Week 6: Friendship and Love Flashcards
What are the 3 themes that characterise friendship?
- Caring and affection
- Support and dependability
- Enjoyment and fun
What is friendship?
A voluntary, personal r/s, typically providing intimacy and assistance, in which the two parties like each another and seek each other’s company
How do friendships and romantic r/s differ?
F’ships are:
- Less passionate
- Less exclusive
- Less interdependent
- Less confining, entailing fewer obligation to one’s partner
What are the aspects for the nature of friendship?
1) Respect - more respect -> more satisfaction in r/s
2) Trust - critical for dvlpmt of interdependence in a r/s
3) Capitalisation
4) Responsiveness
5) Social support
What are the types of social support in friendships?
1) Material - more tangible forms of assistance
2) Advice - information and guidance
3) Emotional - affection, acceptance, reassurance
4) Physical - hugs and cuddling
What are some personal and relational outcomes of effective social support?
Personal outcomes
- Decreases in bio markers/symptoms of distress (e.g. lowered HR and BP)
Relational outcomes
- Higher levels of happiness, satisfaction and longevity
What are the characteristics of ppl who are better support providers?
- Secure attachment
- Empathic
- High self-esteem
How do perceptions of support vary?
The more satisfied we are in a r/s, the more supportive we think the partner/friend is
- Bi-directional: Satisf. increases support and vice versa
Attachment insecurity
Capitalisation: What are the types of reactions?
Active constructive
Passive constructive
Active destructive
Passive destructive
What are the characteristics of FwB r/s?
- Sex is a more common motivation for men to begin such r/s
- Emotions are a common motivation for women
- Commitment was associated with transitioning into exclusive r/s
- Commitment also associated with reduced condom use
What are the gender differences in friendship?
Male friendships:
- Shared activities, interest-related conversations, less self-disclosure and less expression of emotions
Female friendships:
- Emotional sharing, r/s and personal issues, more self-disclosure and more expression of emotions
What are the influences of friends on romance/our choice of partners?
1) Initiation: Overlapping friendship networks
2) Maintenance: Subjective norms
3) Dissolution: Opinions of friends of female partner
4) Disapproval
5) Approval
6) Interference
What are friendship difficulties?
Loneliness:
- Distress occurs when we want more, or more intimate, connections with others
- social isolation, emotional isolation, genetic influences, certain personalities, insecure attachment, low self-esteem, low expressivity
- Associated with negative attitudes; is unappealing to others
What are the functions of metaphors in love?
Metaphors structure how we think and shape our perception of reality
E.g. Argument = war vs. dance
What is love?
Physio perspective: Romantic love has specific biological and behavioural signatures
The human brain has specific hormonal and biological systems in the brain and body associated with the diff. elements of romantic love:
- lust (estrogen and testosterone)
- attraction (dopamine and norepinephrine)
- attachment (oxytocin and vasopressin)
