Exam 3 study guide- psychology of adjustment

Describe loneliness (5)

When a person has fewer interpersonal relationships than desired, or when the relationships are not as satisfying as desired

• types: emotional (absence of intimate attachment figure), social (lack of quality friendship networks), collective (absence of valued social identity)

• duration: transient (brief and sporadic), chronic (lack of satisfactory network for a period of years)

How lonely people behave differently than non-lonely people

correlated with shyness, poor social skills, self-defeating attribution styles

Hall’s social expectations of friendship (6)

1. symmetrical reciprocity

2. agency

3. enjoyment

4. instrumental aide

5. similarity

6. communion

Attachment styles (4)

• secure (low anxiety about abandonment, low attachment avoidance)

• preoccupied (high anxiety about abandonment, low attachment avoidance)

• avoidant-dismissing (low anxiety about abandonment, high attachment avoidance)

• avoidant-fearful (high anxiety about abandonment, high attachment avoidance)

Influence of life events on attachment styles (4)

• Parenting and early bonding experiences

• negative life events in adolescence

• Partner buffering

• therapy

Sternberg’s components of love/changes over time

three components: intimacy, passion, and commitment

• results in eight archetypes

• ultimate form is consummate love (where all three components are present)

Steps in friendship (3)

1. initial encounter (proximity, familiarity, physical attractiveness)

2. Becoming acquainted (reciprocal liking, similarity)

3. Established relationship (maintenance, satisfaction via social exchange theory)

Repair rituals of friendships (3)

1. reproach

2. remedy

3. acknowledgment

Social exchange theory

determines continuation of a relationship based on a cost-benefit analysis of the relationship’s outcome

Relationship maintenance strategies

Actions and activities used to sustain the desired quality of a relationship

• positivity, openness, assurance, social networking w/ friends and family of partner, task sharing, joint activities, mediated communication, respecting privacy and alone time, humor, antisocial behaviors, no flirting with others

Matching hypothesis

proposes that people of similar levels of physical attractiveness gravitate towards each other

Relationship challenges in gay and lesbian individuals/couples (3)

• smaller dating pool

• pressures to conceal identity

• limited ways to meet partners

ways to help relationships last (4)

• taking plenty of time to get to know a person before making long-term commitments

• develop effective communication skills

• emphasize positive qualities in partner and relationship

• bring novelty to long-term relationships

Role of alcohol in sexual assault

impairs judgment and reduces inhibitions, increases vulnerability to coercion, clous risk assessment or resistance, mask date-rape drugs, cloud communication, increase male-centric gender standards to “score”

factors that influence a child’s adjustment to divorce

• age, coping resources, and prior adjustment strategies

• co-parenting associated with less problematic behavior in children of divorce

Gottman’s factors that predict divorce (5)

• Inadequate marital communication

  • Contempt

  • Criticism

  • Defensiveness

  • Stonewalling

  • Belligerence

consequences of intimate partner violence

• survivor more likely to experience anxiety, depression, alcohol and drug use, feelings of helplessness, PTSD, and suicide

• Child witnesses at risk for anxiety, depression, delinquency

  • male children exposed to violence (via victim or witness) more likely to become abusers, though not the majority

typical characteristics of abusers (5)

• unemployment

• drinking or drug abuse

• tendency to anger easily

• attitudes that condone aggression

• high stress

similarities/differences between homosexual and heterosexual relationships

• same-sex couples exist in different social context resulting in higher levels of prejudice and discrimination

• relationship process, values, and factors predicting success are relatively the same

similarities/differences between children raised in homosexual and heterosexual homes

• overall adjustment is the same

• children in same-sex families mostly grow to identify as heterosexual

• approaches and values in parenting are not noticeably different among same-sex couples

factors contributing to marital success (6)

• family background (less stable backgrounds → associated with divorce)

• age (younger → associated with divorce)

• length of courtship (longer periods → associated with success)

• personality (perfectionism & insecurity → loosely associated with marital problems)

• premarital communication (quality greatly influences association of success)

• stressful events (associated with conflict and harm marital stability)

characteristics of typical cohabitating individuals

• potentially less likely to be against divorce

• potentially have cut marital search short by cohabiting prior to ensuring compatibility

• the majority of couples

typical long-term intentions of cohabitating individuals

• pre-marital test (lower marital success rate)

• convenience (lower marital success rate)

