PSY 311 Exam 3 Meade NCSU (chapters 10-12)

Propinquity Effect

Frequency of interaction and physical proximity in forming relationships.

Festinger, Schachter, and Back’s (1950)

tracked friendship formation in couples in apartments. asked the residents to name their three closest friends in the entire place. 65% of the friends mentioned lived in the same building = propinquity effect

Mere Exposure Effect

Increased exposure to a stimulus enhances liking to it. Mere exposure, when applied to people, is the propinquity effect.

Physical Attractiveness

The primary driver in initial attraction. Importances decreases throughout long-term relationships.

1966 study on random pairing

Students paired for blind date to dance. When asked if they would go on another date with them, the strongest relationship was with attractiveness.

"What is Beautiful is Good" Stereotype

Beautiful people are thought to be more sociable, extraverted, popular, sexual, happy, and assertive. Universal across cultures

Similarity and Attraction

We prefer people with our shared interests, attitudes, values, etc.

Why is similarity important?

1. We tend to think people who are similar to us will like us, 2. People who are similar to us validate us 3. We make negative inferences about people who disagrees with us on important issues

Reciprocity in Liking

Tendency to like those who like us.

Secure Attachment Style

Comfort in intimacy, high self-esteem, ability to trust and rely on others

Anxious attachment style

fear of abandonment, low self-worth, intense need for closeness and validation

Avoidant attachment style

Need for independence, discomfort in intimacy, emotional distance

Evolutionary Perspectives on Attraction mate selection

Men are attracted to appearance and women are attracted to resources, as to maximize chances of reproductive success

Destructive vs. Constructive Behaviors

D- actively harming relationship, allowing relationship to deteriorate. C- actively trying to improve the relationship, passively remaining loyal to the relationship

Active vs. Passive Behaviors examples

active harm- abusing the partner. Active improvement- discussing problems. Passive harm- refusing to deal with problems. Passive improvement- remaining optimistic

Cultural Differences in Love

What is experienced and expected differs in culture. Ex- in west africa married couples don’t live together in the same house & marrying for love is more Western  

Social Exchange Theory

Idea that people’s feelings about a relationship depend on rewards and costs, the kind of relationship one deserves, and one’s chances for having a better relationship with someone else. Satisfaction depends on comparison level and comparison level for alternatives.

SET in Relationships for staying or leaving

Past and alt rel were worse- satisfied, stay. Past was worse and alt is better- satisfied, leave. Past was better and alt is worse- dissatisfied, stay. Past was better and alt is better- dissatisfied, leave.

Equity Theory

The idea that people are happiest with relationships in which rewards and costs experienced and both parties’ contributions are roughly equal

Over-benefited vs under-benefited

O- a lot of rewards, few costs, little devotion of time or energy to relationship. U- few rewards, a lot of costs, a lot of time and energy devoted to relationship

Short-term vs. Long-term Studies

Conducting long-term studies is harder, which is why they are less common.

Passionate love

An intense longing we feel for a person accompanied by physiological arousal.

Companionate love

The intimacy and affection we feel when we care deeply for a person but do not experience passion or arousal in the person’s presence.

Altruism

The desire to help another person even if it involves a cost to the helper; Non-selfish reasons

Prosocial Behavior

Any act performed with the goal of benefiting another person; MAY be selfish reasons

Empathy-Altruism Hypothesis

Helping driven by empathy.

Limitations of Empathy-Altruism Hypothesis

Difficult to distinguish pure altruism from selfish motives

Bystander Effect

The greater number of bystanders, the lessl likely any one of them is to help the victim.

Factors that can cause the Bystander Effect

Distraction/Hurry, interpreted as a non-emergency, diffusion of responsibility, lack of knowledge to help, cost of helping is too high

Diffusion of Responsibility

Shared accountability among bystanders (or whether they feel obligated to help).

Pluralistic Ignorance

Bystanders’ assuming that nothing is wrong in an emergency because no one else looks concerned. Connects to Informational Social Influence.

Good Samaritan Study Darley & Batson (1973)

Students told they were to make a speech. Half were told they were late, half were told they were to talk on the ‘good samaritan.’ 63% of students would stop for a groaning man needing help on their way if they weren’t in a hurry. If they were in a hurry, only 10% did. “Hurry = failure to notice”

Cultural Influences on Helping

Collectivistic cultures are more likely to help in-group members and less likely to help out-group members than individualistic cultures

Kin Selection in an emergency

The idea that behaviors that help a genetic relative are favored by natural selection ex- helping a relative first when there’s an emergency

Kin Selection Bernstein et al. (1994)

In life or death situations, people prioritized family members with high genetic relatedness. For everyday help, they prioritized vulnerable relatives.

Good Mood Behavior Effects

good moods make us look on the bright side, increases self attention, and helping others prolongs the good mood

Bad Mood Behavior Effects

Guilt leads to an increase in helping. Sadness can motivate helping to alleviate their own distress. “Feel bad, do good”

Isen & Levin (1972)

Left dimes in coin return slot in telephone to manipulate mood. Confederate drops papers nearby. 84% of those with dime helped pick up papers, those without dime only 4% helped. Mood effects on prosocial behavior

Social Exchange Theory in Prosocial Behavior

Looks at it through rewards and costs, people help when the benefits outweigh the costs

Over-Justification Effect

when external incentives decrease a person’s intrinsic motivation to perform a task they already enjoy

Counteracting over-justification effect

To keep people engaged in an activity, nurture their internal desire rather than treating the activity as a transaction

Altruistic Personality in Altruism

Specific social situations matter more than personality traits in prosocial behavior

Hostile Agression

Aggression stemming from feelings of anger and aimed at inflicting pain. Ex

Instrumental Aggression

Aggression as a means to some goal other than causing pain. Ex

Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis

Frustration increases the probability of aggression.

Factors that cause frustration

Delay, goal proximity, and unexpectedness of frustration

Social Learning Theory

learning behavior by observing a model and imitating.

Impact of violent TV and games

increase in aggressive behavior; decrease in prosocial behavior and empathy toward victims

Leyens et al. (1975, 1977)

exposure to violent media in natural field settings increases short-term physical aggression and general active behavior in observers

TV and Violence Correlation

social learn/imitation, desensitization, priming

Desensitization to Violence

repeated exposure to violence can lessen emotion response, physiological response, and perception of brutality

Culture of Honor

When your self-worth is tied to your reputation, requiring defense against insults or threats to avoid shame; culture where toughness is essential

Culture and Aggression

culture can affect innate responses, learned responses, and whether the social situation matters for aggressive actions. Degree of aggression varies a lot.

Gender Differences in Aggression

Men tend to be more aggressive than women. Men more overtly aggressive, women engage in more gossiping, backbiting, and rumor spreading

Biological Bases of Aggression

Amygdala stimulation causes violence. Serotonin tends to limit aggression and testosterone increases it.

Catharsis Hypothesis

The debunked idea that venting anger reduces aggression.

Punishment Deterring Aggression

mild punishment leads to justification of restraint of behavior, making the behavior less appealing. Works better in long term.

Punishment (Bower & Hilgard, 1981)

punishment is a deterrent if it is prompt and unavoidable but it’s rare

Cognitive Dissonance in Aggression

convincing yourself the victim deserved what they got to decrease dissonance