Attraction and Interpersonal Relationships

Proximity (Propinquity): Liking by Geography

Proximity, or physical closeness, is a major factor in the formation of relationships. The more we encounter people in our immediate environment, the more likely we are to form friendships or romantic relationships with them.

• Key Point: Most people know only a small number of others within their local area, despite the global population.

• Example: Maryland Police Academy cadets named their closest friends from those seated near them; MIT dorm studies showed assigned roommates often became friends.

Mere Exposure Effect

The mere exposure effect, identified by Robert Zajonc, describes how repeated exposure to a stimulus increases our liking for it.

• Key Point: Familiarity leads to greater preference for music, colors, foods, and even photographs.

• Example: People tend to prefer their own mirror image photo, while friends prefer the regular image.

Attraction and Similarity

Similarity in attitudes, interests, and backgrounds is a strong predictor of attraction between individuals.

• Key Point: The more similar two people are, the greater their mutual attraction.

• Graph: Attraction increases linearly with percent similar attitudes.

• Comparison: "Birds of a feather flock together" is supported more than "opposites attract."

Being Liked and Self-Disclosure

Being liked by others and engaging in self-disclosure are powerful factors in attraction, sometimes even more influential than similarity.

• Key Point: Expressing interest (eye contact, smiling, listening) increases attraction, even when there are differences in key issues.

• Key Point: Self-disclosure is selective; we disclose to those we like, and we like those who disclose to us.

• Example: A nice personality is associated with greater attraction.

Physical Attractiveness

Physical attractiveness is a significant predictor of romantic interest and relationship formation.

• Key Point: In blind date studies, physical attractiveness was the best predictor of wanting to see a date again, above other traits like IQ or humor.

Matching Hypothesis

The matching hypothesis suggests that people are more likely to form and maintain relationships with others who are similar in physical attractiveness.

• Key Point: Relationships with mismatched attractiveness are less stable.

• Example: Couples with similar attractiveness ratings were more likely to remain together over time.

Beauty as a Powerful Stereotype

Physical attractiveness is associated with positive stereotypes across cultures.

• Key Point: Attractive people are judged as more successful, intelligent, and adjusted, and even receive lighter prison sentences.

• Key Point: Standards of beauty are consistent across cultures.

Beauty as a Contrast Effect

Perceptions of beauty are influenced by context and comparison.

• Key Point: Average-looking individuals are rated less attractive when compared to supermodels or after exposure to highly attractive images.

• Example: Students rated average photos as less desirable during exposure to images from "Charlie's Angels."

Theories of Romantic Love

Types of Romantic Love

Romantic love is commonly divided into two types:

• Passionate Love: Characterized by intense emotional arousal and sexual feelings.

• Companionate Love: Involves affection, commitment, and deep attachment.

Sternberg's Triangular Theory of Love

Sternberg proposed that love consists of three components, which interact to produce different types of love.

• Passion: Physical attraction and sexual desire.

• Intimacy: Emotional closeness and connectedness.

• Commitment: Decision to maintain the relationship.

Eight varieties of love arise from different combinations of these components.

Growth of Love According to Sternberg's Model

The relative strength of passion, intimacy, and commitment changes over time in a relationship:

• Passion: Peaks early and then declines.

• Intimacy: Increases and stabilizes over time.

• Commitment: Grows gradually and remains stable.

Lee's Colours/Styles of Love

John Lee identified six styles of love, each with distinct characteristics:

• Research: Women tend toward Storge/Pragma; men toward Ludus.

• Stable Relationships: High Eros, low Ludus.

• Unstable Relationships: Low Eros, high Ludus.

Love in Components: Factor Analysis

Factor analysis of love inventories reveals five essential love factors, explaining 69% of the variance in love experiences.

Positive Emotions: Happiness and Humour

Defining Happiness

Ed Diener defines happiness as subjective well-being, characterized by high positive affect and low negative affect.

• Key Point: Most people report being at least moderately happy, regardless of age, gender, or nationality.

• Key Point: We attend to others' happiness as much as our own.

Correlates of Happiness

Several factors are associated with happiness:

• Political systems: Basic human rights and freedoms promote happiness.

• Financial satisfaction: Important in poorer nations.

• Religiosity, IQ, social skills, family support: All positively related to happiness.

• Physical attractiveness: Related to happiness, but causality is unclear.

• Personality: Agreeableness, self-esteem, low anxiety, personal control, and stable extraversion are linked to happiness.

• Marital status: Married couples are happier, with benefits for health and financial security.

Happiness and Culture

Cultural differences influence the sources of happiness:

• Japanese (interdependent): Happiness correlates with social emotions (friendliness).

• American (independent): Happiness correlates with personal emotions (pride in accomplishment).

Social Comparison, Wealth, and Culture

Money does not necessarily bring happiness, especially in wealthy societies where basic needs are met.

• Key Point: Wealthy Americans are not happier than non-wealthy Americans.

• Key Point: In other cultures, happiness and wealth are more closely related.

Happiness and Adaptation

Happiness is influenced by adaptation and social comparison.

• Key Point: People compare their current happiness to their past happiness, and recent events have a stronger impact than distant ones.

• Example: Lottery winners were not happier than others and experienced less pleasure in everyday joys.

Happiness Enhanced by Humour

Humour plays a significant role in enhancing happiness and well-being.

• Key Point: Humour promotes romance, defuses conflict, contributes to teaching, reduces stress, and strengthens the immune response.

What Makes Humour Amusing

Several factors influence the perception and appreciation of humour:

• Right Hemisphere: Damage to the right frontal lobe impairs humour appreciation.

• Social Contexts and Alcohol: Humour is perceived differently in social settings and under the influence of alcohol.

• Gender: Men and women equally enjoy male-target humour, but not female-target humour.

Theories of Humour

Disparagement Theory

Humour is often derived from feeling superior to others, especially those we dislike.

• Key Point: Disparaging jokes are more amusing when directed at disliked groups or individuals.

Incongruity Theory

Humour arises from the juxtaposition of incompatible ideas, leading to a surprising outcome that violates expectations.

• Key Point: Timing is essential; jokes are less funny when repeated.

• Key Point: Appreciation of incongruity varies with age and conservatism.

Release Theory

Humour serves as an outlet for anxiety and tension, especially those related to sexual or aggressive energy.

• Key Point: Tension is released by the punchline, providing relief.

• Example: People with higher anxiety levels laughed more at jokes involving surprise or tension.

Additional info: These notes cover key concepts from Social Psychology (Ch. 13), including attraction, love, happiness, and humour, with relevant research findings and theoretical models.