Interpersonal Relationships – Chapter 8 Lecture

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and theories from the Chapter 8 lecture on interpersonal relationships, attraction, mate choice, and relationship dynamics.

Interpersonal Relationships

Ongoing social connections between two or more people studied in social psychology for their impact on well-being.

Need to Belong

Fundamental human motivation to form and maintain strong, stable interpersonal bonds.

Ostracism

Social exclusion from a group; historically named after Athenian ‘ostraka’ pottery shards used to banish citizens.

Cyberball Paradigm

Online ball-tossing game used to experimentally induce feelings of ostracism in participants.

Social Pain Overlap Theory

Idea that social rejection activates the same neural regions as physical pain.

Affiliation Thermostat

Metaphor of an internal regulator that increases or decreases a person’s desire for social contact depending on current levels.

Loneliness

Distress resulting from a gap between desired and actual social contact, common during life transitions such as starting university.

Transitional Loneliness

Temporary loneliness occurring after major life changes (e.g., divorce, bereavement, moving).

Social Network

The set of people with whom an individual maintains interpersonal ties, offering potential for social interaction.

Supportive Overload

Negative effect arising when an individual experiences more social contact than desired, leading to withdrawal or desensitization.

Social Support

Emotional, informational, or practical assistance received from others, linked to improved mental and physical health.

Buffering Hypothesis

Theory that social support protects people from the harmful effects of stress.

Proximity Principle

Tendency to form relationships with those who are geographically or functionally near us.

Mere Exposure Effect

Phenomenon by which repeated contact with a neutral stimulus increases liking for it.

Similarity–Attraction Effect

Preference for others who share our attitudes, values, interests, or demographics.

Assortative Mating

Pattern in which romantic partners tend to be similar in physical attractiveness and other traits.

Halo Effect (Attractiveness)

Cognitive bias where physically attractive people are assumed to possess other positive qualities.

Physical Symmetry

Degree to which the left and right sides of the body or face mirror each other; perceived as attractive cross-culturally.

Averageness (Facial Attractiveness)

Preference for faces whose features represent the mathematical average of a population, signaling genetic diversity and health.

Subjective Beauty

Culturally and historically variable standards of attractiveness shaped by social norms and personal experience.

Arousal Transfer (Misattribution of Arousal)

Process where physiological arousal from one source is mistakenly attributed to another, enhancing perceived attraction.

Closing-Time Effect

Increase in perceived attractiveness of others as a venue’s closing time approaches, especially among singles.

Reciprocity of Liking

Tendency to like those who express that they like us.

Hard-to-Get Effect

Greater attraction to partners who are selectively (but not excessively) difficult to obtain.

Error Management Theory

Evolutionary view that men over-perceive sexual interest and women under-perceive commitment to minimize costly mating errors.

Evolutionary Mate Preferences

Sex-specific partner criteria shaped by ancestral reproductive challenges (e.g., youth for men, resources for women).

Buss Cross-Cultural Study

Landmark 1989 & 2019 research across 30+ nations showing consistent sex differences in mate preferences.

Financial Resources Preference

Greater female than male emphasis on a partner’s economic capacity, found cross-culturally.

Physical Attractiveness Preference

Greater male than female emphasis on a partner’s looks, linked to perceived fertility.

Age Preference

Typical pattern where men prefer younger partners and women prefer slightly older partners.

Sociocultural Perspective (Mate Choice)

Explanation that gendered preferences arise from social roles, power differences, and economic inequality.

Kinsey Scale

Seven-point continuum measuring sexual orientation from exclusively heterosexual (0) to exclusively homosexual (6).

Erotic Plasticity

Degree to which sexual desires and orientation are shaped by situational, cultural, and developmental factors; generally higher in women.

Sexual Orientation Continuum

View that sexual orientation is not binary but ranges along varying degrees of same- and other-sex attraction.

Social Exchange Theory

Model proposing that relationship satisfaction depends on rewards, costs, and comparison alternatives.

Equity Theory

Idea that partners are happiest when ratios of rewards to costs are perceived as equal for both parties.

Investment Model

Expansion of exchange theory stating commitment rises with satisfaction, investments, and lack of attractive alternatives.

Mount Maslow Marriage

Finkel’s metaphor that modern spouses expect partners to meet higher-level needs (esteem, self-actualization) requiring more investment.

Sternberg’s Triangular Theory

Conceptualization of love comprising intimacy, passion, and commitment, whose combinations create different love types.

Negative Affect Reciprocity

Destructive cycle where one partner’s negativity elicits more negativity from the other during conflict.

Demand–Withdrawal Pattern

Interaction in which one partner pressures for discussion while the other avoids, linked to relationship distress.

Relationship-Enhancing Attribution

Tendency in happy couples to credit partner’s good acts to traits and bad acts to situations.

Distress-Maintaining Attribution

Pattern in unhappy couples attributing partner’s positive behavior to situations and negative behavior to character.

Seven-Year Itch

Observed dip in marital satisfaction around years 7–8, often coinciding with child-rearing stress.

Divorce Satisfaction Trajectory

Typical pattern where life satisfaction declines before divorce, bottoms out near separation, and partially rebounds afterward.