Factors Affecting Attraction in Romantic Relationships

What is self-disclosure?

Self-disclosure is the act of revealing personal information about oneself to another person.

What factors affect the nature and amount of self-disclosure?

The person being disclosed to, the stage of the relationship, the person disclosing, the nature of the information and the reasons for disclosure.

How can the stage of a relationship affect self-disclosure?

Self-disclosure may begin with relatively superficial information and become deeper as the relationship develops.

How can personality affect self-disclosure?

Confident and outgoing people may disclose more readily, whereas shy or reticent people may disclose less.

How can the nature of the information affect self-disclosure?

People may disclose banal information, such as hobbies, or highly personal or controversial information.

Why might someone engage in self-disclosure?

They may want to build trust, strengthen a bond or encourage the other person to disclose information in return.

What is reciprocity in self-disclosure?

Reciprocity is when one person's self-disclosure encourages the other person to disclose personal information in return.

Is self-disclosure a fixed form of communication?

No. It varies between individuals and according to factors such as age, relationship status, profession and mood.

What is Social Penetration Theory (SPT)?

Social Penetration Theory, proposed by Altman and Taylor (1973), explains how self-disclosure develops from shallow levels towards deeper and more intimate information as a relationship develops.

What are the two key dimensions of self-disclosure in SPT?

Breadth and depth.

What is breadth of self-disclosure?

Breadth refers to the range or number of different topics that a person discusses.

What is depth of self-disclosure?

Depth refers to how personal, intimate or private the information being disclosed is.

What is superficial self-disclosure?

Superficial self-disclosure involves relatively shallow information, such as where someone lives, their job or their hobbies.

What is intimate self-disclosure?

Intimate self-disclosure involves more personal information, such as ambitions or previous relationship experiences.

What is personal self-disclosure?

Personal self-disclosure involves deeper information such as hopes, desires, past mistakes and insecurities.

What is core self-disclosure?

Core self-disclosure involves the deepest and most private information, such as innermost fears, guilt or information that could risk rejection.

What happens to self-disclosure according to SPT?

Self-disclosure gradually becomes deeper as individuals reveal increasingly private information.

How does SPT describe the development of a relationship?

The relationship becomes stronger as increasingly deeper layers of personal information are disclosed.

Why does SPT suggest that people begin with superficial disclosure?

Low-level disclosure carries less risk and allows trust to develop before more vulnerable information is revealed.

What is Social Comparison Theory (SCT)?

Social Comparison Theory, proposed by Festinger (1954), suggests that people assess their own worth and value by comparing themselves with others.

What is upward comparison?

Upward comparison occurs when someone compares themselves with someone they perceive as superior, such as someone more attractive, wealthy or intelligent.

What is downward comparison?

Downward comparison occurs when someone compares themselves with someone they perceive as inferior, such as someone less athletic or less well-dressed.

How can self-disclosure allow social comparison?

People can disclose information to gauge another person's reaction and compare themselves with them.

How can achievements be used in social comparison?

A person may disclose achievements and receive praise or admiration, leading to self-validation.

How can beliefs and values be used in social comparison?

People may disclose their beliefs and values to determine how similar or different they are from another person.

How can social comparison affect self-esteem?

Another person's reaction can affirm or deny someone's self-image and therefore influence their self-esteem.

How does SCT explain the purpose of self-disclosure?

It allows potential partners to assess one another and decide whether they are interested in pursuing a relationship.

How does self-disclosure affect relationships according to SPT?

SPT argues that self-disclosure is essential for a relationship to develop and thrive because it creates trust and reinforces the couple's special bond.

Why is self-disclosure described as the 'glue' of a relationship?

Because it can create trust and strengthen the bond between partners.

Why can self-disclosure be risky?

If one person discloses personal information and the other does not reciprocate, the relationship may become unequal in terms of trust.

Why can high-risk self-disclosure create vulnerability?

Revealing very private information gives the other person knowledge and potentially power over the discloser.

Why does SPT suggest gradual self-disclosure?

Gradual disclosure reduces the risks associated with immediately revealing highly personal information.

What did Collins and Miller (1994) find?

Their meta-analysis found that self-disclosure plays an important role in maintaining relationships.

What did Lippert and Prager (2001) investigate?

They studied 113 cohabiting couples using questionnaires and diaries of their interactions.

What did Lippert and Prager (2001) find?

Couples with higher levels of mutual self-disclosure reported greater relationship satisfaction.

What did Tang et al. (2013) investigate?

They compared self-disclosure between American and Chinese couples.

What did Tang et al. (2013) find?

American couples reported more intimate and sexual disclosures than Chinese couples, although relationship satisfaction was high in both cultures.

How does Tang et al. (2013) challenge SPT?

It suggests that self-disclosure varies culturally and that high relationship satisfaction does not necessarily require the same level of intimate disclosure.

What is a strength of self-disclosure theories?

Self-disclosure has practical applications, particularly in Westernised societies where open communication is valued.

How can self-disclosure be applied to relationship counselling?

Counsellors can encourage appropriate communication and reciprocal sharing between partners.

How can self-disclosure benefit non-romantic relationships?

It can help build and maintain friendships, family relationships and professional relationships.

What is a limitation of self-disclosure theories?

Self-disclosure is difficult to operationalise because it is open to subjective interpretation.

Why does the difficulty of operationalising self-disclosure matter?

It reduces the scientific nature and objectivity of theories based on self-disclosure.

Why do self-disclosure theories lack full explanatory power?

Some healthy relationships do not follow the predicted pattern, such as relationships where one partner discloses considerably more than the other.

How are self-disclosure theories culturally biased?

They may reflect Western assumptions about how much people should disclose in relationships.

What evidence demonstrates cultural differences in self-disclosure?

