Chapter 12 – Attraction, Intimacy & Love: Key Vocabulary

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards covering biological drives, brain chemistry, love theories, attraction factors, attachment styles, and jealousy concepts from Chapter 12.

Sexual Desire (Lust)

The hormonal drive (testosterone, estrogen) that motivates individuals to search for potential mates.

Romantic Love

The second Fisher phase marked by dopamine-based euphoria, focused attention, and obsessive attraction to one partner.

Attachment (Fisher)

The long-term bonding phase driven by oxytocin and vasopressin that fosters commitment and child-rearing stability.

Passionate Love

Intense longing and idealization of a partner; high arousal and preoccupation with the loved one.

Companionate Love

Warmth, affection, and deep friendship that feel comfortable, trusting, and stable over time.

Caudate Nucleus

Brain region rich in dopamine that shows heightened activity when people are intensely in love.

Amygdala

Emotion-processing area whose activity decreases during intense romantic love, lowering fear and social judgment.

Triangular Theory of Love

Sternberg’s model positing love as combinations of intimacy, passion, and commitment.

Intimacy (Sternberg)

Feelings of closeness, warmth, and connectedness within a relationship.

Commitment (Sternberg)

The cognitive decision to stay with and maintain the relationship.

Passion (Sternberg)

The biological/physical desire that drives sexual activity and arousal.

John Lee’s Love Styles

Six patterned ways of loving: Eros, Ludus, Storge, Pragma, Mania, and Agape.

Eros

Passionate, erotic love characterized by rapid emotional involvement and intense lovemaking.

Ludus

Game-playing love that is playful, unpredictable, and low in commitment.

Storge

Friendship-based love that evolves slowly and prioritizes reliability and genuine affection.

Pragma

Practical, goal-oriented love that evaluates a partner’s fit with life plans and future goals.

Mania

Possessive, dependent love marked by jealousy, insecurity, and potential emotional extremes.

Agape

Altruistic, self-sacrificing love that prioritizes a partner’s welfare above one’s own.

Two-Factor Theory of Love

The idea that love results from physiological arousal plus cognitive labeling of that arousal toward a specific person.

Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC)

Immune-system genes; people prefer partners with dissimilar MHC to enhance offspring immunity.

Physical Attraction

Initial visual appeal that often plays a larger role in choosing short-term sexual partners.

Facial Symmetry

Balanced facial proportions that signal genetic health and are judged as more attractive.

Waist-to-Hip Ratio

Body proportion (narrow waist, wider hips/chest) associated with fertility cues and attractiveness.

Reciprocity (Attraction)

Tendency to like people more when we know they like us.

Uncertainty Effect (Attraction)

Heightened attraction to someone whose feelings toward us are ambiguous or unknown.

Similarity (Attraction)

Preference for partners who share attitudes, values, or characteristics with ourselves.

Assortative Mating

Selecting partners similar to oneself on key traits (e.g., education, personality).

Mere Exposure Effect

Greater liking for stimuli—including people—through repeated exposure.

Capilano Suspension Bridge Experiment

Classic study where arousal from a high bridge was misattributed as sexual attraction to the female experimenter.

Secure Attachment Style

Positive model of self and others; comfortable with intimacy and not threatened by conflict.

Preoccupied Attachment Style

Low self-esteem but positive view of others; seeks approval and fears abandonment.

Dismissing Attachment Style

Positive self-image but negative view of others; values independence and avoids closeness.

Fearful Attachment Style

Negative view of self and others; desires closeness yet fears rejection and trusts little.

Reactive Jealousy

Jealousy triggered by real, concrete threats to a relationship (e.g., partner’s affair).

Suspicious Jealousy

Jealousy arising from imagined or unfounded suspicions; often pervasive and anxiety-laden.

Evolutionary Jealousy Differences

Men show more jealousy about sexual infidelity; women show more jealousy about emotional infidelity due to divergent reproductive risks.

Third-Party Introduction Line

Pick-up strategy where someone is introduced through a mutual acquaintance—rated most favorably by women.

Oxytocin

“Bonding” hormone that promotes trust, attachment, and long-term commitment.

Dopamine

Neurotransmitter that creates feelings of reward, motivation, and euphoria during romantic love.

Vasopressin

Hormone linked to pair-bonding and protective behavior toward a mate in long-term attachment.