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Social Psychology > Lecture_14_Relationships and Attraction > Flashcards

Lecture_14_Relationships and Attraction Flashcards

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1
Q

The importance of relationships is evident from…

A

The damaging consequences of loneliness

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2
Q

Consequences of Loneliness

A
  • Predicts depression, anxiety, and heart disease
  • Has health risks comparable to smoking and drinking; higher than obesity
  • Is associated with a variety of negative health outcomes, including heart disease.
  • Motivates reconnection with others
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3
Q

The Forces of Attraction

A
  1. Familiarity
  2. Similarity
  3. Being liked
  4. Physical attractiveness
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4
Q

Familiarity

A

Mere exposure leads to liking

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5
Q

Mere Exposure

A

Repeated exposure to as stimulus increases our liking for that stimulus
- Subliminally presented stimuli: This means the stimuli were presented without the participant’s awareness
- Does not depend on conscious awareness or memory

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6
Q

Proximity

A

Proximity influences liking through familiarity
- Proximity leads to familiarity, which subsequently increases liking
- Proximity = propinquity
- The people we see and interact with most frequently are most likely to become our friends and lovers

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7
Q

Similarity

A

“Similarity as a social glue”
- Matching interests, values, attitudes, backgrounds,
or personalities

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8
Q

Types of Similarity

A
  1. Similar opinions and personalities
  2. Similar experiences and interests
  3. Looking similar
  4. Genetic similarity
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9
Q

Similar Opinions

A
  • Demographically similar, e.g., a shared rural background
  • Shared their attitudes and values, e.g., similar majors or political view
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10
Q

Similar Personalities

A
  • Gay men high on stereotypically masculine traits desired partners who were logical - a stereotypically masculine trait
  • Gay men high on stereotypically feminine traits desired partners who were expressive, which is a stereotypically feminine trait
  • Similar personality characteristics are preferred by heterosexual couples and for the people we befriend
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11
Q

Shared Interests and Experiences

A
  • Students are more likely to befriend people in this classroom because of the initial similarity that brought you here and now proximity
  • People who select the same situations also share experiences, which are unique from those of others who chose different situations
  • Create new relationships and strengthen existing relationships
  • Promote platonic (non-romantic) and romantic attraction
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12
Q

Similar Appearance

A
  • Physical similarity influence the distant of seating choices: wearing glasses, the same hair color
  • Similarity in attractiveness
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13
Q

Genetic Similarity

A

Our genes are more similar to our friends’ genes than the genes of strangers
- Humans do not recognize this genetic similarity

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14
Q

Criticism of Similarity

A
  • Perceived similarity
  • False beliefs
  • Degree of similarity
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15
Q

Perceived Similarity

A

“Perceived, not actual similarity”
- Perceived similarity does not always reflect reality

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16
Q

False beliefs

A
  • Feeling similar to significant others – meaning important people in our lives - is so important to us that we sometimes develop false beliefs about our similarity to them
  • Intentionally become similar to each other
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17
Q

Degree of similarity

A

We don’t always value similarity to the same degree
- Long-term: similarity is more important in long-term, committed relationships
- Short-term: people sometimes go out of their way to look for someone different
- Difference -> feel more adventurous and reduce the likelihood that the relationship becomes more serious

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18
Q

Being Liked

A

“We like being liked”
- Knowing someone likes us increases our attraction to that person
- Just knowing someone likes us is so powerful that it can sometimes compensate for an absence or lack of similarity
- Nonverbal: Maintaining eye contact, leaning towards them, and listening attentively

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19
Q

Friend Ranking

A

The first person would rate the second person as their closest friend as the second person rate them as their closest friend
- Better than:
- Positive traits (caring, intelligence, attractiveness, and popularity)
- How long they were friends (in years)
- How often they see each other
- Perceived similarity
- Benefits received
- Ratio of benefits received to help given

20
Q

Physical Attractiveness

A

Particularly important when it comes to first impressions
- Predict the degree the others want to meet again
- Maybe only under no serious situation

21
Q

How important is attractiveness to men and women?

