Love and Attraction Flashcards
attraction
the interest in and liking of one individual by another, or the mutual interest and liking between two or more individuals (prelude to intimacy)
propinquity effect
the tendency of individuals to form close relationships with people they repeatedly encounter
physical distance vs functional distance
measuring distance in space vs in contact frequency
mere exposure effect
the finding that individuals show an increased preference (or liking) for a stimulus as a consequence of repeated exposure to that stimulus
physical appearance vs attraction
- symmetrical faces are rated as more attractive
- the more average-looking a face is, the more attractive it is rated as
- males
- wider jaw
- waist-to-shoulder ratio
- females
- big eyes
- breast size
- waist-to-hip ratio
implicit personality theory
a set of ideas that laypeople tend to hold about how specific personality traits cluster together within a person
halo effect
a rating bias in which a general evaluation (usually positive) of a person, or an evaluation of a person on a specific dimension, influences judgments of that person on other specific dimensions
reciprocity effect
we like someone more if we feel they like us as well
similarity-attraction principle
states that we tend to be attracted towards individuals who share similar important traits, such as attitudes and values
similarity-attraction principle is based on:
- demographic
- physical attractiveness
- attitudes and values
- personality
implicit egoism
people gravitate toward people, places, and things that resemble the self
complementary principle
people might be attracted to people whose characteristics complement their own
balance theory
people prefer elements within a cognitive system (e.g. attitudes) to be internally consistent with one another (i.e., balanced)
two-stage model of attraction
people tend to first avoid dissimilar others and then approach those remaining who are most similar
arousal theory of attraction
the process whereby people make a mistake in assuming what is causing them to feelaroused
e.g. when actually experiencing physiological responses related tofear, people mislabel those responses as romantic arousal
the reason physiological symptoms may be attributed to incorrect stimuli is because many stimuli have similar physiological symptoms e.g. shortness of breath
excitation transfer
the theory that emotional responses can be intensified byarousalfrom other stimuli not directly related to the stimulus that originally provoked the response
intimacy (emotional component of love)
an interpersonal state of extreme emotional closeness such that each party’spersonal space can be entered by any of the other parties without causing discomfort to that person
developed through:
- self-disclosure
- overlapping self-concepts
