Relationships Flashcards
What factor influences attraction that was demonstrated by the MIT housing project study?
Proximity
Is it actual distance that’s important? Explain.
It was the functional distance not the physical distance that mattered.
Actual distances depended upon the number of what?
The number of intervening opportunities
How did Bossard demonstrate this for marriage?
He studied 5,000 marriage license applications in Philadelphia
- Found that 1/3 of them lived within five blocks of each other
What are four reasons why proximity might be important in attraction?
(P p. M. E. P n.)
- People who are physically closer are more likely to meet.
- More opportunities to interact, and it usually takes time to develop a relationship
- Effects of repeated exposure, which can lead to increased liking
- People who are nearby are more likely to be similar in some way
What did Zajonc’s study of “taste” demonstrate?
Zajonc did a study of tasting stations in which subjects were scheduled to pass each other often or rarely.
- When asked to rate everyone, they rated liking more so those they passed more often.
How do social and personal characteristics often relate to attraction?
Similarity–and by extension attraction–can be in terms of
- a. social characteristics, such as social class, race or ethnicity, religion, age, education, etc.
- b. personal characteristics, such as intelligence, physical attractiveness, height
- c. attitudes and values
How did Byrne study the relationship between attitudes and liking? What did be find?
The procedure was called the Phantom Other; had subjects complete an attitude survey and used them to create answers that varied in similarity to the subjects’ answers
- Subjects were given a set of answers and were then asked how much they liked the person and would want to work with that person
- Byrne found the greater the attitude similarity, the greater the liking
On what grounds were his studies criticized?
They were artificial
- Attitude similarity was the only basis subjects had to judge liking and maybe in real life it would be less important
What did Walster find about liking in her field experiment?
The study was that subjects answered an attitude survey, and were matched or mismatched in attitudes for a dance
- They rated each other during the middle and at the end of the dance.
Walster found that attitude similarity did not predict liking; what did predict liking was physical attractiveness
What did Newcomb find about values and liking in his rooming house study?
He found that actual value similarity did not predict liking, but perceived value similarity did
What did Hill and Stull find about values and liking in their roommate study?
Found that actual value similarity predicted liking on all four measures of liking for the female roommates, but not on any of them for the male roommates
What other factor affects liking according to Lerner? How did Lerner explain it?
Lerner’s research on a Just World has found that people tend to like others who are rewarded, even if the reward is due to chance
Explain reciprocity of liking. When might it not occur?
The idea that we generally like those who like us, but there are exceptions.
- It might not occur due to flattering that is perceived as not sincere; this leads to disliking.
- Examples : A sibling saying something nice or being hit on by someone who isn’t welcome
What two dimensions of relationships were identified by Roger Brown?
(I & S)
- Intimacy
- Status
