Lecture 9 - Attraction and close relationships Flashcards
Attraction
A desire for voluntary relationship, sustained because the participants like each other
Close relationships
Intimacy, friendships, sharing, and love between two people
- Need for affiliation and need for intimacy
Why are we attracted to others?
- Proximity
- Similarity
- Physical attractiveness
Proximity
- We like others who are close to us
- The surprising aspect is the strength of the relationship
Boussard (1932) - A study of marriage license applications in Philadelphia
Found a negative relationship between the physical distance of the addresses and the number of applications
Festinger’s Study of Proximity
Few friendships cross floors (i.e., if had to go upstairs/downstairs), except for apartments at the bottom of steps or tops of steps
Why Does Physical Attraction Have Such An Effect?
- Immediacy – immediately notice
- Prestige – Halo effect
- Biology/evolution – better @ reproducing
Theories of attraction
- Reinforcement-Affect Model
- Social Exchange Theory
- Equity Theory
Reinforcement-Affect model
Attraction follows principles of learning
- If the presence of another is rewarding: We experience positive emotions
- Leads to increased attn
- and vice versa
Social exchange theory
A cost-benefit analysis of a relationship
- The perceived rewards and costs of the relationship
- A person’s expected rewards and costs (the comparison level)
- The rewards and costs of possible alternative relationships
Equity theory
The benefits a person receives from a relationship should be proportional to (but not necessarily equal to) the contributions a person makes
Sternberg’s (1986) triangular theory of love
o Passion
o Intimacy
o Commitment
Intimacy
Feeling close, connected, bonded
- Interdependent behavior and overlapping self-concepts
Passion
Romance; physical and sexual attraction
Commitment
A conscious decision to maintain the relationship over time