relationships-factors affecting romantic attraction Flashcards
what are the 3 factors affecting romantic attraction
-self disclosure
-physical attractiveness and the matching hypothesis
-filter theory
what is self-disclosure
the act of revealing personal details about yourself to another person
-this information can be superficial eg-work
-or can be intimate eg-aspirations
-people tend to prefer those who disclose intimate details
-when people express personal details about themselves this encourages reciprocal disclosure
what are 2 pieces of supporting evidence for self-disclosure
sprecher and hendrick
laurenceau
what did sprecher and hendrick find
studied heterosexual dating and found a positive corrolation between relationship satisfaction and self-disclosure
-those who used self-disclosure were also more committed
what is an issue with sprecher and hendricks research
“strong correlation” means we cannot establish cause and effect
what did laurenceau find
studies 96 married couples using a diary over 6 weeks and found higher levels of self-disclosure where linked to higher levels of intimacy
how has research into self-disclosure had useful applications
-can be used in relationship councelling
describe the physical attractiveness hypothesis
Physical attractiveness may be what first draws a couple together: each partner finds the physical appearance of their mate to be pleasing and this further motivates the couple to spend more time together
what did research find about people who are rated as more attractive
Dion found that attractive people are rated as more kind, sociable and successful in comparison to unattractive people.
what is the halo effect
Type of cognitive bias where attractive people are perceived better than unattractive people.
what is the matching hypothesis
people choose partners who are a similar level of attractiveness to themselves
the more socially desirable you are the more socially desirable you would expect your partner to be
people make realistic choices about the chances of there affection being reciprocated
theory suggest couples who are matched are more likely to are a happier relationship
what is some supporting evidence for physical attractiveness
-Dion
-Palmer and Peterson
-Wheeler and kim
what did palmer and peterson find
found that physically attractive people where rated as more politically knowledgable compared to unattractive people even when ps knew they had no particular expertise
what did wheeler and kim find
korean and american students judged physically attractive people to be more trustworthy, concerned for others and mature
who found a weakness of the matching hypothesis
Taylor investigated the matching hypothesis using the activity logs of an online dating site which revealed that people do not necessarily apply the matching hypothesis when it comes to dating decisions, professing a preference for the most attractive males/females on the site
Notions of ‘what is attractive?’ are highly subjective and prone to individual differences which means that associated theories lack scientific validity
what are the 3 levels of filter theory
- social demography
- similarity in attitudes
- complementarity
what is social demography
-we are more likely to come into contact with individuals who share the same demographic features as ourselves
eg-geographical location, level of eductation, religious beliefs
eg-people of the same religion are more likely to come into contact with eachother in places of worship
what is similarities in attitudes
you need to have agreement over basic values this enables deeper communication and more self-disclosure
it predicts if the relationship will become stable
what is complementarity
refers to how well romantic partners meet eachothers needs
-people are attracted to other with different needs as they provide one another with mutual satisfaction
-this is important for couples in the long term
what are 2 pieces of supporting evidence for filter theory
winch
gruber-baldini
what did winch find
Winch found that similarity of interests, attitudes and personality are typical of the early stages of a relationship, and that complementarity of needs was more important than physical attractiveness. This lends support to filter theory.
what did gruber-baldini find
Gruber-Baldini carried out a longitudinal study of couples aged 21 and found that those who were similar in educational level and age at the start of the relationship were more likely to stay together and have a successful relationships. This demonstrates the importance of sociodemographic factors, such as age and location, supporting the idea that people are more likely to meet and build relationships with people who are geographically close and share similarities in terms of age, education, etc.
what is some opposing evidence for filter theory
anderson found that in cohabitating partners that as there relationship progressed they became more similar in their emotional response this is knows as emotional convergence
this suggests that similarity becomes a consequence of the relationship and it not what caused the relationship.
what is some debates regarding filter theory
-lack temporal validity due to the rise of dating apps we are more likely to meet people outside our social demographic
