This is the Chapter 9 of the book Introduction to Kassin, S., Fein, S., Markus, H.R. (2021) Social Psychology, International Edition (11th edition). Which is content for the exam of the Theory component of Module 2 (Social Behaviour) of the University of Twente, in the Netherlands.

Ch.9: Attraction & close relationships

Need to belong:

• Social Anxiety Disorder: intense discomfort when social situations are observed
  • Public-speaking Anxiety: stage of fright when public speaking

Affiliation:

• Need for affiliation: desire to establish and maintain rewarding relationships. When do we need affiliation?
  • Stress --> increase need for affiliation, specially if others face same threat
    • Cognitive clarity about threat danger
    • Unity
  • Feeling lonely
  • Lack of power

Loneliness:

Deprivation feeling about existing social interactions. Types:

1. Intimate: when wanting significant other, but not having

2. Rational: when lack of occasional help from others

3. Collective: loneliness from social identity we derive from (e.g. group common interest and having and useful identity towards that interest, would make us feel less lonely)

Initial attraction:

Familiarity:

• The Proximity Effect: physical proximity predictor of attraction
• The Mere Exposure Effect: increase exposure --> increase positive evaluation

Physical attractiveness:

• Group Attractiveness Effect: increase physical attractiveness of members of group when they’re together
• Averaged Faces: prototypically face-like (with few distinctive features) --> face seen as more familiar, and it is easier to process
• Beauty importance:
  
  • Beauty as rewarding --> presence of beautiful people in group --> increase average-looking beauty of group
  • What-is-beautiful-is-good stereotype: physical attractiveness associated desirable personality characteristics
    
    • Self-fulfilling Prophecy: expectations people have on someone, can “create” attractive people (e.g. children of beautiful movie stars)

First Encounters:

• Similarity of demographics, interests, values, attitudes, …
  • Two-stage Model of Attraction Process: when contact with someone else is continued after --> 1. Both are not dissimilar/2. Both are high in similarity
  • Matching Hypothesis: we attract others that are similar to us in terms of physical attractiveness
  • Complementary Hypothesis: states that opposites attract --> this theory has been criticized
  • Reciprocity: when there is mutual exchange of what is given and what is received
• Hard-to-get Effect: tendency to prefer others with selective social choices (when they are hard to get)

Male selection:

• Men:
  • Seek to propagate widely
  • Conspicuous consumption: purchase for the purpose of displaying their wealth
  • Sexual Infidelity: issue of concern more than women
• Women:
  
  • Seek to propagate wisely
  • Emotional infidelity: issue of concern more than men

Close relationships:

• Intimate Relationships: emotional attachment --> involves fulfilling of psychological needs and interdependence
  • Empty shell: when a relationship is characterised only with interdependence
• Stimulus-value-role Theory (SVR): explains formation of intimate relationships
  
  • Stimulus Stage: attraction only from external attributes of other
  • Value stage: attachment to other. Participants of relationship hold similar values and beliefs
  • Role stage: Commitment to other. Assigned roles to participants of relationship (e.g. husband/wife)

Gains/losses:

• Social Exchange Theory: motivation to maximize benefits and minimize costs of a relationship
  • Comparison level (CL): average of expected relation outcomes
  • Comparison Level for Alternatives (CLalt): expectations of an alternative situation --> it has been seen that it decreases the commitment of the relationship
  • Relational Building Blocks:
    
    • Reward, costs, and CL of relationship --> influence CLalt, relationship satisfaction and investment --> ultimately influence commitment
• Equity Theory: satisfaction in terms of ratio of benefits and contributions are at similar level.
• Equilibrium Model of Relationship Maintenance: states that relationships use threat-mitigating tactics, to lessen effect of threat, in order to preserve relationship

Types relationships:

• Exchange Relationship: with strict reciprocity expectations
• Communal relationship: expect and desire for responsiveness needs

Love:

• Eros: Erotic love --> Mania: demanding and possessive love
• Ludus: uncommitted love --> Pragma: pragmatic love
• Storge: friendship love --> Agane: altruistic love
• Triangular Theory of Love:
  
  • Intimacy: emotional component
  • Passion: motivational component
  • Commitment: cognitive component
• Elaine Hatfield:
  
  • Passionate love: intense attraction, with fear of rejection
    
    • Two-factor theory of Emotion:
      
      • Physiological arousal
      • Belief arousal is triggered by beloved person
    • Excitation Transfer: Experience of combined arousal (Stimulus 1 + Stimulus 2) --> attribute arousal only to Stimulus 2
  • Companionate love:  secure and trusting partnership
    
    • Self-disclosure: by gradually revealing emotions and experiences and listening to their reciprocal sharing, people gain a greater understanding of each other and display trust.
      
      • Social Penetration Theory: describes self-disclosure process, from broader exchanges (superficial areas of life) to deeper exchanges (sensitive areas of life)

Relationship issues:

• Erotic Plasticity: sex drive and sexual behaviour shaped by societal, cultural and situational factors
• Sexual orientation:
  
  • Exotic Becomes Erotic Theory:
    
    • Gender-conforming children: opposite sex seen as unfamiliar and exotic
    • Gender-nonconforming children: same sex seen as unfamiliar and exotic
• Communication conflict:
  
  • Negative Affect Reciprocity: exchange expressions of negative feelings
  • Demand/withdraw Interaction Pattern: demand/withdraw pattern seen within relationship interactions
  • Relationship-Enhancing attribution (REA): when people attribute undesired behaviour to situational factors and desired behaviour as inherent in partner
  • Distress-maintaining Attributions: opposite of REA