PSCL 315 Exam 3

communal relationship

a (often long-term) relationship in which the individuals feel a special responsibility for one another and give and receive according to the principle of need

exchange relationship

a (often short-term) relationship in which individuals feel little responsibility toward one another - giving and receiving are governed by concerns about equity and reciprocity

social exchange theory

a theory based on the idea that how people feel about a relationship depends on their assessments of its costs and rewards

comparison level

expectations people have about what they should get out of a relationship

comparison level for alternatives

expectations people have about what they should get out of available alternative relationships

equity theory

the idea that people are motivated to pursue fairness, or equity, in their relationships - a relationship is considered equitable when the ratio of rewards to costs is similar for both partners

attachment theory

the idea that early attachments with parents and other caregivers can shape relationships for a person’s whole life

anxiety dimension of attachment

a facet of attachment that captures the degree to which a person is worried about rejection and abandonment by relationship partners

avoidance dimension of attachment

a facet of attachment that captures the degree to which a person is comfortable with intimacy and dependence on relationship partners

functional distance

the influence of physical layout that encourages or inhibits certain activities, including contact between people

mere exposure effect

the idea that repeated exposure to a stimulus, such as an object or a person, leads to greater liking of the stimulus

complementarity

the tendency for people to seek out others with characteristics that are different from, and that complement, their own

halo effect

the common belief (accurate or not) that attractive individuals possess a host of positive qualities beyond their physical appearance

reproductive fitness

the capacity to pass one’s genes on to subsequent generations

investment model of commitment

a model of interpersonal relationships that maintains there are three determinants that make partners more committed to each other: relationship satisfaction, few alternative partners, and investments in the relationship

perceived partner responsiveness

the degree to which people perceive their partners as being understanding, validating, and responsive to their needs

displacement hypothesis

the hypothesis that social media use replaces offline, face-to-face interactions, thus increasing loneliness

stimulation hypothesis

the hypothesis that online interactions strengthen existing relationships and help fend off loneliness

matching phenomenon

people tend to match up with other people who are roughly similar in attractiveness

erotic plasticity

we are more attracted to people if we like their personality

sternberg’s triangle theory of love

there are 3 parts of love: passion, intimacy, and commitment

adaptations

inherited characteristics that reliably solved problems related to survival and reproduction better than competing alternatives during the time period in which they evolved

byproducts

artifacts without functional value that persist because they are inherently coupled with adaptations

noise

variations in a given characteristics that are due to random environmental events or genetic mutations

psychological adaptations

information-processing circuits that take in delimited units of information and transform that information into functional output designed to solve a particular adaptive problem

cuckoldry

when a “mate poacher” has sex with an already married woman

design features

attributes or component parts of an adaptation that have been forged or “designed” by a past history of natural selection

evoked culture

cultural differences that are explained simply by invoking a universal shared evolved mechanism combined with local between-group differences in input into that mechanism

group selection

selection operating between groups of individuals rather than between individuals - produces attributes beneficial to a group in competition with other groups rather than attributes beneficial to individuals

inbreeding depression

occurs when genetic relatives together reproduce offspring that have decreased fitness due to the compounding of recessive alleles

mutations

changes in the nucleotide sequence of a gene as a result of a copying error during cell division, ultraviolet radiation, viruses, or other mutagens

polygenic

an effect of two or more gene loci on a single phenotype character

paternity uncertainty

as a consequence of internal female fertilization, females can be 100% sure they are the mother of their offspring; males can never be 100% certain they are their offspring’s father

proximate explanation

explaining how a mechanism works and is implemented, including identifying how a mechanism develops, the stimuli that activate it once it has developed, the procedures by which it operates, and the behavioral output it produces

transmitted culture

the subset of ideas, values, and representations that initially exist in at least one mind that come into existence in other minds through observation or interaction

ultimate explanation

explaining the attributes of a mechanism by identifying its evolved function, or the adaptive problem it was “designed” by selection to solve

