Relationships - factors affecting attraction Flashcards
Factor affecting attraction
What is a correlational coefficient?
A statistical measure that describes the strength and direction of a relationship between two variables.
Name a type of experiment and outline a strength and a weakness of it.
Strength: Can establish cause and effect. Weakness: May lack ecological validity.
Name two key concepts of the humanistic approach.
- Self-actualization
- Unconditional positive regard
What is self-disclosure?
The revealing of personal information about oneself to another individual.
How does self-disclosure act as a self-fulfilling prophecy?
It creates a sense of trust and encourages reciprocal sharing of personal information.
List the four stages of self-disclosure.
- Disclosure of information
- Partner thinks we must like them if we are revealing personal information
- Partner reveals personal information about themselves
- We disclose further information
What factors affect the effectiveness of self-disclosure in relationships?
- Appropriateness of the self-disclosure
- Attributions for the disclosure
- Gender differences
- Content of the disclosure
True or False: Women are generally more interested in personal information than men.
True
What does Social Penetration Theory (SPT) suggest?
Early communication moves relationships from shallow and superficial to deeper and more meaningful.
What metaphor is often used to describe Social Penetration Theory?
The Onion Theory
Fill in the blank: The Halo effect suggests that attractive individuals are perceived as _______.
[more trustworthy and sociable]
What did Klein’s research find regarding self-disclosure?
Individuals perceived as more selective about their disclosures were seen as more attractive.
How do cultural differences affect self-disclosure according to Kito’s research?
Self-disclosure is higher in romantic relationships than in same-sex friendships and cross-sex friendships across cultures.
What is the Matching Hypothesis?
The theory that people seek partners of similar physical attractiveness to themselves.
True or False: Physical attractiveness is considered more important to women than to men.
False
What is one criticism of the Matching Hypothesis?
It may not account for the complexity of attraction factors beyond physical attractiveness.
What does Filter Theory propose?
Factors in society ‘filter down’ potential partners and narrow our options.
List the three filters in Filter Theory.
- Similarity of social demographic variables
- Similarity in attitudes
- Complementarity
What research supports the idea that social demographics play a role in relationships?
Festinger found that people living nearer to each other in apartment blocks knew more people.
What did Taylor et al. find regarding marriage demographics in 2008?
85% of Americans who got married were married to someone of their own ethnicities.
Fill in the blank: The filter theory could be regarded as _______ due to modern dating practices.
[outdated]
What is one implication of dating apps on the Filter Theory?
They allow users to widen their search for partners beyond traditional social demographics.
What is a key conclusion about self-disclosure in relationships?
It is crucial for forming early trust in a relationship.
What is the role of physical attractiveness in mate selection?
It is crucial in establishing initial attraction to an individual.
