Chapter 11: Affiliation and Love

Definition:
- A relationship exists between two individuals when they influence one another.
- A relationship is considered close when the influence is strong, frequent, enduring, and interdependent.

Need for Affiliation: The desire to interact with others.
Need to Belong: The desire to form and maintain close, durable relationships.
- Affiliating helps achieve goals and avoid negative outcomes from social rejection/ isolation.
Social Rewards Associated with Affiliation:
- Presence of others can enhance mood.
- Achieves positive attention and praise.
- Provides emotional support, reducing anxiety and fear.
- Facilitates social comparison.
Reinforcement-Affect Model:
- Preference for interactions with emotionally rewarding individuals; gravitating towards those linked to positive experiences.
Social Exchange Theory:
- Views interactions in terms of tradeoffs, seeking to maximize gains and minimize losses.
- Applies to both material and non-material rewards.
Hatfield’s Equity Theory:
- Individuals prefer relationships where the benefit-cost ratio is balanced for both partners:
- Communal Relationships: Concerned about others' welfare, give without expecting return.
- Exchange Relationships: Based on reciprocal exchange of benefits.

Liking:
- We tend to ingratiate ourselves to those who reciprocate our affection.
Proximity:
- People like and develop friendships with those who are geographically close.
Familiarity:
- The Mere Exposure Effect indicates that repeated exposure breeds liking.
Similarity:
- Homophily: Preference for those similar to us.
- Matching Hypothesis: Couples often pair with similar levels of attractiveness.

Physical Preferences:
- Symmetrical faces are deemed more attractive.
- Gender Differences:
- Females prefer males with features indicating health and vitality.
- Males are attracted to women displaying signs of health, youth, and reproductive capability.
- Averaged faces are generally perceived as more attractive.

Stereotypes:
- Attractive individuals are presumed to have more positive traits.
Actual Benefits:
- Attractive individuals experience greater popularity, job opportunities, and overall favorable outcomes.

Sexual Selection:
- Evolution through reproductive advantages.
- Intrasexual Competition: Competition among same-sex individuals for mates.
- Intersexual Selection: Choosing partners based on specific traits.
Differential Parental Investment:
- The sex investing more in offspring being more selective in partners, while the less invested engages in competition.
Mate Preferences:
- Females seek males with status, resources, and ambition.
- Males seek females who are fertile and healthy.

Explains gender differences in mate preferences based on social and biological factors.
Women: Seek dominant males capable of providing.
Men: Favor females fulfilling caregiving roles.

Preferences can vary across time and context based on individual circumstances and life stages.

Differences in Preferences:
- Males tend to prefer more partners and casual sex compared to females.
- Males express higher desires for future partners.
Error Management Theory:
- Cognitive biases evolved to address sex-based adaptive issues.

Definition:
- Psychological arousal due to threats of infidelity.
- Acts as a form of mate guarding.
Gender Differences in Jealousy:
- Men experience jealousy related to paternity uncertainty; women fear loss of investment.

Passionate Love: Intense longing characterized by physiological arousal.
Companionate Love: Affection and intimacy in stable relationships.
Triangular Theory of Love:
- Composed of Passion, Intimacy, and Commitment leading to various love types.

Brain Systems Linked to Love:
- Attraction/Romantic Love, Lust/Sex Drive, and Attachment.
- fMRI studies show differential brain activation in response to romantic partners.

Evolving Understanding:
Erotic Plasticity: Variation in sexual desires over a lifetime.
Exotic Becomes Erotic Theory: Suggests same-sex attraction emerges under certain circumstances.

Patterns of Behavior in Relationships: Vary by anxiety and avoidance dimensions.

Positive Illusions:
- Partners tend to view each other more positively than they see themselves.
Self-disclosure Importance: Key for relationship development.
Attribution Styles:
- Satisfied couples create relationship-enhancing attributions for behaviors.
Satisfaction Over Time:
- Trends in satisfaction varies among relationship types.

Online Dating Trends:
- 37% of singles use dating websites; a significant match rate for online connections.
- Use of algorithms for compatibility with caution about honesty in profiles.