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Psychology > Relationships: Factors Affecting Attraction (L1-4) > Flashcards

Relationships: Factors Affecting Attraction (L1-4) Flashcards

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1
Q

What is Darwin’s concept of sexual selection?

A
  • about the selection of characteristics which aid successful reproduction rather than survival
  • but clear that reproduction ultimately aids survival
  • certain physical characteristics like male peacocks tail are a sign of genetic fitness
  • so female ones who select a male with certain tails are more likely to produce robust offspring which would continue into future gen
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2
Q

What features are referred to as adaptive?

A
  • they are an advantage and act as competition against other males for reproductive rights
  • such as aggression
  • means that is this aggressive male then reproduces then is likely this trait will remain in the population
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3
Q

What is the basis of human behaviour?

A
  • anisogamy
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4
Q

What is anisogamy?

A
  • refers to the differences between male and female sex cells, gametes
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5
Q

Female sex cells?

A
  • eggs or ova
  • large
  • static
  • produced at intervals for a limited number of fertile years
  • require significant investment of energy
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6
Q

Male sex cells?

A
  • sperm
  • very small
  • very mobile
  • created continuously in vast numbers from puberty until old age
  • do not need much energy to be produced
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7
Q

What is a consequence of anisogamy?

A
  • no shortage of fertile males
  • fertile female is a rarer source since egg production is finite due to menopause
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8
Q

What does anisogamy give rise to?

A
  • 2 types of sexual selection
    1. inter-sexual selection
    2. intra-sexual selection
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9
Q

What is inter-sexual selection?

A
  • between sexes
  • strategies that males and females use to select the other sex
  • preferred strategy of female since quality over quantity as sperm is plentiful
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10
Q

What are the male strategies to increase opportunities for mating success?

A
  • courtship rituals
  • size
  • sperm competition
  • mate guarding
  • sneak copulation
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11
Q

What is meant by courtship rituals, male?

A
  • allow males to display genetic potential
  • through characteristics and resource abilities
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12
Q

What is meant by size, male?

A
  • males evolve to be bigger
  • shows strength for success in comp with other males
  • includes weaponry in some other species like antlers in deer
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13
Q

What is meant by sperm competition, male?

A
  • action of natural selection on males
  • makes them more competitive by producing larger testicles, bigger ejaculations and faster swimming sperm
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14
Q

What is meant by mate guarding, male?

A
  • male fear of being cuckolded
  • and spending resources raising another males child
  • indulge in mate guarding to keep an eye on their partner
  • remain in close contact with female partner to prevent them mating with other males
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15
Q

What did Buss (1993) suggest regarding mate guarding?

A
  • men are fearful of partners being sexually unfaithful
  • women worry about emotional unfaithfulness, due to fear of their partner spending resources on other females
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16
Q

What is sneak copulation, male?

A
  • males mating with other females as well as their partner if given opportunity
  • to increase chances of reproductive success
  • women also gain as offspring have different fathers
  • increases wider genetic diversity which increases survival
  • females can benefit if partner is a rich man but then gets pregnant from genetically fit ‘stud’ but if caught risks abandonment
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17
Q

What are the female strategies for inter-sexual selection?

A
  • sexy sons hypothesis
  • handicap hypothesis
  • courtship
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18
Q

What is the sexy sons hypothesis, female?

A
  • devised by Fisher (1930)
  • argued that females select attractive males as they will produce sons with the same attractive features
  • increasing their sons and their own reproductive fitness
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19
Q

What is the handicap hypothesis, female?

A
  • Zahavi (1975) believes females elect males with handicaps
  • allows them to display superior genetic quality
  • may find males who drink or take drugs attractive as their ability to care for them demonstrates their genetic fitness
20
Q

What is courtship, female?

A
  • use courtship to select males on the basis of reproductive fitness
  • done through males demonstrating strength, health and ability to provide resources
  • prolonged courtship benefits females as males must then invest time, effort and resources
  • increases the chances of the male not deserting their partners after a successful damage
21
Q

What is intra-sexual selection?

A
  • within each sex
  • strategies between males to be the one who is selected
  • preferred selection for males, quantity over quality as they have enough sperm
  • comp between males to be selected to mate with a female
  • winner then gets to pass on their characteristics to their offspring
  • losers do not get to reproduce and pass on their characteristics
22
Q

What has intra-sexual selection given rise to?

