CHAPTER 9: INTERPERSONAL ATTRACTION

Know the theories of attraction.

- Learning theory: Classical conditioning- good or bad feelings we have for a person reinforced by good and bad experiences in the past/Operant conditioning- behaviors rewarded become more frequent & those punished become less frequent - Social Exchange Theory: we choose relationships that are most profitable w/ the least cost to us - Equity Theory: focus on the investment the relationship can bring us and not just the cost or rewards of the relationship. - Communal relationships: don't keep score they'll be there for you and you'll be there for them. - Balance Theory: expect and desire consistency in thoughts feelings and desires balanced relationship is rewarding and unbalanced unrewarding.

What is the difference between love and friendship.

-Friendship: Familiarity -Love: Novelty, passion, exciting and new, arousal

What is affiliation? When do we want to affiliate? Know Schacter's studies. (incomplete)

-affiliation is where we want to be with a group of others whether or not we like them. -We affiliate when we want social comparison (we evaluate our thoughts and actions and comparing them to those around us) and social exchange (we seek out and maintain those relationships in which the rewards exceed the cost) -Schacter & Singer study - 2 Factor Theory - injected one group with adrenaline & another group not told they would get adrenaline - placed an angry confederate in room - group not told claimed they were angry too.

Be able to identify balanced and imbalanced relationships.

-balanced relationship: two people who value the same thing should develop a liking relationship with one another but if one person values what the other detests, they should dislike one another. -imbalanced relationships: if two people mutually like one another but don't value the same thing, this creates a discomforting imbalance and a motivation to restore consistency and balance.

What is the social profit view of attraction? Explain the research findings pertaining to assimilation and contract effects.

-business' use appealing and attractive people places and things to entice us to buy their products. -contrast effect: if we see beauty we will it see the next person even less beautiful than we normally would and vice versa -assimilation - we tend to try to stay with people and things and places that are most similar to us and our likes

Cross cultural studies of women's waist to hip ratios have found that the ratio that is generally most attractive to men is _____.

0.7

What is the matching hypothesis?

People are attracted to others who are similar to them in particular characteristics, and a common practice in forming many different types of relationships.

____ suggest we need to have accurate views about ourselves and the social world.

Social comparison theory

What influences whom we are attracted to?

The people we find attractive are influenced by the factors of social influence. They include positive affect, proximity, mere exposure, similarity, physical attractiveness

What is the "what is good is beautiful" stereotype? Is it accurate?

The physical attractive stereotype is the belief that physically attractive individuals possess socially desirable personality traits and lead happier lives than less attractive person. We are attracted to beautiful people, thus believing they are smarter, have better personalities and happier lives. But this is untrue, they are less socially anxious.

What is the self-fulfilling prophecy? How does it relate to liking?

a prediction that directly or indirectly causes itself to become true, by the very terms of the prophecy itself. When we think others like us, we tend to act in ways that increase the likelihood that they will like us.

Explain the two-factor theory.

a theory that emotional experience is based on two factors: physiological arousal and cognitive labeling of the cause of that arousal. According to Schachter, when people aroused but are not sure what they are feeling, they will look for cues in their surroundings. The implication is, that our emotions are subjective and highly vulnerable to being interpreted based on situational cues. Experiment: injected one group with adrenaline & another group not told they would get adrenaline - placed an angry confederate in room - group not told claimed they were angry too.

The loneliest social group is ____.

adolescents

Men are more attracted to female faces when they _____.

are more youthful

Social exchange theory suggest that people's primary motivation in affiliating with others is to ____.

gain more rewards than the costs that they incur

Research on biological influences on our affiliation desires have found that introverts ____.

have inherited a nervous system that operates at a higher level of arousal than that of extroverts

Evolutionary psychologists suggest that women are more attracted to men who are more mature because ___.

historically, women have survived and enhanced their social status by mating with men who are more socially dominant

Schachter argues that the best explanation for affiliation needs following the induction of social anxiety was the need for ___.

information about other's emotional reactions

The unpleasant emotion we experience due to our concern with interpersonal evaluation and the loss of social status is called ___.

loneliness

Having socially anxious friends tends to ___.

make one more socially anxious

Studies of body esteem have found that ____.

men want to look more muscular

Faces are considered most attractive when they are __.

more symmetrical

People are likely to affiliate others when ___.

others have no knowledge of their impending embarrassment

Studies of the effect of culture on affiliation have found that ___.

people have less intimate relationships in individualist societies than in collectivist ones

Long term relationship satisfaction is best predicted by ___.

personality similarity

Research about physical attractiveness stereotype has found that ____.

physical attractiveness has an impact on both earning potential career success

People who are more socially skilled tend to ___.

realize that their nervousness is generally not noticed by others

Proximity may affect liking because ____.

repeated exposure to stimuli tends to increase attraction

Following a national disaster, people seem to deal with their anxiety in the most satisfying ways when they ____

spend time with one other person

Research about the matching hypothesis has found that

the proportions of attitude similarity is far more important than the actual number of similar attitudes in influencing attraction