Download Attraction and Close Relationships

ATTRACTION AND CLOSE
RELATIONSHIPS
Chapter 9
Need for Affiliation
Desire to establish and maintain social contact
with other
Factors that Influence Affiliation Needs

Evolution

Biology

Culture

Gender
Loneliness

A feeling of deprivation
about existing social
relations
60
50

Shyness
Percentage
40
Describe Self 30
as Shy
20
10
0
United
States
Israel
Germany
Taiwan
Japan
Situational Factors that Trigger Affiliation
Needs

The Proximity Effect

Familiarity
 The

mere exposure effect
Anxiety
 Schachter’s
anxiety research
Physical Attractiveness


Bias for beauty is pervasive
What-is-beautiful-is-good
stereotype: Tendency to
associate physical
attractiveness with other
desirable qualities.
Physical Attractiveness
Beauty is
an
objective
quality.
Physical Attractiveness
Beauty is
a
subjective
quality.
Situational factors influencing perceptions of
beauty
First Encounters

Liking other who are similar


Demographics
Attitudes
Bryne’s Two Step Model of Attraction
First Encounters

Liking others who are similar

Physical attractiveness



The matching hypothesis
The complementarity hypothesis
Reciprocity
Mate Selection
Evolutionary Perspective
Sociocultural Perspective
Figure 9.6: Evolutionary Mate
Preferences: Theory and Practice
Intimate Relationships

Social exchange theory
Intimate Relationships

Equity Theory
Your Benefits
Your Contributions
=
Your Partner’s Benefits
Your Partner’s Contributions
Types of Relationships

Exchange vs Communal

Attachment styles



Anxious
Avoidant
Secure
Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love
Passionate Love


Romantic love characterized by
high arousal, intense attraction
and fear of rejection.
Excitation transfer: the process
whereby arousal caused by one
stimulus is added to the arousal
from a second stimulus and the
combined arousal is attributed to
the second stimulus.
Companionate Love



A secure, trusting, stable
partnership.
Is the diminution of
passion genetically predetermined?
Self-disclosure: sharing
intimate facts and
feeling.
From a Sliver to a Wedge
Theory of Social Penetration
Relationship Issues

The Marriage Trajectory
Are married people happier than unmarried
people?
Lucas, Clark & Diener (2003): 15 year study of over
24,000 individuals living in Germany
John Gottman
The Gottman Relationship Institute:
http://www.gottman.com/49847/The-Love-Lab.html#sf