Social Psychology Chapter 9: Relationships, Attraction, and Mate Preferences

What is attachment theory?

Attachment theory posits that early attachments with caregivers shape relationships throughout a person's life.

What are the two dimensions of attachment?

The anxiety dimension (worry about rejection and abandonment) and the avoidance dimension (comfort with intimacy and dependence).

What is functional distance?

Functional distance refers to how an architectural layout encourages or inhibits activities, including contact between people.

What is the mere exposure effect?

The mere exposure effect is the phenomenon where repeated exposure to a stimulus leads to greater liking of that stimulus.

How does fluency relate to attraction?

Fluency refers to the ease of processing familiar stimuli, which is associated with pleasant feelings and increased attraction.

What is the relationship between similarity and attraction?

Friends and romantic partners tend to be similar in beliefs and characteristics, with studies showing couples are more similar than randomly paired individuals.

What is the halo effect?

The halo effect is the belief that attractive individuals possess positive qualities beyond their appearance, such as being more successful or likable.

How does physical attractiveness vary across cultures?

While there is some variability, people from different cultures often share assessments of who is attractive, indicating a level of universality.

What is reproductive fitness?

Reproductive fitness is the capacity to pass one's genes on to subsequent generations, influencing preferences for certain physical characteristics.

What are gender differences in mate preferences?

Males and females seek different characteristics in mates due to their differing roles in reproduction, with females being more selective.

What is the minimal parental investment for males?

For males, the minimal parental investment is sperm, which requires minimal time and biological cost.

What is the minimal parental investment for females?

For females, the minimal parental investment is significantly larger, involving eggs, pregnancy, lactation, and extended infertility.

Why are females more selective in mate choice?

Females invest more in offspring, leading them to be more selective when choosing mates.

What characteristics do females prefer in potential mates?

Females may prefer mates who can provide resources, such as social status, wealth, intelligence, and ambition.

How do males typically approach mate selection?

Males tend to invest minimally and are less selective, often desiring more short-term mating opportunities.

What is the significance of physical features in attractiveness?

Certain physical features influence perceptions of attractiveness, often linked to health and reproductive fitness.

How do infants respond to attractive faces?

Infants show a preference for looking at attractive faces, indicating an early recognition of physical attractiveness.

What is the role of evolutionary perspectives in mate preferences?

Evolutionary perspectives suggest that mate preferences are shaped by the need for reproductive success and the differing parental investments of genders.

What is the impact of similarity on romantic relationships?

Couples tend to be more similar on various traits than randomly paired individuals, highlighting the importance of similarity in attraction.

What factors influence interpersonal liking?

Factors include proximity, repeated exposure, processing fluency, and similarity.

What is the relationship between attractiveness and perceived positive qualities?

Attractive individuals are often assumed to possess positive qualities, such as being more successful or intelligent, due to the halo effect.

How does the architectural layout affect social interactions?

Architectural layout can influence functional distance, which affects the likelihood of contact and interaction between individuals.

What is the significance of processing fluency in attraction?

Easier processing of familiar stimuli leads to more positive feelings and increased attraction.

What is the difference between demographic characteristics and personality traits in attraction?

Similarity effects may be stronger for demographic characteristics than for personality traits in romantic relationships.

What cues may indicate greater fertility in females according to male preferences?

Younger age and physical attractiveness.

What two critiques are presented regarding gender differences in mate preferences?

1. Differences may reflect evolutionary history or social factors. 2. Cultural universals may arise from rational logic rather than evolutionary drives.

How does gender equality affect women's preferences for men's status and resources?

In cultures with greater gender equality, women place less importance on a man's status and resources.

What is the distinction between attractiveness and the perceived entity?

Attractiveness is a perception produced by psychological systems in the mind of the perceiver, not an inherent property of the entity.

What is an example of differing perceptions of attractiveness between humans and houseflies?

Humans perceive feces as unpleasant, while houseflies are attracted to it for larval development.

What are the three interrelated questions regarding physical attractiveness?

What features are attractive? Why are they attractive? When are they perceived as attractive?

List some physical features that people find attractive.

Symmetry, waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), androgen-linked features, lumbar curvature, skin, hair, teeth, eyes, sclera, limbal ring.

What does symmetry in physical attractiveness indicate?

It cues developmental stability, low genetic mutation load, and higher levels of reproductive fitness.

How does waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) relate to female attractiveness?

WHR increases with the number of prior pregnancies, indicating parity and potential future offspring health.

What are androgen-linked features associated with in terms of attractiveness?

They are linked to the ability to obtain and protect resources.

What role does lumbar curvature play in physical attractiveness?

It helps shift the center of mass back over the hips during pregnancy.

How can skin texture indicate health in terms of attractiveness?

Skin texture can provide information about health issues, nutritional state, and fertility.

What do aligned, colored, and textured teeth indicate?

They are linked to metabolism, genetics, trauma, and environmental and dietary issues.

What does the sclera reveal about an individual's health?

Non-white coloration can indicate disease, infection, injury, or aging.

What does the limbal ring signify in terms of attractiveness?

A prominent limbal ring is associated with youth and health.

Summarize the 'What' of physical attractiveness.

Key features include symmetry, WHR, androgen-linked features, lumbar curvature, skin, hair, teeth, eyes, sclera, and limbal ring.

Summarize the 'Why' of physical attractiveness.

Attractiveness cues developmental stability, reproductive fitness, and health indicators.

What does the 'When' of physical attractiveness focus on?

It focuses on the perception of attractiveness in response to morphological cues relevant for mating relationships.

What broader psychology aspects are included in interpersonal attraction?

Cues that are dynamic, detectable via nonvisual modalities, and relevant to nonmating relationships.