criticism, contempt, defensiveness, stonewalling

the four horsemen of a doomed relationship

inclusive fitness

behaviors will be selected for if they increase the likelihood of survival for the (presumably genetically related) group

jealousy

an emotional response to someone else wanting something that you have and the resulting fear of loss

social influence

the many ways people affect one another, including changes in attitudes, beliefs, feelings, and behavior resulting from the comments, actions, or even the mere presence of others

conformity

changing one’s beliefs or behavior to more closely align with those of others in response to explicit or implicit pressure (real or imagined) to do so

compliance

responding favorably to an explicit request from another person

obedience

in an unequal power relationship, submitting to the demands of the person in authority

informational social influence

the influence of other people that results from taking their comments or actions as a source of information of what is correct, proper, or effective

normative social influence

the influence of other people that comes from the desire to avoid their disapproval and other social sanctions (ridicule, barbs, ostracism)

internalization

private acceptance of a proposition, orientation, or ideology

foot-in-the-door technique

a compliance approach that involves making an initial small request with which nearly everyone complies, followed by a larger request involving the real behavior of interest

pluralistic ignorance

a phenomenon whereby people act in ways that conflict with their true attitudes or beliefs because they believe others don’t share them - when a great many people do so, their behavior reinforces the erroneous group norm

descriptive norm

the behavior exhibited by most people in a given context

prescriptive norm

the way a person is supposed to behave in a given context; also called injunctive norm

norm of reciprocity

a norm dictating that people should provide benefits to those who benefit them

reciprocal concessions technique

a compliance approach that involves asking someone for a very large favor that will certainly be refused and then following that request with one for a smaller favor (which tends to be seen as a concession the target feels compelled to honor)

negative state relief hypothesis

the idea that people engage in certain actions, such as agreeing to a request, to relieve their negative feelings and feel better about themselves

reactance theory

the idea that people reassert their prerogatives in response to the unpleasant state of arousal they experience when they believe their freedoms are threatened

social intuitionist model of moral judgment

the idea that people have fast emotional reactions to morally relevant events that in turn influence their process of reasoning toward a judgment of right and wrong

moral foundations theory

a theory proposing that there are five evolved, universal moral domains in which specific emotions guide moral judgments: care/harm, fairness/reciprocity, ingroup loyalty, authority/respect, purity/sanctity

altruism

prosocial behavior that benefits others without regard to the consequences for oneself

social reward

a benefit, such as praise, positive attention, something tangible, or gratitude, that may be gained from helping others and thus serves as a motive for altruistic behavior

personal distress

a motive for helping others in distress that may arise from a need to reduce one’s own distress

empathic concern

identifying with someone in need, including feeling and understanding what that person is experiencing, accompanied by the intention to help the person

volunteerism

assistance a person regularly provides to another person or group with no expectation or compensation

bystander intervention

assistance given by a witness to someone in need

diffusion of responsibility

a reduction of the sense of urgency to help someone in an emergency or dangerous situation based on the assumption that others who are present will help

kin selection

an evolutionary strategy that favors the reproductive success of one’s genetic relatives, even at a cost to one’s own survival and reproduction

reciprocal altruism

helping others with the expectation that they will probably return the favor in the future

prisoner’s dilemma

a situation involving playoffs to two people who must decide whether to cooperate or defect = in the end, trust and cooperation lead to higher joint payoffs than mistrust and defection do

reputation

the collective beliefs, evaluations, and impressions people hold about an individual within a social network

tit-for-tat strategy

a strategy in the prisoner’s dilemma game in which the player’s first move is cooperative; thereafter, the player mimic’s the other person’s behavior, whether cooperative or competitive; fares well when used against other strategies

egoistic motive

a motive to help others because of some benefit to the self

hamilton’s rule

altruism occurs if costs to altruist are outweighed by benefits to recipient AND degree of genetic relatedness

reciprocity norm

the expectation that the help being offered will be returned in some way

social responsibility norm

the expectation that people will help others who are dependent on them

bystander effect

the more people are present, the less likely helping is to occur

illusion of transparency

people think that they are very clear in transmitting their thoughts and emotions to others