PSYC 307 - Relationships

Similarity and attractiveness

We are more attracted to people more like ourselves

Are mixed race people more attractive?

Yes, on average. Maybe because their faces are mostly an average of all the races we've seen

Average Features (2)

- Average features less likely to contain genetic abnormalities, and are more symmetrical - Able to process easier because it's closer to the prototype, easier processing leads to pleasent feeling which gets interpreted as attractive

Bilateral symmetry (5)

- Another marker of health - When organism develops under ideal conditions, will have bilateral symmetry - Genetic mutations, pathogens and stressors may lead to asymmetrical features - On average, asymmetrical faces are viewed as less attractive - Especially important in hunting-gatherer societies where rates of infant mortality are higher

Evidence for Tyranny of the beautiful (3)

- In Canadian gov elections, physically attractive candidates received 3x may votes as unattractive ones - People with MBA's: each unit of attractiveness (5 point scale) was associated with an increase in salary - Attractive defendants in misdemeanor cases are assigned less than half the bail amounts of unattractive ones

More residentially unstable neighborhoods have (3)

- More "fair-weather" sports fans (bandwagoner) - Higher crime rates and lower pro-community action - More national chain stores per capita, and more goods sold at those stores

Clear complexion (4)

- More attracted to healthy mates - Skin signals health more directly than any other visible aspect - Cosmetics industry provide people with ways to make their skin look clearer - People have strong aversive reactions to skin conditions

Two variables that mediate the cultural difference in similarity-attraction effect

1) Ease at forming new relationships - high relational mobility show a stronger similarity attraction effect 2) Self esteem - the higher one's self-esteem, the more one likes people who are similar to them

Why might we see cultural differences of being physically attractive? (2)

1) High relational mobiity: cultures (especially Western) have high freedom in deciding who they will have relationships with 2) Low relational mobility: cultures (non-western) have less freedom in choosing relationships, usually come from various ingroup

Residential mobility and Identity

Americans who have never moved view group membership to be almost as important as personality traits for their identity Those who move value personality traits more, and group memberships less

Are arranged marriages satisfying?

Arranged marriages may be puzzling to Westerners, but they are often quite successful Most arranged marriages end up becoming loving relationships, even if they start out without love Studies find that arranged marriages are at least as happy as love marriages (e.g., Turkish, Israeli, Indian, Chinese, and Japanese - although not by women in China and Japan).

Study - similarity attraction effect

Asked Canadians and Japanese to rate person they had briefly met. Then they saw a survey how how similar they are to them. Then evaluated how much they would like the other participant Canadians showed standard similarity attraction effect Japanese didn't show similarty attraction effect. The effect is usually significant in other cultures, but not as strong as Westernenrs

Universals of Physical Attractiveness

Clear Complexion Bilateral symmetry Average features

How is relational mobility related to the # of times people move

For Americans that never move, identity is made up of both their own personality traits as well as the group to which they belong For Americans who move more frequently, their personality is known by people in the new community, but some of their group memberships might not be

Enemies and Ghanians

Ghanians report having more enemies, since high relational people can avoid people they don't really like When Westerners acknowledge having enemyships they most often identify outgroup members For Ghanaians, enemyships are most often identified as ingroup members

Is physical attractiveness more important in high or low relational mobility?

High

Why should people with low relational mobility sometimes to suspicious of friends? (4)

In low relational mobility contexts, you're not in a position to really choose who all of your friends are You have to deal with them regardless if you like them or not. Kind of like many people's relationships with their in-laws Friendship in many low mobility contexts, particularly Ghana, is a more ambivalent construct Ghanaians report having fewer friends than American, and feel that someone who has many friends is foolish.

Are average body features aside from the face attractive?

No, vary considerably across cultures

Advice in NA and Russian context

North American culture values autonomy, so unsolicited advice is perceived negatively Russian culture is more collectivistic, so threats to autonomy are less of a concern. Advice is largely viewed as supporting relationships

What is the role of friendship? What might be the backlash of this?

One thing that friends sometimes do is offer advice. Giving advice benefits the recipient by providing new information, however the recipient might see it as a threat to their autonomy

Study - role of physical attractiveness to life outcomes in the US and in Ghana

Participants indicated how satisfied with their life outcomes, then they took a photo of him/her and the photo was rated for attractiveness Physically attractive Americans where more satisfied with their lives Physically attractive Ghanians were not more satisfied with their lives Tyranny of the beautiful may not generalize well beyond Western context

Tyranny of the beautiful

Physically attractive people receive more benefits

Romantic love (3)

Romantic love is an evolutionary adaptation to ensure that children had adequate resources and protection Romantic love exists everywhere - 89% of subsistence societies have shown clear support of it, and it's likely that it exists in the remaining 11% However, the idea of marriages being based on romantic love is not universal. Arranged marriages have been common in many cultures

Study - advice giving on American and Russian online parenting forums

The researcher posted a question, describing a parenting challenge. In one condition the poster did not explicitly request advice. In the other condition, the poster directly asked for advice The researchers coded how many responses were received, and whether the responses made specific recommendations to the poster Americans only offered advice if it was explicitly requested Russians offered more advice, regardless of whether it was requested. The Russian advice giving was not affected much by whether it was requested In interdependent contexts advice is given more, as the benefits of supporting others outweighs the perceived threats to autonomy