen and “ok”. This is one of the key aspects of connection and prevents us feeling isolated and alone in the world.

Question 35

What is Rusbult’s (1980) Investment Model of Commitment?

Answer 35

Rusbult’s Investment Model of Commitment attempts to describe what factors contribute to commitment in relationships.
The three key factors described as being highly influential on commitment are:
- Satisfaction Level in the relationship
- Quality of Alternatives, i.e. alternatives to our relationships, such as other relationships or being single etc.
- Investment Size - how much time, energy, emotional labour, money etc have we put into a relationship?
There are many factors that contribute to levels of commitment in a relationship, and often level of satisfaction, especially in extreme cases, such as an abusive relationship, do not hold as much sway as, say, a lack of better alternatives.

Question 36

In Rusbult’s 1980 Investment Model of Commitment, which factors are positively associated with commitment and which are negatively associated with commitment?

Answer 36

Satisfaction Level and Investment Size are positively associated with commitment and Quality of Alternatives is negatively associated with commitment.

Question 37

In a study done by Fehr and Russel (1991) that looked at people’s definitions of love, what were some of the top words mentioned and what types of love were considered to be most associated as the prototype of love?

Answer 37

Top words were:
Friendship
Sexual
Parental
Brotherly
Sisterly
Sibling

Prototypes of love were:
Maternal love
Parental love
Friendship
Sisterly love
Romantic love (surprisingly low on the list)

Question 38

In Sternburg’s (1986) Triangular Theory of Love, what is the most desirable/ideal form of love?

Answer 38

Consummate Love.

Question 39

What key factors make up the Sternberg’s Triangle Theory of Love?

Answer 39

Intimacy.
Passion.
Commitment.
Consummate Love is when a relationship has high levels on all three of theses scales.
The more elements a relationship has the more likely it will be a healthy, long-lasting relationship.

Question 40

In a study done by Baxter (1986) that attempted to understand what leads to relationship breakdown, what were the “relationship rules” that people seemed to care about most?

Answer 40

The study was based on US university students.
Partners should acknowledge each others autonomy and lives beyond the relationship. (women cared more about this than men)
Express similar attitudes, beliefs and values. (equally important to both genders)
Be supportive of each other.
Be loyal to each other.
Spend a good amount of time with each other.
Have equity in the relationship aka reap rewards commensurate with their investments (not surprisingly this was valued by women more than men)
Experience an mysterious and inexplicable magic in one another’s presence (this was more important to men than women).

Question 41

What are Gottman’s four horsemen of destructive accomodation?
(Accomodation here refers to the processes of responding to a negative action by a partner)

Answer 41

1. Criticism
2. Contempt
3. Defensiveness
4. Stonewalling (aka the silent treatment)

Question 42

Rusbult et al in 1991 developed a model of the consequences of certain accomodation styles.
What were the elements of this model?

Answer 42

Constructive vs Destructive.
Active vs Passive.

Constructive/Active = Voice - e.g discussing a problem

Constructive/Passive = Loyalty - e.g. wait and support

Destructive/Active = Exit - e.g. abuse, yell, threaten

Destructive/Passive = Neglect - e.g. ignore, stone walling, avoid

Question 43

What factors aid in fostering CONSTRUCTIVE ACCOMODATION?

Answer 43

Commitment to the relationship.
Idealization of the partner.
Implicit Theory of Relationships, in particular Growth Theories as opposed to Destiny theories of relationships - e.g. if people think that relationships can grow and imrpove then they are more likely to want to work on the relationship in the face of conflict.
Imlicit Theories of The Self, especially Incremental over Entity Theories of Personality. If we believe that people can change then we believe that our relationship may improve with our own and partners’ growth. As opposed to the idea that people can’t change.

Question 44

In a study done by Kammrath and Dwek (2006) that looked at accomodation styles and either Incremental or Entity Theories of Personalty, what did they find?

Answer 44

They found that people with Incremental Theories of Personalty were more likely to engage in Active Constructive Accomodation, compared to those that had Enity Theories of Personality, who were more passive.