Week 6; Psychology of Love and Attraction Flashcards
Minimax Principle
If a relationship gives us more rewards than costs, we will wish to continue it
Equity Principle
-What you get out of a relationship should be proportional to what you put into it
- Evidence shows that tit for tat increases liking in the early stages of a relationship but decreases liking in stable and enduring relationships
Relationship
A connection between two people such as friends or romantic partners
Social Conditioning
-We like those we associate with good feeling i.e. those we encounter at the weekend, while doing hobbies, when relaxing etc.
- We may dislike someone if we associate them with aversive stimuli i.e. they look like a childhood bully
Proximity
- How often people come into contact with each other because they are physically nearby
- Most powerful prediction of a friend/ lovers stability
Neophobia
Humans tend to fear anything novel
3 Factors that influences liking someone
- Interaction
- Anticipation of Interaction
- Mere exposure effect
Interaction
From speaking to someone, you naturally discuss similarities and can gauge if they are interested in you through smiles and reciprocity
Interaction; Twin Study
- Only 5% of identical twins stated that they would be attracted to their twins fiancé
- As genetic influences would be the same, this illustrates the importance of interaction
Anticipation of an Interaction
- Just anticipated an interaction with another individual predisposes you to liking them
Darley and Berscheid on anticipating an interaction
- Studied a group of women
-Some were informed that they would be meeting another woman tomorrow while others were not - The women that were told reported having higher levels of liking for the individual than those who were not
Mere Exposure Effect
The tendency for novel stimuli to be liked more and rated more positively after the rater has been repeatedly exposed to them
Zajonc’s Study on the Mere Exposure Effect
- People were exposed to a number of Turkish numbers with some being repeated
- When the testers were asked to guess the meanings of the words, they were more likely to attribute positive meanings to the repeated words
Birds of a Feather
-People with similar attitudes, values, interests, backgrounds and personalities tend to like each other
Matching Principle
Romantic couples tend to be physically similar
Norman Anderson’s study on Personality Characteristics
Asked college students to rate 555 trait descriptions by how much they would like a person displaying these traits
Most Liked Traits
- Kindness
- Dependability
- Trustworthiness
Least Liked Traits
- Dishonesty
- Insincerity
-Lack of personality warmth
Physical Attractiveness
The attractiveness that we assign to others can be thought of as a product of their potential value to us in various contexts
Attractiveness and Dating
Some deep physical attractiveness as a good predictor of how much someone dates
Hatfield Study on Physical Attractiveness
- Did personality tests on a group of students and sent them on blind dates
- Found physical attractiveness was more important than personality and intelligence for both men and women
Matching Phenomenon
Tendency for individuals to choose partners who are a “good match” to them in terms of attractiveness and other factors i.e. intelligence
Physically Attractive Stereotype
-Presumption that physically attractive people possess other sociably desirable traits i.e. intelligence, humor, warmth etc.
-Attractive people are often treated more warmly with elicits certain responses in them
‘What is Beautiful is Good’ Stereotype
The belief that attractive people are superior in most ways