A
  • dimorphism, two forms
  • males and females look different
  • males likely to have physical competition so ice is considered, larger means more likely to reproduce
  • females do not need to compete so no evolutionary drive favouring larger females
  • in females, youthfulness is important since males prefer younger and more fertile females
23
Q

What are the behavioural consequences of intra-sexual selection?

A
  • can be controversial
  • such as males being more deceitful, intelligent and aggressive as these characteristics are needed to win the female against other males
  • in order to retain their mate, males must also behave aggressively to protect their mate from others so aggression is necessary
24
Q

Evolutionary explanation for partner preferences +ve:

A
  • research support for inter sexual selection
  • Clark and Hatfield sent m+f psych students out to uni capus
  • went to other students alone and said “I have been noticing you around campus. I find you very attractive. Would you go to bed with me tonight?”
  • no female agreed
  • 75% of males agreed instantly
  • supports view that females are choosier than males when it comes to sexual partner selection
  • men instead evolved different strategy to ensure reproductive success
    = Pawlowski and Dunbar examined idea that older women don’t disclose true age in personal advertisements
    = since men judge partners based on age due to link to fertility
    = was true for women between 35-50, hid age to find high quality partners before menopause
    = supports intersexual selection
  • research support for intra
  • David Buss used survey for over 10k adults in 33 countries
  • asked q’s relating to various attributes that evolutionary theory predicts about intra sexual selection
  • found f place greater value on resource related attributes like money and ambition than m did
  • m valued physical attractiveness and youth so good reproductive capacity more than females
  • supports idea that each gender competes with each other to gain sexual partner for different reasons
25
Q

Evolutionary explanation for partner preferences -ve:

A
  • assumes that one strategy is adaptive
  • e.g. all males looking for younger females due to them being more fertile
  • and that all females are looking for a ‘stud’
  • too simplistic, reductionist
  • e.g. there are other factors that might be relevant such as if somebody wants a long term or lifetime relationship
  • Buss and Schmitt (2016) argue m+f looking for long term relationships much choosier looking for partners that are loving, loyal and kind
  • clearly more complex than simple explanation by evolutionary theory about sexual selection
    = social + cultural influences underestimated
    = partner preferences over past century influenced by changing social norms of behaviour
    = develop much faster than evolution, have come about due to cultural influences, like contraception
    = + women greater role in the workplace, no longer dependent on men for financial support
    = according to Bereczkei et al (1997), social change means women’s mate preferences have changed
    = no longer rely on men being breadwinners
    = evolutionary theory must account for social and cultural influences otherwise is incomplete
  • sexual selection theory as evolutionary theory cannot explain partner preferences for gay and lesbian individuals
  • homosexuals are not looking for genetic fitness, smt key to heterosexual relationships
  • may assess other qualities relevant to the caring of offspring
  • also, Lawson et al (2014) looked at personal ads placed by heterosexual and homosexual individuals, describing what they are looking for in their partner and what they are offering
  • found that the preferences of homosexual men and women differed as they did with heterosexual men and women
  • men emphasised physical attractiveness and women emphasised resources
  • but the study did conclude that homosexual and heterosexual relationships are not similar in choosing partners
26
Q

What is meant by self disclosure?

A
  • revealing personal information about yourself
27
Q

Significance of self disclosure in relationships?

A
  • romantic partners will reveal more about themselves as their relationship develops
  • self disclosures about deepest thoughts and feelings strengthens romantic bond when used appropriately
28
Q

Self disclosure early on in relationships?

A
  • in early days of relationship want to learn a lot about our new partner
  • more we learn more we like our partner
  • revealing ourselves allows us to share likes/dislikes, hopes, interests and attitudes
  • can share what is important to us
  • then understand each other better
29
Q

What are the theories towards self disclosure?

A
  • social penetration theory, Altman and Taylors
  • reciprocity, Reis and Shaver
30
Q

What is the social penetration theory, SD?

A
  • Altman + Taylor (1973)
  • all about how relationships develop
  • is the gradual process of revealing your inner self to someone else
  • giving away your deepest thoughts + feelings
31
Q

How does the social penetration theory play out in romantic relationships?

A
  • involves reciprocal exchange of info between intimate partners
  • when one partner reveals smt personal, indicates trust so encourages other partner to share personal info
  • as more info disclosed partners penetrate more deeply into each others lives
  • gain a better and greater understanding of eachother
  • sd will encourage reciprocation and a stronger realtionship
32
Q

What are the 2 elements of sd according to spt A+T?

