Attraction and Close Relationships

Baumeister and Leary 1995 Need to Belong

we require positive interactions and stable, supportive relationships

engage in behaviours to fulfil these needs

relationships are substitutable and can be satiated

determinants of initial attraction

proximity, similarity, reciprocal liking, physical attraction

Festinger 1950 proximity

apartment study, 65% in same complex, functional distance

Moreland and Bach 1950 classrooms proximity

confederates who attended class more rated as more attractive - perceptual fluency and likelier to meet

Byrne 1986 2 stage model of attraction

negative screen of similarity causes avoidance, high positive screen of similarity causes attraction

Reasons similarity is attractive

social validation function, attributions for disagreement and reciprocal liking

Curtis and miller 1986 reciprocal liking

thinking other person doesn’t like you affected the participants’ behaviour - it’s rewarding to be around someone who likes you and is similar to us

exceptions for reciprocal liking

playing hard to get, we prefer moderate selectivity

self esteem - self verification

why is physical attractiveness attractive?

stereotypes, possible rewards for us

Perett 1994, Little and Perett 2002

rated composites more attractive with pic of us, rated own faces 10% more attractive

Self fulfilling prophecy Snyder, Tank, Berscheid 1977

male participants warmer to attractive female participants, ultimately confirming participants’ initial impressions

conspicuous consumption

short term low investment dating strategy of buying and showing off expensive items

Sundie 2011 - makes men more attractive as short term partners but not long

mate preferences

want to maximise reproductive success

Buss 1989

women value ambition, men value physical attraction

Hatfield 1988 types of love

passionate and companionate

Sternberg 1988 triangular theory of love

passion, intimacy, commitment

romantic love, companionate love, fatuous love, consummate love

passion is motivational, intimacy is emotional, commitment is cognitive

Intimacy

self disclosure, feeling close to someone

Misattribution of arousal

Dutton and Aron 1974 bridges

White, Fishbein, Rutstein 1981 running increased attraction to attractive female and decreased to unattractive female

Social exchange theory

motivated to maximise rewards and minimise costs

more SATISFIED when r/c ratio exceeds comparison level

more COMMITED when r/c ratio exceeds comparison level for alternatives

Investment model Rusbult 1983

adds investments to social exchange theory

committed if satisfaction - CLA - investments

Equity theory

happiest when the balance of rewards and costs Is the same

differences between exchange and communal relationships