attachment styles
the way a person typically interacts with significant others
communal relationships
a relationship in which the participants expect and desire mutual responsiveness to each other’s needs
companionate love
a secure, trusting, stable partnership
equity theory
the theory that people are most satisfied with a relationship when the ratio between benefits and contributions is similar for both partners
exchange relationships
a relationship in which the participants expect and desire strict reciprocity in their interactions
excitation transfer
the process whereby arousal caused by one stimulus is added to arousal from a second stimulus and the combined arousal is attributed to the second stimulus
hard-to-get effect
the tendency to prefer people who are highly selective in their social choices over those who are more readily available
intimate relationships
a close relationship between two adults involving emotional attachment, fulfillment of psychological needs, or interdependence
loneliness
a feeling of deprivation about existing social relations
What are the three facets or dimensions of loneliness?
- intimate
- relational
- collective
intimate loneliness
when someone wants but does not have a spouse, significant other, or best friends to rely on for emotional support, especially during personal crises
relational loneliness
when someone wants but lacks friendships from school and work and family connections, the 15 or 50 people whom we see regularly and rely on for occasional help, child care, resources, contacts, and advice
collective loneliness
lack of remote relationships and the social identities we derive from, say, alumni of the schools we have attended and clubs we join on the basis of common needs or interests
(more voluntary associations we have, lower our collective loneliness)
hikikomori
a form of social withdrawal in Japan characterized by a full withdrawal from intimate relationships outside of the famliy
What age range is thought to have the highest loneliness rates in recent studies?
16-24 yr olds
Who are the most lonely types of people?
- Surveys show that people who are unattached are lonelier than those with romantic partners but that those who are widowed, divorced, and separated are lonelier than people who have never been married
matching hypothesis
the proposition that people are attracted to others who are similar in physical attractiveness
mere exposure effect
the phenomenon whereby the more often people are exposed to a stimulus, the more positively they evaluate that stimulus
study that demonstrates mere exposure effect
- participants are shown pictures of several stimuli, each for 1-5 miliseconds, which is too quick to register in awareness much less enable one to realize which stimuli are presented more often than others – when shown the images for real they would rate the ones they saw more frequently (beneath conscious awareness) higher in likeability
- four women were confederates in a class –> the woman that attended the most frequently was then rated by the students as most attractive
need for affiliation
- the desire to establish and maintain many rewarding interpersonal relationships
- motivated to establish optimum balance of social contact
passionate love
romantic love characterized by high arousal, intense attraction, and fear of rejection
reciprocity
a mutual exchange between what we give and receive– for example, liking those who like us
self-disclosure
revelations about the self that a person makes to others
sexual orientation
a person’s preference for members of the same sex (homosexuality), opposite sex (heterosexuality), both sexes (bisexuality), or neither (asexual)
