Lecture 4: Attraction and Partner Selection Part 1

Question 1

proximity

Answer 1

• Closeness/nearness
• A basic, powerful factor that drives liking
• We’re more likely to meet, get to know, and form a relationship with someone we see regularly, live, or work with

Question 2

Westgate housing study method

Answer 2

• Married MIT students were assigned to one of 17 buildings in a housing complex randomly
• Virtually no one knew anyone beforehand

Question 3

Westgate housing study findings

Answer 3

• The people living next door were twice as likely to become friends than those living 2 doors down
• This trend continued as people got further away
• Those living next to stairwells made more friends with people upstairs
• Those living next to high-traffic areas (ex. Laundry rooms, mailboxes), and/or those who had windows facing a common courtyard made more friends

Question 4

functional distance

Answer 4

the likelihood of coming into contact with other people due to location or features of architectural design

Question 5

mere exposure effect

Answer 5

we tend to like people and things more after we have been repeatedly exposed to them and they become more familiar to us

Question 6

mere exposure effect study

Answer 6

• College-age female confederates attended a class 0, 5, 10, or 15 times during a semester
• At the end of the semester, students were asked to evaluate photos of each confederate
• The more often the confederate attended class, the more positively she was rated

Question 7

possible underlying mechanisms of the mere exposure effect

Answer 7

perceptual fluency explanation & classical conditioning

Question 8

perceptual fluency explanation for the mere exposure effect

Answer 8

• It’s easier to process information about familiar stimuli (greater fluency)
• Pleasant feelings are associated with more fluent processing mistaken for liking

Question 9

classical conditioning explanation for the mere exposure effect

Answer 9

• Encounters with novel stimuli put us on our guard
• Repeated exposure to a stimulus without any negative consequences signals that the stimulus is safe and non-threatening
• The comfortable feeling of safety associated with the stimulus after multiple exposures renders it more pleasant
• There is some evidence that anxiety impedes the mere exposure effect

Question 10

caveat of the mere exposure effect

Answer 10

the mere exposure effect will not occur for stimuli that are initially disliked

Question 11

physical attractiveness in research

Answer 11

Has received a large amount of research attention

Question 12

is beauty in the eye of the beholder?

Answer 12

• There is some disagreement on whether a given photo is attractive
• Idiosyncratic preferences come into play when judging individuals
• Certain standards of beauty differ across cultures & time and we may not always agree on a specific individual’s attractiveness
• There is a broad consensus about the general features that are considered attractive

Question 13

evidence for innateness of physical attractiveness

Answer 13

• Evidence across different cultural groups
• Newborn infants share adults’ preferences

Question 14

facial symmetry

Answer 14

• Bilateral (two-sided) symmetry contributes to attractiveness
• This is true of other species as well

Question 15

two possible explanations for facial symmetry

Answer 15

perceptual fluency and evolutionary explanations

Question 16

perceptual fluency explanation for facial symmetry

Answer 16

average and more symmetrical faces are easier to process, and ease of processing is associated with feelings of pleasantness

Question 17

evolutionary explanation for facial symmetry

Answer 17

• facial symmetry is an indicator of reproductive fitness
• Pronounced asymmetry may be indicative of issues during prenatal development
• Declining health in macaques is associated with declines in facial symmetry
• There is some evidence that facial symmetry is linked to better health in humans

Question 18

caveats of facial symmetry

Answer 18

• Subtle asymmetries do not detract from attractiveness
• Perfect symmetry may be less attractive
• May exaggerate imbalances or imperfections in the face
• Balance or “averageness” of features may be more important

Question 19

the averageness effect

Answer 19

• Faces that are average are seen as more attractive
• They tend to perceive a composite image of many faces “averaged” together as more attractive than the individual faces of which the composite is compromised

Question 20

caveat of the averageness effect

Answer 20

Our liking for symmetry/averageness may not trump our liking for familiarity

Question 21

caveat of the averageness effect study

Answer 21

• Participants from New Zealand and the Netherlands
• Celebrity faces from New Zealand and the Netherlands
• Participants showed a typical preference for averageness only for morphed faces of celebrities from the foreign country

Question 22

how does the preference for proximity work?

Answer 22

We have an increased opportunity to interact with people who live close to us

Question 23

desired female facial features

Answer 23

• Cross-cultural preference for baby-faced features (large eyes, small nose, small chin, full lips)
• Combined with signs of maturity (high, prominent cheekbones, thick hair)

Question 24

desired male facial features

Answer 24

• There is less of a cross-cultural consensus for male features
• Preference for wide smile & broad jaw and forehead
• But, softer features are attractive too (conveys warmth & friendliness)

Question 25

desired female body features

Answer 25

• Waist-to-hip ratio: .70
• Signal of fertility, better physical health

Question 26

desired male body features

Answer 26

• Waist-to-hip ratio: .90
• Also linked to better physical health
• Shoulder-to-hip ratio: 1.2
• Height
• Signals of strength and status

Question 27

what is beautiful is good bias

Answer 27

• We tend to assume that physically attractive people possess other desirable qualities
• Ex. they’re kinder, more sensitive, more trustworthy, more likely to be successful

Question 28

where does the beautiful is good base from from?

Answer 28

• ubiquitous cultural stereotypes
• motivated cognition view

Question 29

motivated cognition view of the beautiful is good bias

Answer 29

1. Beauty is an intrinsic reward
2. We generally want to approach rewarding stimuli
3. Through projection, perceive attractive targets as possessing attributes compatible with our approach goals

Question 30

behavioural confirmation

Answer 30

We not only see what we want to see, but also act in ways that make our expectations come true

Question 31

behavioural confirmation study methods

Answer 31

• Male perceivers interacted by phone with female targets
• Experimental manipulation: perceivers were led to believe the target was either physically attractive or not
• Tapes of the interaction were rated by outside observers

Question 32

behavioural confirmation study findings

Answer 32

• Before the interaction, men formed more positive impressions of the target when they believed her to be more attractive
• During the interaction, men behaved more positively towards attractive targets
• Women were rated by observers as more sociable, poised, warm, outgoing, etc. when interacting with a man who thought she was attractive

Question 33

what explanation for the beautiful is good bias is most strongly supported?

Answer 33

Data better fit the motivated cognition view, although there are limitations to this kind of statistical approach