A
  • Men and women PAY EQUAL ATTENTION to others’ attractiveness -> Eliciting sexual desire
  • Men VALUE attractiveness more than women: Attitude > behavior measure
  • Homo = Hetero
22
Q

Cross-cultural Similarity in Perceived Beauty

A
  • Despite differences in the facial features of people from different parts of the world
  • People agree about what an attractive face looks like
23
Q

The Evolutionary Preference for Attractive Faces

A
  • Infants whose perceptions of attractiveness would not be shaped by the media, prefer the same photographs as adults
  • Symmetry: Markers of reproductive fitness, good health, and good genes
  • Average faces:
    *We do not find people who are average looking attractive
  • We find people with average features and
    proportions attractive
24
Q

Cheerleader Effect

A

The attractiveness of a person in a group is influenced by the presence of other group members
- Our visual system represents the individuals and the group as whole
- Our perception of individuals in the group is affected by our perception of the group as a whole.
- Groups are attractive for the same reason that averaged faces are attractive

25
Q

Practice questions: What is the mere exposure effect?

A

A tendency to find something attractive based on frequency of the encounter

26
Q

Practice questions: How does the mere exposure effect apply to relationships?

A

People may choose partners who they meet frequently more than less frequently

27
Q

Practice questions: which factor(s) influence(s) you most in romantic relationships? which factor(s) influence(s) you most in friendships?

A

Similarity and Familiarity

28
Q

Practice questions: Why do we find averaged faces attractive?

A
29
Q

Practice questions: What is the cheerleader effect?

A

People become more attractive when they are in group compared to being alone

30
Q

Criteria for a theory about love

A
  • Distinct from liking
  • Captures different different kinds of love from the passionate desperation of Romeo and Juliet to the more tranquil commitment of a long-term couple growing old together
31
Q

Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love

A
  1. Intimacy
    - Feelings of closeness and connection
  2. Passion
    - Feelings of attraction and leads to sexual relations
  3. Long-term commitment
32
Q

Combinations of Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love

A
  1. Compassionate: Intimacy + Commitment
  2. Fatuous: Commitment + Passion
  3. Romantic: Passion + Intimacy
  4. Consummate: Intimacy + Commitment + Passion
33
Q

Love in Different Cultures

A
  1. Arranged marriage -> Low divorce rate
  2. Low divorce rate != Happy marriage
34
Q

Cultural Differences & Prioritizing Romantic Love

A

Individualistic cultures emphasize romantic love more than collectivist cultures

35
Q

Individualistic Love

A
  • Becomes involved with a new partner, they often become so involved with their partner that they virtually ignore friends and family for a while
  • Deciding who to date or marry is a personal decision
  • Romantic love
36
Q

Collectivist Love

A
  • Consider the wishes of family and other members of their group
  • Agreeing to an arranged marriage
  • Companionate love
37
Q

Love on the Brain

A
  • Feeling euphoric
  • Mere presence of the person we love -> hearts racing, causes our breath to quicken, and brings our body to full alert
  • These feelings can be so strong that they distract us from other aspects of our lives
  • Similar to cocaine and (to a lesser degree) chocolate
  • Restlessness, sleeplessness, and loss of appetite
38
Q

Romantic Love’s Brain Areas

A
  • Ventral tegmental area (VTA): reward processing and dopamine
  • Caudate nucleus
39
Q

Gender Differences in Casual Relationships

A
  • When women were approached by a man, 0% said yes
  • When men were approached by a woman, 72% said yes
40
Q

Cases of Casual with Attractive People

A

No significant effects of gender

41
Q

Romantic Preference and Gender Equality

A
  • High gender equality <-> Smaller differences in mate preference
  • Low gender equality <-> Bigger differences in mate preference
42
Q

Self-expansion theory

A

Humans are motivated to incorporate aspects of others – such as their beliefs, perspectives, and values - into ourselves
- Mentally expand themselves through our relationships with significant others and being a part of groups
- Self-expansion predicted sexual desire, which, in turn, predicted relationship satisfaction

43
Q

3 Stages of Self-expansion Theory

A
  1. Relationship start: Rapid changes in our sense of self -> desire for intimacy as individuals grow from the relationship
  2. Over time: Opportunities for growth decrease -> reduction in a desire for intimacy and relationship satisfaction
  3. Introduce further opportunities: for growth and self-other overlap through experiences that are novel, exciting, challenging, and interesting
44
Q

Practice questions: The triangular theory of love, do you believe people’s preferences for love change as they get older?

A
45
Q

Practice questions: What kind of love do people in your home country traditionally look for? Is this changing?

A
46
Q

Practice questions: Women’s preferences for casual relationships change depending on the situation. Why might this happen?

A

Social Psychology (19 decks)

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