Tang et al. (2013) found that American couples disclosed more intimate and sexual information than Chinese couples despite similar relationship satisfaction.

What does cultural variation in self-disclosure suggest?

There may be no universal level of disclosure required for a successful relationship.

What is physical attractiveness?

Physical attractiveness refers to how pleasing a person's physical appearance is perceived to be and can be an important factor in initial attraction.

Why can physical attractiveness be important in relationships?

It may initially draw people together and motivate them to spend more time with each other.

What is the babyface hypothesis?

The babyface hypothesis, proposed by Berry and MacArthur (1986), suggests that people are attracted to appealing and unthreatening baby-like facial features.

What baby-like features are associated with the babyface hypothesis?

Large eyes, soft skin and a blemish-free appearance.

Why might baby-like features be attractive?

They may act as social releasers that trigger nurturing and protective responses.

What did Langlois et al. (2001) find?

Attractive children and adults were judged more positively than unattractive children and adults, even by people who knew them.

What facial characteristics tend to be preferred across cultures?

Faces close to the population average, symmetrical faces, sexually dimorphic features and youthful features.

Why might average, symmetrical and youthful faces be attractive?

They may signal the ability to develop normally regardless of environmental conditions.

What benefits can physical attractiveness provide according to Feingold (1992)?

Attractive people may experience less loneliness and social anxiety and greater popularity.

What did Zebrowitz and McDonald (2001) find?

Attractive people may receive less harsh punishments in court than unattractive people.

What is the halo effect?

The halo effect is the tendency to attribute positive qualities and characteristics to people because they are perceived as physically attractive.

Who coined the term halo effect?

Dion et al. (1972).

What phrase summarises the halo effect?

'What is beautiful is good.'

What qualities may attractive people be assumed to possess?

They may be perceived as more sociable, kind, intelligent, interesting and socially desirable.

Is the halo effect limited to one gender or age group?

According to the notes, it operates across gender and age and appears to have cross-cultural support.

What did Kim (1997) find?

Students from the USA and Korea judged attractive people as more friendly and trustworthy than unattractive people.

How can entertainment reinforce the halo effect?

Media such as Disney films can associate attractive characters with positive qualities and unattractive characters with negative qualities.

Why is the halo effect a cognitive bias?

It involves forming a broad impression of someone's personality based primarily on their physical attractiveness rather than other available information.

What is the matching hypothesis?

The matching hypothesis, associated with Walster (1966), proposes that people tend to form relationships with partners who are roughly similar to themselves in physical attractiveness.

What does the matching hypothesis assume about partner choice?

People tend to choose partners who are approximately at the same level of physical attractiveness as themselves.

How does self-esteem relate to the matching hypothesis?

People may consider how attractive they are and seek a partner whose attractiveness will support their self-worth and social standing.

Why might someone avoid choosing a more attractive partner?

They may believe that the person is 'out of their league' and fear rejection.

Why might someone choose a less attractive partner?

They may perceive this as more achievable and less likely to result in rejection.

What did Aharon et al. (2001) find?

fMRI scans showed that dopamine-rich areas of the brain were activated when males viewed pictures of beautiful female faces.

What did Cunningham (1986) investigate?

He investigated facial features associated with attractiveness.

What did Cunningham (1986) find?

Males rated baby-faced female features such as large eyes, a small nose, small chin and a large smile as more attractive and showed greater prosocial behaviour towards attractive females.

What did Dion et al. (1972) find?

Participants rated photographs of attractive people more favourably and attributed positive qualities and life outcomes to them.

What did Walster et al. (1966) find?

They found no support for the matching hypothesis; attractiveness was the best predictor of whether someone was asked out, regardless of the attractiveness of the person doing the asking.

What did Feingold (1998) find?

His meta-analysis found that partners in actual couples tended to be equally attractive.

Why does Feingold's (1998) research support the matching hypothesis?

It provides evidence from real relationships that partners tend to be similar in physical attractiveness.

Why does Feingold's (1998) research provide external validity?

It used evidence from actual couples rather than relying only on artificial laboratory situations.

What did Landy and Sigall (1975) find?

Essays written by attractive schoolchildren were graded more highly than essays written by unattractive schoolchildren.

How does Landy and Sigall support the halo effect?

It shows that physical attractiveness can influence judgements about performance.

What did Taylor et al. (2011) find?

Analysis of activity logs from an online dating site found that people did not necessarily follow the matching hypothesis and often preferred the most attractive people.

What does Taylor et al. (2011) suggest about the matching hypothesis?

People may prefer more attractive partners rather than restricting themselves to partners of similar attractiveness.

Why is physical attractiveness difficult to study scientifically?

Attractiveness is subjective and varies between individuals.

How can cultural bias affect attractiveness research?

Theories may reflect Western ideals of beauty that do not necessarily apply to collectivist or non-Western cultures.

Why is Cunningham's (1986) study potentially ethnocentric?

It used American males, so applying its conclusions universally may impose Western cultural standards of attractiveness.

What is alpha bias in attractiveness research?

Alpha bias occurs when differences between genders are exaggerated, potentially reinforcing traditional stereotypes.

How can attractiveness research create alpha bias?

Research may focus heavily on how men judge women's appearance, reinforcing the idea that women's value is strongly linked to appearance.

Why is physical attractiveness research socially sensitive?

It may reinforce stereotypes, negatively affect self-esteem or contribute to discrimination.

Why must psychologists consider ethical implications in attractiveness research?

Research findings can influence how people view themselves and others and may reinforce harmful stereotypes if applied irresponsibly.

What is filter theory?

Filter theory, proposed by Kerckhoff and Davis (1962), suggests that people use a series of criteria or 'filters' to narrow a field of potential partners into a smaller group of desirable partners.