• spending time together (higher marital success rate)

stages of the family life cycle (6)

1. between families

2. joining together

3. family with young children

4. family with adolescent children

5. launching children into world

6. the family in later life

transition between stages of family life cycle in terms of stress

• arrival of children can bring high stress & marital instability

• stress between adolescent’s need for independence and parental control; worries about older generation

• less stress when children are launched

factors that increase likelihood of divorce (6)

• communication difficulties

• infidelity

• jealousy

• growing apart

• careless spending behavior

• substance abuse

Common gender stereotypes

• male instrumentality (orientation toward action and accomplishment)

• female expressiveness (orientation toward emotion and relationship)

relationship between documented gender-differences and individual peformance/behavior

• variability exists among different ethnic, social, cultural, and economic groups

• differences are not representative of overall abilities in performance or behavior for each individual within the respective sex group, but rather a meta-analysis combining multiple components

research-based differences between male and females

• spatial abilities: males typically outperform females in mentally rotating 3D figures

• math abilities: no overall performance difference, but males often outperform in the high end of distribution

  • males associated with higher levels of confidence in math-related abilities

• verbal abilities: females outperform males in vocabulary, reading scores, and speak sooner

social role theory

Asserts that minor gender differences are exaggerated by the different social roles that males and females occupy

social constructionism

Asserts that individuals construct their own reality based on societal expectations, conditioning, and self-socialization

evolutionary theories of gender differences

• different adaptive demands needed for survival

  • Aggression favored in males to compete for mates, spatial skills favored demands for hunting

• Can easily be reversed and hard to prove

processes in gender-role socialization (3)

• reinforcement and punishment

• observational learning

• self-socialization (gender schemas)

sources of gender-role socialization (4)

• parents

• peers

• school

• media

gender identity

an individual’s psychological sense of their gender

gender fluidity & transgender individuals

Transgender: sense of gender identity differs from biological sex and gender assigned at birth

Fluid: move between identities and fall outside of traditional binary categories

sexism

Discrimination against people based on their gender

• hostile: negative attitudes

• benevolent: having positive feelings but treating the individual in restricting ways based on gender

glass ceiling and glass elevator

• Glass ceiling: prevents women and ethnically underrepresented groups from advancing

• Glass elevator: reflects how men employed in traditionally female fields are promoted more quickly

sexual harassment

• quid pro quo harassment: sexual demands in exchange for employment/raises/promotions/etc

• hostile environment harassment: exposed to sexist or sexually oriented behavior

effects of sexism and sexual harassment

Sexism: increased depression, distress, stress response

Harassment: lower job satisfaction or engagement, poor physical and mental health, PTSD

Key aspects of sexual identity (4)

• sexual orientation

• body image

• sexual values

• erotic preferences

Impact of gender differences in sexual socialization

• encouragement of males to experiment sexually, initiate sex, enjoy sex with no emotional connection, and fostering “conquest” orientation

• teach females to view sex in context of emotional bonds, suggests importance of physical attractiveness and “catching” a mate, teaches shame outside of this version of sex

Challenges related to coming out

• weighting psychological benefits against costs (losing friends, being fired, hate crimes, losing custody of kids, etc) vs honesty and support

Motivations for infidelity (by gender)

• men: sexual variety, more frequent sex

• women: emotional connection

results of “abstinence only” sex ed programs

• higher teen pregnancy and STI transmission

• not effective

constraints on the use of effective contraception

• lack of availability or communication

• fearing partner reaction

• religious restrictions

• inaccurate information

• associate as woman’s role

effective methods for preventing STDs

• Hormonal methods

  • birth control pills

  • hormonal injectables

  • hormonal rings

  • subdermal implants

  • transdermal patch

• Barrier methods

  • IUD

  • Diaphragm w/ spermicidal cream or jelly (less effective)

  • Male and female condoms

  • sponge, spermicides (less effective)

  • fertility awareness rhythm (often less effective)

• Surgical method

  • tubal ligation

  • vasectomy

• Withdrawal

ways of enhancing satisfaction sexual relationships

• become knowledgeable about sex

• review sexual value system

• learn to communicate

• avoid focusing on sexual performance

• enjoy sexual fantasies

factors leading to sexual dysfunction

• most commonly psychological problems (shame and guilt or performance anxiety)

• relationship issues

• physical factors (illness, medication, substances)