E4: Interpersonal attraction Flashcards
(16 cards)
what is interpersonal attraction looking at
processes related to seeking out others in any kind of relationship
why are human relationships are important
-connection, support, leads to better health outcomes
How can we split up the different factors that influence a desire to approach someone
situational and personal
what are some situational factors that influence our desire to approach someone
-proximity and physical attraction
-the context or circumstances
impact of proximity on interpersonal attraction
-the more familiar we are with somebody and the more we interact with them, the more comfortable we get
-mere exposure over time increases comfort UNLESS initial encounter was bad
what are the different kinds of circumstances that can influence interpersonal attraction
-stressful circumstances
-exciting circumstances
-reactance
stressful circumstances and interpersonal attraction
experiencing stressful situations with someone can make us more attracted to them kind of like trauma bonding or idea of misery loves company
LIMITATION: if the stressful circumstances involved something embarrassing then we are less attracted to that person we experienced it with
exciting circumstances and interpersonal attraction
when we are positively aroused, we are more attracted to the person with us
*misattribution of arousal works in favor because associate the exciting thing with the person
reactance and interpersonal attraction
when people outwardly express their disapproval of a relationship, that makes us more attracted to the person
what are some personal factors that influence our desire to approach someone
-similarity
-physical attractiveness
-reciprocal liking
-smell
similarity and interpersonal attraction: what are important similarities
-basic demographics
-perceived attractiveness levels
-personalities
-attitudes and values
physical attractiveness and interpersonal attraction- why do we prefer attractive people?
-implicit personality bias: we assume that someone who is pretty has a good personality and are nice and warm and friendly
-social skills: attractive people have better social skills
curvilinear relationship of physical attractiveness
as physical attraction goes up so does interpersonal attraction but only to a certain point and then once somebody is too attractive, we do not like them so much and might assume they are arrogant (implicit personality bias)
reciprocal liking and interpersonal attraction
we like people who also like us; so do not play hard to get
limitation: have to be liked by someone who is selective; we do not like people who like us but also like everyone else they have ever met
smell and interpersonal attraction
unconsciously smell can tell us things like age, health, and fertility which all influence attraction
first encounters and interpersonal attraction
study done on pair interacting for first time and rated each other on agentic traits and communal traits.
-people who were high on both were liked
-high on agentic and low on communal not liked
-high on communal and low on agentic was a rating given when people had a unique liking of person they were paired up with.
