Human Relationships ERQs (Only Interpersonal Relationships)

Discuss the role of communication in relationships

• Distress-maintaining vs. Relationship maintaining patterns of behavior

• Social Penetration Theory: Orientation, Exploratory, Affective, Stable

Gottman - The 4 horsemen that end relationships: Contempt, Criticism, Defensiveness, Stonewalling

Bradbury and Fincham - Relationship Enhancing vs. Distress Maintaining patterns of communication, saw that stability was based on this behavior, not the amount of perceived satisfaction

Discuss why relationships change or end

• Social Exchange Theory

• Equity Theory

• Fatal Attraction Theory

• Gottman’s 4 Horsemen (communication)

• Galvanic Skin reponse

• Micro-expressions

Gottman - The 4 horsemen that end relationships: Contempt, Criticism, Defensiveness, Stonewalling

Bradbury and Fincham - Relationship Enhancing vs. Distress Maintaining patterns of communication, saw that stability was based on this behavior, not the amount of perceived satisfaction

Discuss/Evaluate a biological approach to personal relationships

• Neurotransmitters

• Pheromones

• Love Cocktail: Dopamine, Noradrenaline, Serotonin, Testosterone (hormone)

• Darwin’s Theory of Natural Selection

• Attachment Behaviors, facilitated by hormones.

• MHC: The Major Histocompatibility Complex

Baumgartner et al. - Oxytocin effect on trust in virtual investment game, lower response from amygdala

Wedekind - Major Histocompatibility Complex T-Shirt Study, we prefer those with different genes because of natural selection

Discuss/Evaluate a cognitive approach to personal relationships

• Passionate vs. Companionate love

• Similarity Attraction Model

• The Halo Effect

• System 1 Thinking

• Cognitive Biases

• Heuristics

Markey and Markey - Similarity Attraction Model using both self-reported questionnaires about preferences and their own profile, and seeing that the most stable relationships had many but not all characteristics similar

Dion - The Halo Effect and positive descriptors regarding marriage, happiness, and success

Discuss/Evaluate a sociocultural approach to personal relationships

• Mere Exposure Effect

• System 1 Thinking

• Cognitive Biases

• Heuristics

• Passionate love is a western phenomenon

• Globalization

Moreland and Beach - Mere Exposure Effect and increased attraction//good impression, women attending classes at different frequencies

Buss - Patterns in mate selection across 37 different cultures, showed universal preferences like men preferring younger partners and the fact that many countries do not rank love first as a priority for a relationship