Summary
Summary Theme 7 Social Psychology Notes
- Course
- Institution
These are the notes for Theme 7 of the Social Psychology course.
[Show more]
Seller
Follow
yoyo28417
Reviews received
Content preview
THEME 7AFFILIATION
• Need for affiliation = the desire to establish and maintain rewarding interpersonal relationships.
o We all have a SOCIOSTAT (social thermostat) that regulates our social and alone time
o Reasons why we want to affiliate: energy, stimulation, information, emotional support
o During stressful situations we want company, but in embarrassing situations we don't.
• Instinct Theory = innate drive/impulse, genetically transmitted, of humans to be part of groups.
o We want to avoid Loneliness = the feeling of deprivation of existing social relations
(intimate, relational, collective)
o hikikomori = Japanese phenomenon, people withdraw from social relations with anyone
except family
INITIAL ATTRACTION
• Attraction to another person is influenced by:
o Familiarity to the person:
physical proximity >> accessibility (increases);
mere exposure effect = mere exposure to a stimulus (repeated) leads to liking it
(influenced without awareness);
o Personal characteristics:
intelligence;
personality
The Big 5 = the 5 main personality dimensions (extraversion/surgency,
agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability and
intellect/openness to experience)
self-esteem;
self-disclosure;
trustworthiness;
loneliness;
warmth;
o Attitude similarity
Assortative matching = non-random coupling based on similarities (culture,
ethnicity, status, looks);
perceived similarity is more important than actual similarity;
o Physical attractiveness
similarity in looks as well can increase the level of attraction
Group attractiveness effect = perceived attractiveness of a group is greater than
the average attractiveness of individual group members
*"Red-sex link" - women who wear red are perceived as more promiscuous
'What-is-beautiful-is-good' stereotype (WIBIGS) = belief that physically attractive
people also possess desirable personality traits
ESTABLISHING RELATIONSHIPS
• The process of establishing relationships is affected mainly by 3 elements:
, 1. Similarity ('birds of a feather flock together' > 'opposites attract')
There are 4 types of similarities:
1. demographic (age, race, religion etc.)
2. opinions, interests, values
3. attractiveness equivalent (matching hypothesis = people are attracted to those who are
similar in their level of attractiveness)
4. subjective experiences
5. matching hypothesis = people are attracted to those of similar level of physical
attractiveness
2 Stage Model of Attraction Process
*Opposites attract (Complementarity hypothesis) has no support!!!
2. Reciprocity - we like balanced relationships, meaning a mutual exchange between the two
partners
3. Playing hard-to-get - we are drawn to people who are socially selective
o Hard-to-get effect = tendency to prefer people who are highly selective in their social
choices over those who are readily available.
Can also be influenced by external factors like parents, social circles >>
psychological reactance (becomes the 'forbidden fruit' and we want it more)
EVOLUTION OF DESIRE
• Preferences -> Evolutionary psychology states that men can go fuck around while women are
limited by the number of kids they can have in one life.
o the 'deal' is: women offer beauty and men offer money
• Conspicuous consumption = may have evolved as a sexually selected mating signal => more
competition on the reproductive landscape for men, more money spent in conspicuous ways
• Expression of love = men want sex, women want love
• Jealousy = negative emotion, perceived a threat to somebody's relationship
o women are concerned about emotional infidelity, men are concerned about sexual
infidelity
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller yoyo28417. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $4.78. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
79650 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy study notes for 14 years now