Chapter 9: Attraction and Close Relationships

Attachment Style

A person's characteristic way of relating to others in close relationships.

Communal Relationship

A relationship in which the individuals give to and receive from one another according to mutual responsiveness to each other’s needs.

Companionate Love

A form of love that consists of intimacy and commitment, but not passion. It is characterized by a secure, trusting, stable partnership.

Equity Theory

The theory that people are most satisfied with a relationship when the ratio between benefits and contributions is similar for both partners.

Exchange Relationship

A relationship in which the individuals give to and receive from one another according to strict reciprocity.

Excitation Transfer

The process whereby arousal from one event spills over and intensifies a person's reaction to another event.

Hard-to-Get Effect

The tendency to prefer people who are highly selective in their social choices over those who are more readily available.

Intimate Relationship

A close relationship between two people that involves emotional attachment, fulfillment of psychological needs, or interdependence.

Loneliness

A feeling of deprivation about existing social relations.

Matching Hypothesis

The proposition that people tend to seek and find partners who are similar to themselves in terms of physical attractiveness.

Mere Exposure Effect

The phenomenon whereby the more often people are exposed to a stimulus, the more positively they evaluate that stimulus.

Need for Affiliation

The desire to establish and maintain many rewarding interpersonal relationships.

Passionate Love

A form of love that consists of intimacy and passion, but not commitment. It is characterized by high arousal, intense attraction, and fear of rejection.

Reciprocity

A mutual exchange between two people, for example, liking those who like us.

Self-Disclosure

Willingness to reveal intimate feelings and experiences to another person.

Sexual Orientation

A person's romantic and/or sexual attraction to others.

Social Exchange Theory

A perspective that views people as motivated to maximize benefits and minimize costs in their relationships.

Triangular Theory of Love (Sternberg)

Sternberg's theory that love has three components: intimacy, passion, and commitment. Different combinations of these components result in 8 different types of love.

What-Is-Beautiful-Is-Good Stereotype

The belief that physically attractive individuals possess a host of other desirable qualities (e.g., intelligence, kindness, trustworthiness).

Social Penetration Theory

Relationships progress from superficial exchanges to more intimate ones.

Murstein’s 1986 Stimulus-Value-Role Theory (SVR)

Relationships progress in order through a series of stages: 1. attraction is sparked by external attributes, 2. attachment is based on similarity of values and beliefs, 3. commitment is based on the enactment of such roles.

Comparison Level (CL) - Thibaut and Kelley

average expected outcome in relationships

Comparison Level for Alternatives (CLalt)

people’s expectations about what they would receive in an alternate situation

Complementarity Hypothesis

the idea that people seek others whose needs “oppose” their own, no support for this view

Group Attractiveness Effect

The perceived physical attractiveness of a group as a whole is greater than the average attractiveness of its individual members