Romantic Relationships Learning Objectives Chapter 11 1 What is the need to belong book pg 393 394 To connect with others in enduring close relationships Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation 2 What are the 3 factors discussed in class that lead to attraction lecture and book pg 419 Propinquity nearness is rewarding the more exposed a person is to someone the more attractive they become The state of being close to someone or something proximity It costs less time and effort to receive friendship s benefits with someone who lives or works close by Similarity similarities in behavior personality physical characteristics and attractiveness lead to attraction If others have similar opinions we feel rewarded because we presume that they like us in return Moreover those who share our views help validate them We especially like people if we have successfully converted them to our way of thinking Attractiveness We like attractive people because we perceive that they offer other desirable traits and because we benefit by associating with them 3 What did the police trainee study demonstrate about propinquity i e nearness or proximity lecture The police trainee study demonstrate that friends nominated by the trainees tended to have last names starting with the same letter of the alphabet as the trainee Segal realized that since the trainees were assigned to the seats in their classrooms alphabetically they would of course spend more time in close proximity to students with similar names Close classroom seating turned out to be a better predictor of friends than a trainee s religion hobbies age or marital status Study shows that proximity matters 4 What is the mere exposure effect Does is lead to liking or disliking lecture and book pg 399 402 The mere exposure effect is a psychological phenomenon the tendency for novel stimuli to be liked more or rated more positively after the rater has been repeatedly exposed to them In social psychology this effect is sometimes called the familiarity principle Familiarity usually doesn t breed contempt it increases liking If already dislike someone exposure can increase disliking 5 What were the methods and results of the study we discussed demonstrating mere exposure effects with attitudes toward people lecture Moreland Beach 1992 4 women enrolled in class and each showed up different amounts of time 0 5 10 15 How attractive How similar Studied the development of affinity among 130 students in a large college course Four women of similar appearance posed as students To create conditions of mere exposure they did not interact with any of the other students Three of the women attended different numbers of class sessions One woman did not attend class but posed as a student for a photograph that was converted to a slide At the end of the term students were shown to slides of the women and completed measures of each women s perceived familiarity attractiveness and similarity Mere exposure had weak effects on familiarity but strong effects on attraction and similarity Effects of exposure on familiarity and similarity were mediated by its effects of attraction 6 How does similarity relate to attraction finding a partner lecture and book pg 412 Similarity in behavior personality like same music physical characteristics which two are dating matching hypothesis and attractiveness lead to attraction and finding a partner Friends engaged couples and spouses are far more likely than randomly paired people to share common attitudes beliefs and values The greater the similarity between husband and wife the happier they are and the less likely they are to divorce The likeness leads to liking effect people like not only those who think as they do but also those who act as they do Mimicry fosters fondness Similarity breeds content 7 How does dissimilarity breed disliking book pg 413 Getting to know someone and discovering that the person is actually dissimilar tends to decrease liking If those dissimilar attitudes pertain to our strong moral convictions we dislike and distance ourselves from them all the more In general dissimilar attitudes depress liking more than similar attitudes enhance it This explains why dating partners and roommates become more similar over time in their emotional responses to events and in their attitudes Whenever one group regards another as other the potential for conflict is high 8 What is the reward theory of attraction book pg 418 Reward theory of attraction the theory states that people like those whose behavior is rewarding to them or whom they associate with rewarding events More clearly stated this means people are attracted to those who in some way make them feel good or are attracted to those who remind them of people that they enjoy being around We are attracted to those we find it satisfying and gratifying to be with Attraction is in the eye and brain of the beholder Those who reward us or whom we associate with rewards we like If a relationship gives us more rewards than costs we will like it and we will wish to continue it This will be especially true if the relationship is more profitable than alternative relationships Mutual attraction flourishes when each meets the other s unmet needs 9 What is the matching hypothesis phenomenon lecture and book pg 405 406 Phenomenon claims that people are more likely to form and succeed in a committed relationship with someone who is equally socially desirable Suggests why people become attracted to their partner If this leads you to think of all the successful couples in which the partners differ greatly in physical attractiveness it is likely that the less attractive partner has compensating qualities to offer example men with wealth and status desire younger more attractive women They seek out someone who seems desirable but they are mindful of the limits of their own desirability Good physical matches may be conducive to good relationships Those who were most similar in physical attractiveness were most likely 9 months later to have fallen more deeply in love 10 What factors make people both men and women more attractive what do we tend to find attractive in others lecture and book pg 408 411 Both men and women are attracted to a symmetry and an average composite face Evolutionary perspective in terms of reproductive strategy beauty signals biologically important information health youth and fertility Men with attractive faces have higher quality sperm
View Full Document
Unlocking...