A
  • breadth and depth
  • as both increase so will commitment of both partners
  • Altman + Taylors describe breadth and depth like many layers of an onion
  • as we peel the onion, we reveal more about ourselves
  • happens gradually and overtime
  • revealing too much can lead to TMI
  • TMI could ruin relationship before it even starts
33
Q

What was said about reciprocity of sd by Reese and Shaver?

A
  • for relationship to develop needs to be reciprocity in disclosure
  • e.g. if one partner discloses smt intimate + reveals smt about their true self, other will respond with own thoughts and empathy
  • so balance of self disclosure between partners in romantic relationships
  • increases intimacy and deepness of relationship
34
Q

Self disclosure +ve:

A
  • research support for spt
  • Sprecher and Hendrick studied heterosexual dating couples
  • found strong correlation between several measuress of satisfaction + self disclosure for both partners
  • men + women who reciprocated sd more satisfied and commited to partner
    +^ = support by Sprecher et al
    = confirmed reciprocity of sd being factor helping relationships with closeness and satisfaction
    = both findings increase validity of theory that sd requires reciprocity for relationship success and to be long term
  • has prac value
  • can help ppl that want to improve communication in relationship
  • romantic partners may use sd to increase intimacy
  • e.g. Haas and Stafford found 57% of homosexual wen and women said open and honest sd main way they maintained + deepened relationship
  • if partners who limit communication to small talk learn to use sd then could bring deeper satisfaction and commitment to relationship
  • study supports idea, couples who have problems can be supported through sd
35
Q

Self disclosure -ve:

A
  • much research correaltional
  • e.g. Sprecher+Hendricks, used self report to gather data
  • much of findings correlational
  • found between sd and increased satisfaction
  • does not conclude self disclosure causes satisfaction
  • could be that high satisfaction leads to more self disclosure
  • or 3rd variable like amount of time with partner affecting satisfaction
  • need to be mindful when determining cause and effect
    = increasing breadth and depth leading to more satisfying and intimate relationships untrue for all cultures
    = Nu Tang et al, research into sexual self disclosure
    = found m+f in US, individualist culture self disclose more sexual thoughts + feelings than those in China, collectivist culture
    = despite low levels of sd in China, levels of satisfaction no different than US
    = so cannot make generalised ethnocentric conclusions about sd increasing satisfaction in romantic relationships
36
Q

What is physical attraction?

A
  • how appealing we find a persons face
37
Q

General agreements and assumptions regarding physical attraction?

A
  • general agreement within and across cultures about what is considered physically attractive
  • assumption that we seek to form relationships with the most attractive person available
38
Q

Explanation as to why physical attraction is important when forming relationships?

A
  • based on evolutionary theory related to sexual selection
  • Shackelford and Larsen, ppl with symmetrical faces seen as more attractive
  • ^ honest sign of genetic fitness, cannot be faked
39
Q

What type of faces are people supposedly attracted to?

A
  • symmetrical faces, sign of honest genetic fitness
  • neotenous/baby face, features like widely separated and big eyes, delicate chin and small nose
  • ^ triggers protective and caring instinct
40
Q

What are the 2 factors affecting attraction?

A
  • halo effect
  • matching hypothesis
41
Q

What is the halo effect?

A
  • idea that physical attraction matters due to preconceived ideas of the personality traits an attractive person has
  • these traits are almost universally positive
42
Q

Main idea of the halo effect?

A
  • how one distinguishing feature, physical attraction in this case
  • has disproportionate influence on judgement of ones personality
43
Q

Who summed up the halo effect and how?

A
  • Dion et al (1972)
  • used phrase ‘what is beautiful is good’
  • found that physically attractive people consistently seen as kind, strong, sociable and successful compared to unattractive people
44
Q

What is an example of the self fulfilling prophecy, he?

A
  • belief that physically attractive people have ‘nice’ characteristics
  • makes them even more attractive
  • so we behave positively towards them
45
Q

Halo effect +ve:

A
  • research evidence to suggest physical attraction associated with halo effect
  • Palmer and Peterson found physically attractive rated as more politically knowledgable + competent than unattractive
  • so powerful, still persisted when participants knew ‘knowledgable’ people had no expertise
  • implications in real world settings, attractive politicians getting more votes
  • # people not voting for capability but attractiveness

Psychology (30 decks)

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