Study Notes on Psychology: Affiliation, Attraction, and Prosocial Behavior

17.1 Affiliation and Attraction

Gateways Learning Outcomes

After reading this section, you will be able to:

  • 17.1.1 Provide three reasons that explain why humans seek to affiliate with others
  • 17.1.2 Describe four factors that influence our attraction to others
  • 17.1.3 Describe how relationships deepen, making reference to self-disclosure and social exchange theory
  • 17.1.4 Explain the fundamental ideas behind Sternberg's triangular theory of love
  • 17.1.5 Name and describe the three types of adult attachment
  • 17.1.6 Describe how evolutionary forces shape men's and women's preferences for mates

Human Nature and Affiliation

  • Common Misunderstanding: Humans are often seen as engaged in a perpetual struggle for survival against each other.
  • Reality: Humans are social animals with a fundamental need to affiliate with others, driven by three basic human motives.

Three Basic Human Motives for Affiliation

  1. Social Comparison:
    • Spending time with others allows for self-evaluation by engaging in comparison.
  2. Alleviating Fear and Anxiety:
    • A study by Dr. Gregor Zilstein illustrated this; frightened participants preferred to wait with others facing a shock-inducing situation, highlighting that misery loves company.
  3. Desire to Gain Approval and Support:
    • Individuals seek to attain and provide approval, support, friendship, and love, which are essential components of close relationships.

Interpersonal Attraction

  • Interpersonal Attraction refers to the affinity one person feels for another, which serves as a foundation for most voluntary social relationships.
  • Factors that influence attraction include:

Factors Influencing Attraction

  1. Familiarity and Proximity:
    • Proximity increases the frequency of contact, enhancing attraction. Relationships often form with people living close by, a phenomenon known as the "boy-next-door" or "girl-next-door" effect.
    • Increasing use of the Internet allows for “virtual contact,” leading to long-distance friendships.
  2. Similarity:
    • Individuals tend to be attracted to others who are similar in background, interests, attitudes, and beliefs.
    • Homogamy is the tendency to choose partners who are like oneself regarding education, ethnicity, religion, etc.
  3. Physical Attractiveness:
    • People viewed as attractive are often assumed to possess other positive traits (halo effect). However, true compatibility often requires more than physical appearance.
  4. Reciprocity:
    • Reciprocity, where mutual exchanges facilitate attraction, is crucial for relationship development.

Relationship Development

  • Once initial contact is established, self-disclosure plays an integral role in deepening relationships.

Self-Disclosure

  • Self-Disclosure is sharing one’s private thoughts and feelings.
  • An appropriate amount of self-disclosure builds trust, intimacy, and positive feelings. Conversely, what is termed overdisclosure can inhibit attraction and lead to discomfort.
  • Example: Sharing too much personal information too soon can lead to suspicion rather than intimacy.

Social Exchange Theory

  • Relationships can be analyzed as a series of interactions where individuals weigh the costs and rewards.
  • A healthy relationship must yield more rewards than costs for it to be sustained.
  • Comparison Level: Personal standards based on past experiences shape how rewards and costs are evaluated.

Sternberg's Triangular Theory of Love

  • Proposed by Robert Sternberg, this theory posits that different forms of love are based on three interacting components:
  1. Intimacy: Feelings of closeness and connectedness.
  2. Passion: Emotional and/or sexual feelings.
  3. Commitment: Decision to maintain a long-term relationship.

Types of Love According to the Triangle

  • Nonlove: Absence of all three components.
  • Liking (Friendship): Intimacy only.
  • Infatuation: Passion only.
  • Empty Love: Commitment only.
  • Romantic Love: Passion + intimacy.
  • Companionate Love: Intimacy + commitment.
  • Fatuous Love: Passion + commitment.
  • Consummate Love: Intimacy + passion + commitment (the ideal).

Types of Adult Attachment

  • Three types of attachment styles can be identified in adults, mirroring infant attachment patterns:
  1. Secure: Trust and comfort with closeness.
  2. Avoidant: Difficulty in trusting and depending on others.
  3. Ambivalent: Desire for intimacy coupled with anxiety about partner’s reliability.

Evolution and Mate Selection

  • Evolutionary psychology links mating preferences to reproductive challenges faced historically by men and women.
  • Men typically prefer partners who are younger and more attractive, while women may look for older partners with resources.
  • These preferences reflect different strategies adapted through evolution to ensure reproductive success.

17.2 Prosocial Behavior: Helping Others

Gateways Learning Outcomes

After reading this section, you should be able to:

  • 17.2.1 Define prosocial behavior, and outline three motives that can promote it.
  • 17.2.2 Distinguish between prosocial behavior and altruism.
  • 17.2.3 Describe three factors that influence helping.
  • 17.2.4 Describe the three components of empathy and distinguish empathy from sympathy (or compassion) and personal distress.
  • 17.2.5 Explain what is meant by the term bystander apathy, and the three decision points relevant in determining whether bystanders will assist others in need.

Understanding Prosocial Behavior

  • Prosocial Behavior: Defined as any action that benefits another person, including helping, sharing, comforting, and cooperating.

