Chapter 7

Question 1

What effect explains why we might be attracted to someone?

Answer 1

Mere exposure effect: we like things we have seen before

we are attracted to things in close proximity to us

Question 2

What is a key element responsible for sexual attraction? What gender ranks this as most important?

Answer 2

physical appearance

in self report research, men report physical appearance as being much more important than women

but in actual observation research, physical appearance is the biggest indicator of romantic attraction for BOTH men and women

Question 3

Are there differences in how men and women behave in regard to physical appearance?

Answer 3

yes, evidence from online dating activity, where men are most likely to approach women that are the most attractive, and women are more likely to approach men that are moderately attractive

Question 4

Who do we tend to choose in a partner in terms of attractiveness?

Answer 4

tend to partner with those who are about as attractive as we are

although regardless of our own level of attractiveness, we may desire the most attractive potential partners

Question 5

What are some counter forces to romantic attraction?

Answer 5

fear of rejection and wanting to pursue relationships

cultural stigma associated with mismatched couples

Question 6

Why is physical appearance so important?

Answer 6

we possess an innate bias toward what looks beautiful

more attractive people are rated as more friendly, likeable, interesting, social, prompts other people to reciprocate (self-fulfilling prophecy)

according to evolutionary psychology, physical attractiveness gave important cues about health, fertility, and genetic makeup (we like symmetric and average faces)

Question 7

What do people prefer below the neck? Is height, weight, and breast size important? How do preferences persist?

Answer 7

see fewer universals and more culture specific preferences

breast size is not crucial, nor is overall height or weight

relative proportions do matter
- waist to hip ratio of .7 for women is ideal
- shoulder to hip ratio of 1.4 for men is ideal

these are independent of weight and persist across cultures as they are cues to maturity and fertility

Question 8

What are we attracted to in terms of personal characteristics?

Answer 8

sincere, honest, understanding top 3

friendly, fun, humorous are farther down the list

Question 9

Are the myths people can be “too much alike” and “opposites attract” true?

Answer 9

people are more attracted to those with values, backgrounds, and personalities are similar to their own

dissimilarity tends to decrease over time and as relationship commitment increases

Question 10

What do some researchers argue we are attracted to?

Answer 10

Complementarity

one partner is dominant and the other is submissive

one partner is social and the other is introverted

little evidence supports this

most complementarity is actually similarity (e.g. warmth met with warmth)

intuitive appeal because people look for a partner to complete them

Question 11

Why do we like similarity?

Answer 11

similar people are validating

tells us our beliefs/values are important

people who are similar to us are easy to get along with

we have an expectation they will like us

exception: we do not like people who are suffering to be similar to us (reminds us of our own vulnerability)

Question 12

What is reciprocity in relationships?

Answer 12

liking people who like us

true if we’re pretty sure the liking is due to something about us rather than the person likes us also likes everyone

low risk for rejection, which equals pain

Question 13

How does social exchange theory help us understand the basics of attraction?

note: SET is a sociological and psychological framework that explains social behavior as a process of weighing the costs and benefits of relationships

Answer 13

physical attractiveness: we are attracted to those we view as beautiful

personal characteristics: we are attracted to those who will treat us well (honesty)

similarity: we like those who like our own interests, which helps us pursue our interests further

reciprocity: we like people who are not only capable of providing us with rewards, but are especially likely to do so

Question 14

Do we end up partnered with those that possess qualities we are attracted to?

Answer 14

no

proven by studies, preferences are not correlated with qualities in later partners

attraction is intrapersonal

mate selection is interpersonal (dyadic interactions actually inform what we find attractive)

monozygotic twins are similar in a variety of ways, but not in mate selection

note: Intrapersonal refers to interactions within oneself, such as thoughts, feelings, and self-talk, while interpersonal refers to communication and interactions between two or more people

Question 15

what is an example of misattribution of arousal?

Answer 15

people meet in a situation where their heart rates are elevated, each person may feel the arousal was caused by the other and therefore will find the other more attractive

this is why amusement parks and scary movies make a good date

Question 16

What are sexual strategies theory?

Answer 16

sometimes we pursue long or short term relationships to gain certain advantages (strategic pluralism: use mating strategies to fulfill different reproductive goals)

men and women can benefit from long and short term relationships, but in different ways

for women, they can gain access to more selective males by engaging in short term relationships (means women have higher standards for these relationships)

men gain access to more selective females by engaging in a long term relationship (their standards are higher for long term compared to short term)

Question 17

How do people signal their interest in another person?

Answer 17

behaviours that indicate one’s presence

behaviours that indicate one’s gender

behaviours that express interest

proceptivity: anticipatory behaviours signaling interest, holding eye contact longer than normal

note: Proceptivity refers to the female’s initiative in seeking and initiating sexual encounters with a male, encompassing behaviors like approach, pursuit, and solicitation that indicate a motivation to mate

Question 18

What is behavioural synchrony?

Answer 18

Behavioral synchrony is the spontaneous coordination of actions in time between individuals

Question 19

What have researchers noticed in in person and online context conversations?

Answer 19

more indirect so that they can deny their interest if not returned

however, over time, more personal information is shared

we tend to like people more after we disclose information to them and they disclose information to us

Question 20

What is the most common way people meet? What about in recent years?

Answer 20

through friends

online

Question 21

What is disclosure reciprocity?

Answer 21

one person’s disclosure leads the other to disclose