Chapter 11 - Social Psychology

attraction

a tool to create safety

evolutionary framing of attraction

for our ancestors, mutual attachment aided survival and reproduction

proximity

• geographical nearness

  • how often people’s paths cross

  • provides availability (you cannot befriend someone you never meet) and it supplies mere exposure

anticipation of interaction

simply expecting to interact with someone increases liking

Berscheid (1967)

• researchers gave women ambiguous information about two other woman and told them they would meet one

• participants like the one they expected to meet more

  • anticipating interaction primes us to look for the good in people, which is adaptive for getting along

mere-exposure effect

• repeated exposure to novel stimuli increases linking of them (Zajonc, 1968)

  • boundary condition: exposure to something disliked at the outset can increase dislike rather than liking, and overexposure (to something initially liked) can produce boredom)

  • overexposure: not necessarily relationships, Myers talks about advertising (potentially songs) and more superficial

Eastsick, 2008

• speed dating studies

  • attractiveness is the strongest predictor of initial romantic interest for both men and women, despite women saying they weigh it less

Langlois, 2000

attractive people are more likely to get jobs, earn more, and receive more lenient treatment

asset matching

where couples differ in attractiveness, the less attractive partner often brings compensating assets: status, wealth, personality

self-fulfilling prophecy

Snyder, 1977: men who believed they were speaking by phone with an attractive woman behaved more warmly, and she in turn came across as warmer and more likable to them

averageness

composite faces made by digitally averaging many faces are rated as more attractive than most of the individual faces

symmetrical

often rated more preferably on attractiveness scales, and we see this measure being used in the plastic surgery and medical aesthetic spas

• some individuals cite a theory called “golden ratio”

evolutionary perspective on attractiveness

across cultures, men place somewhat more value on youth and physical attractiveness; women place somewhat more value on resources and status

attitude similarity paradigm

the more someone’s attitude matches yours, the more you like them

• near-linear relationship between proportion of shared attitudes and liking

• extends to values, demographics, and even subtle cues - people prefer others who share their name letters, or birthdays

dissimilarity

breeds dislike, even more strongly than similarity breeds liking

complementarity

the idea that people pair with those whose needs complement their own

• little support for this idea

gain condition

participants liked a confederate most when her evaluations of them grew from negative to positive - more than when she was positive all along

attribution

flattery with an obvious ulterior motive produces less liking than praise that seems disinterested (disinterested here means that the person giving the flattery has nothing to gain)

reward theory of attraction

we like those whose behavior is rewarding to us, or whom we associate with rewarding events

• proximity: is costs less time and effort to receive the benefits of friendship or romantic relationships with someone nearby

• attractiveness: attractive partners are pleasant to look at and confer status

• similarity: people who agree with us, validate our views, reflect back to use the things we like about ourselves, reflect our own goals, is rewarding

• reciprocal liking: being liked itself is a reward

sternverg’s triangular theory (1988)

1. passion

2. intimacy

3. commitment

passionate love