Three Motives for Prosocial Behavior

  1. Evolutionary Forces: Cooperation has historically improved individual survival rates.
  2. Self-Oriented Motives: Sometimes, helping can improve one's self-image or public perception.
  3. Other-Oriented Motives: Genuine concern for another's well-being leads individuals to help without seeking personal gain.

Distinction between Prosocial Behavior and Altruism

  • Altruism: A specific type of prosocial behavior motivated primarily by the desire to benefit others, often at a personal cost.

Factors Influencing Helping

  • Influenced by the characteristics of:
  1. The Person Needing Help.
  2. The Helper.
  3. The Situation.
  • Help is more frequently directed toward those perceived as similar, familiar, or not responsible for their predicaments.

Empathy

  • Three Components of Empathy:
  1. Emotional Component: The ability to feel what another is experiencing.
  2. Cognitive Component: Understanding someone else’s feelings.
  3. Physiological Component: Sharing of physical responses, like heart rate or arousal.
  • Distinction from Sympathy: Sympathy refers to caring for someone but not necessarily sharing their emotional experience.

Bystander Apathy

  • Bystander Effect: Refers to the phenomenon where the presence of others reduces the likelihood that an individual will help a person in distress.
  • **Three Decision Points:
  1. Noticing
  2. Defining the situation as an emergency
  3. Taking responsibility and determining a course of action.

17.3 Antisocial Behavior: Aggression, Conflict, and Prejudice

Gateways Learning Outcomes

After reading this section, you should be able to:

  • Distinguish between antisocial behavior and aggression, including the difference between direct aggression and indirect aggression.
  • Outline three potential causes of aggression.
  • Describe some ways that aggression can be minimized, at both the societal and individual levels.
  • Name the three components of prejudiced attitudes.
  • Discriminate between explicit and implicit prejudice.
  • Name four factors that are associated with greater levels of prejudice.
  • Outline some of the consequences experienced by victims of prejudice.
  • Describe three ways that prejudice can be reduced.

Antisocial Behavior

  • Defined as behavior that violates social norms and the rights of others, it can be non-aggressive (e.g., theft) or aggressive (acts of verbal/physical harm).
  • Aggression: Directly harms another individual, can be categorized as:
    1. Direct Aggression: Includes physical or verbal attacks.
    2. Indirect Aggression: Aims to harm an individual’s reputation or social standing, often through gossiping or exclusion.

Causes of Aggression

  1. Biological Factors: Includes genetics and hormonal influences, specifically high testosterone levels.
  2. Frustration: Can lead to aggressive responses, as indicated by the frustration-aggression hypothesis.
  3. Social Learning Theory: Aggression can be learned through observation of aggressive models.

Minimizing Aggression

  • At societal levels, efforts can include reducing exposure to violence in the media while promoting prosocial behaviors.
  • Individual strategies may include enhancing self-regulation, utilizing problem-solving coping strategies, and adjusting attributions for frustrating events.

Prejudice

Components of Prejudice

  • Prejudiced attitudes consist of three components:
  1. Affective Component: Emotions towards a group, which can be positive or negative.
  2. Cognitive Component: Stereotypes relating to a group’s characteristics.
  3. Behavioral Component: Discrimination, which involves biased actions toward a group.

Explicit vs Implicit Prejudice

  • Explicit Prejudice: Openly expressed and socially unacceptable behavior.
  • Implicit Prejudice: Unconscious biases that affect attitudes and behaviors towards others.

Factors Leading to Prejudice

  1. Frustration: Results in scapegoating other groups.
  2. Social Learning: Influences from models in one's surroundings can foster prejudice.
  3. Authoritarian Beliefs: Characterized by rigid thinking, ethnocentrism, and opposition to outgroups.
  4. Dehumanization: Viewing those in outgroups as less than human facilitates aggression.

Consequences of Prejudice

  • Prejudiced attitudes lead to social exclusion and discrimination, harmful impacts on health, and contribute to issues such as racial profiling.

Minimizing Prejudice

  • Key methods to reduce prejudice include promoting equal-status contact, encouraging cooperation towards superordinate goals, and implementing direct education programs.

17.4 Psychology and Your Skill Set: Diversity and Inclusion

Gateways Learning Outcome

After reading this section you should be able to create a plan that allows you to foster improved relationships with diverse others.

Importance of Tolerance and Acceptance

  • Tolerance towards diversity is essential in an increasingly diverse world, promoting collaboration, innovation, and understanding.

Strategies for Building Openness

  1. Seek Individuating Information: Focus on individuals rather than relying on stereotypes.
  2. Avoid Just-World Beliefs: Recognize that not all individuals are in their positions due to personal failings; systemic issues often play a significant role.
  3. Be Aware of Self-Fulfilling Prophecies: Recognize that expectations can shape behaviors towards others, reinforcing stereotypes.
  4. Look for Commonalities: Find shared experiences that foster connection with others.
  5. Set an Example: Demonstrating inclusive behaviors encourages others to do the same.
  6. Different Does Not Mean Inferior: Recognize the value of diversity without viewing differences as inferior.

Conclusion

  • Living comfortably within diversity means promoting values of openness, collaboration, and mutual respect.