Chapter 11: Affiliation and Love
Chapter 11: Affiliation and Love
Chapter Outline
The Nature of Affiliation and Love
Contextual Factors
Who is Attractive?
Evolutionary Perspective on Mate Attraction
What is Love?
Relationship Satisfaction
Final Thoughts: Does Facebook Make You Lonely?
What is a Relationship?
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.
The Nature of Affiliation & Love
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.
Contextual Factors
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.
Components 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.
Perceived and Actual Benefits of Physical Attractiveness
Stereotypes:
Attractive individuals are presumed to have more positive traits.
Actual Benefits:
Attractive individuals experience greater popularity, job opportunities, and overall favorable outcomes.
Evolutionary Perspective on Mate Selection
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.
Social Role Theory
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.
Variability in Mate Preferences
Preferences can vary across time and context based on individual circumstances and life stages.
Sexual Selectivity & Sexual Behavior
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.
Romantic Jealousy
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.
What is Love?
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.
Two-Factor Theory of Emotion
Emotional experience arises from physiological arousal and cognitive labeling.
Studies:
Schachter & Singer's experiments and Capilano Bridge study.
Love on the Brain
Brain Systems Linked to Love:
Attraction/Romantic Love, Lust/Sex Drive, and Attachment.
fMRI studies show differential brain activation in response to romantic partners.
Same-Sex Attraction
Evolving Understanding:
Erotic Plasticity: Variation in sexual desires over a lifetime.
Exotic Becomes Erotic Theory: Suggests same-sex attraction emerges under certain circumstances.
Attachment Style
Patterns of Behavior in Relationships: Vary by anxiety and avoidance dimensions.
Relationship Satisfaction
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.
Dating in the Virtual World
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.