COMM readings Ch 3 Drawing People Together Social scientists have dedicated energy to determining the causes of social attraction Attraction a motivational state in which an individual is predisposed to think feel and usually behave in a positive manner toward another person 3 forms of attraction o Physical occurs when we re drawn to people s looks o Social reflects the feeling that we would like to hang out and be friends with someone o Task refers to our desire to work with someone to fulfill instrumental goals ex completing a project or making a presentation Researchers have identified a 4th type of attraction sexual attraction which reflects the desire to engage in sexual activity with someone and typically is accompanied by feelings of sexual arousal in the presence of the person Halo effect tendency to perceive physically attractive people as more sociable Fatal attraction occurring when the very qualities that draw us to someone eventually Narcissism is a personality trait that involves a pervasive pattern of grandiosity self Kelley argued there are 4 general factors that influence how we behave during contribute to relational breakup focus and self importance interactions Personal qualities o Personal qualities and preferences that we bring to the interaction o Qualities of the other and preferences that they bring to the interaction o Qualities of the pair including similarities and differences between relational partners across a range of characteristics o Qualities of the physical or social environment including details of the location in which the interaction takes place and feedback from friends and family o One of the most powerful influences on our attraction to others is our perception of their reward value which relates to our interpersonal needs and preferenecs o Interdependence theory we are attracted to others when we think they offer more rewards than costs It s people s own perception of these rewards that are relevant o People s perceptions of reward value are influenced by our behavioral expectations This process operates in 2 ways People s expectations determine what they notice as being unusual or usual which influences their attraction to others People s expectations have a way of becoming reality regardless of the other person s actual behavior and in doing so influence to whom people are attracted to o When people expect to see someone again they are more likely to find that person attractive regardless of the individual s behavior than if they do not have expectations of future interaction o The expectation of future interaction motivates people to look for positive qualities in someone so that they will look forward to future interactions o One of the most potent attraction hormones seems to be oxytocin OT the hormone of love with rose colored glasses o The release of OT creates a warm afterglow tinting our subsequent experiences o Sexual desire and love activate different parts of the brain and that even different types of sexual desire produce unique neural responses o Attraction process and related emotions are facilitated or hindered by the release of chemicals in the body and by the activation of particular emotion centers in the brain o The demographic characteristic that has received the most attention in the o Androgynous many men and women display a mix of feminine and masculine attraction literature is sex behaviors and beliefs o Thinking about differences between people based on their location on a masculine feminine continuum rather than based simply on their biological sex may be the better way to understand differences and similarities between people Four facets of our personalities that impact the attraction process o Attachment style reflect how people view themselves and their relationships with others Represented by 4 attachment styles Secure individuals are comfortable both alone and in relationships Dismissive individuals prefer to be alone and are unmotivated to develop and maintain relationships Fearful avoidant individuals fear intimacy and lack self confidence Preoccupied individuals want intimacy and fear being alone o Relationship beliefs 2 dimensions underlie people s beliefs about the nature of relationships Destiny beliefs based on the idea that first impressions of others are fixed and enduring and that people cannot change Growth beliefs are based on the belief that impressions of others evolve over time and that people and relationships grow when faced with challenges o Self esteem how people feel about themselves strongly influences whom they find attractive Those who have high self esteem consistently find others more attractive than those whose self esteem is low o Narcissism having an exaggerated sense of self importance and a focus on oneself at the expense of others Narcissists are attracted to others who admire them while nonnarcissists are drawn to others who exhibit caring qualities o Physical attractiveness is one of the top two predictors of social attraction o People often associate good looks with a wide range of positive qualities called the halo effect of the what is beautiful is good stereotype leads people to believe that physically attractive individuals are more likely to succeed o It s argued that people s attraction to particular physical traits is due to the genetic drive to mate with the fittest person possible Other People s Qualities Qualities of the Pair o Interaction appearance theory demonstrated that people perceive others as more physically attractive if they have warm positive interactions with them o Assimilation effect some of the attention that physically attractive people get spills over to their friends through the assimilation effect o Sunnafrank was one of the first people to study how communication influences attraction o He argued that unless people communicated experiments would not be representative of the real qualities that people consider when evaluating the attractiveness of others He claimed people would be influenced by another s communication style and behavior to determine how attracted they were to each other o Warmth kindness sociability and competence are communication qualities that have been shown to influence attraction o The timing of positive versus negative behavior seems to influence attraction o Loss gain effect reflects what happens to attraction when a person s behavior moves from positive to negative or from negative to positive o Someone who plays hard