Chapter 10: Attraction and Relationship

Propinquity Effect

The finding that the more we see and interact with people, the more likely they are to become our friends

Mere Exposure Effect

The finding that the more exposure we have to a stimulus, the more apt we are to like it

Halo Effect

A cognitive bias by which we tend to assume that an individual with one positive characteristic also possesses other (even unrelated) positive characteristics

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Companionate Love

The feelings of intimacy and affection we have for someone that are not accompanied by passion or physiological arousal

Passionate Love

An intense longing we feel for a person, accompanied by physiological arousal

Attachment Styles

The expectations people develop about relationships with others based on the relationship they had with their primary caregiver when they were infants

Secure Attachment Style

An attachment style characterized by trust, a lack of concern with being abandoned, and the view that one is worthy and well liked

Avoidant Attachment Style

An attachment style characterized by difficulty developing intimate relationships because previous attempts to be intimate have been rebuffed

Anxious/Ambivalent Attachment Style

An attachment style characterized by a concern that others will not reciprocate one’s desire for intimacy, resulting in higher-than-average levels of anxiety

Social Exchange Theory

The idea that people’s feelings about a relationship depend on their perceptions of its rewards and costs, the kind of relationship they deserve, and their chances for having a better relationship with someone else

Comparison Level

People’s expectations about the level of rewards and costs they are likely to receive in a particular relationship

Comparison Level for Alternatives

People’s expectations about the level of rewards and costs they would receive in an alternative relationship

Investment Model

The theory that people’s commitment to a relationship depends not only on their satisfaction with the relationship, but also on how much they have invested in the relationship that would be lost by ending it

Equity Theory

The idea that people are happiest with relationships in which the rewards and costs experienced by both parties are roughly equal

Exchange Relationships

Relationships governed by the need for equity (i.e., for an equal ratio of rewards and costs)

Communal Relationships

Relationships in which people’s primary concern is being responsive to the other person’s needs