Cognitive approach to attraction Flashcards
(9 cards)
What does cognitive approach to attraction argue?
The extent to which people perceive other people to be as similar to themselves may be one explanation for attraction.
Similarity-Attraction Model
Argues that people like and are attracted to those who are similar to them. This could be similar in age, religion, social class, cultural background, education, etc.
It makes sense because people have a tendency to live in areas where people are like themselves, and it also makes sense because other people’s support for one’s own beliefs and attitudes is rewarding because it boost one’s self-esteem.
Markey and Markey 2007
Aim: Investigate the extent to which similarity is a factor in the way people choose a partner.
Procedure:
Using questionnaires, the researchers asked a large sample of self-selected undergraduate students to describe their psychological characteristics, values and, attitudes of their ideal romantic partner. Then, they were asked to describe themselves. Results showed that the way the participants described themselves was similar to the way they had described their ideal partner.
There was a follow-up study, where the researchers took over 100 self-selected young couples who had been together for a year. The participants filled out a questionnaire about their own as well as their partner’s personality characteristics. The results were in line with the first investigation, confirming that people want partners who are similar to themselves.
3 cons of Markey and Markey
- Self-reported data means the data could have been influenced by demand characteristics
- Sample consisted of young western students, so very difficult to generalize to other populations.
- Correlational analysis was used, difficult to establish a direct cause-and-effect relationship.
1 pro of Markey and Markey
- Large sample size enhanced the reliability of the study
Dion et al (1972)
Aim: Determine what role the halo effect could play in choosing a partner.
Sample: University students
Procedure:
Each participant was given three envelopes. One contained a photo of someone their age that was physically attractive, one that was of moderate attraction, and one that could be considered unattractive. Half of the participants were given photos of the same gender and the other half were given the opposite gender. The set of photos, the gender received and the order in which they were to be opened were all randomly allocated.
Participants were asked to the person in the photo on 27 personality traits on a 6-point Likert scale. After doing this for all 3 envelopes, they were then asked to complete another survey in which they were asked which person would be the most likely (and least likely) to experience marital happiness, parental happiness, and overall happiness. The final task was to indicate which of the three people would be most likely to engage in 30 different occupations. The occupations were divided into “low status,” “average status” and “high status.”
Results:
attractive individuals were predicted to be significantly happier, more successful, and have more positive personality traits.
Findings:
The halo effect had occurred. Since the person was attractive, this positive trait was then generalized to other facets of his or her identity.
The Halo Effect
It is based on the fact that whether we like someone or not is mainly based on System 1 thinking. The halo effect is defined as the tendency for an impression created in one area to influence opinion in another, in the case of attraction, a person’s physical beautify influenced our judgement of their other qualities to be positive.
1 pro of this approach in general
Unlike biological theories, cognitive theories account for personal differences in attraction.
2 cons of this approach in general
Factors influencing relationship formation are impossible to isolate under natural conditions.
The approach may be considered overly simplistic when not used in combination with other approaches to understanding human relationships.
